1000 Words

where did summer go?

I'm sitting here, in my studio, working on getting my things together for "Fall Scrapaway" retreat (which is in 3 weeks!) realizing that Summer is just about over. Wow. That was seriously fast. We didn't go on any big trips this year, and it doesn't feel like Josh should already be starting school come Tuesday, but I guess it's time. 

School. Did I say school? I have news! I've decided to go back to school! I'm enrolling in some Graphic Design and Digital Design classes at a local community college. I also purchased a copy of Adobe CS3 Suite yesterday (gulp!) for my Mac. I'm BEYOND excited! I never thought I'd really find time/energy to do this, but after my friend Dawn's conversation with me, I made up my mind. Here's the story....

My scrapbooking group consists of about 20 ladies, but only 12 or so of us get together each month to scrap. Last Saturday was our day. 

(Wait, let me back up. Remember back in February, when I met my "twin" at the Spring Scrapaway retreat?  When I took these photos?Well, a few weeks ago, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Small cell lung cancer and a host of other very bad, not good, scary, please add your prayers for her and her family, things. It really shook all of us up.) Personally, I'm praying for a miracle.

Ok, now fast forward back to our all day crop last Saturday. Lee Anne was not there, she's home trying to deal with chemo and everything else icky that surrounds the horrible "C" word that I loathe and despise more than anything in the world, but Dawn was across the table from me. I was fooling around with a layout and said, "You know, I really should take some graphic design classes, maybe then I'd have some idea of what I'm really doing." Dawn slapped her stuff down on her table and looked at me and said, "Okay, you know what? You've said that exact same thing, or something very close, the last 3 times we've been together. I think that's exactly what you need to do, and by the next time we get together, I want to see some action! I don't want to hear you saying "someday" anymore. Get on with it!"  

I just sat there, kind of stunned, holding my photos in both hands, staring at her. Finally, I quietly said, "Um, okay." and went on with my cropping, as did she.

However, she got her point across to me. Life is short, make the most of it. If you want to learn something, then learn it. Quit waiting, it isn't going to come to me, I have to go get it.

I came home and started nosing around on the web and looking at the many options. It took me most of this week, but I have found some classes at a college near work that seem like they are what I want. It's actually work related, which makes it even better. 

I guess Steven must have known this was coming. He's just smiling and watching, as I realize how much I LOVE my iMac and how much great use I'm going to get out of it's incredible graphics capabilities. I've been experimenting, and I don't care what Windows people say, the graphics on my iMac are far superior to the graphics on any PC I have ever owned. There's no comparison. I  *heart* my iMac.

Oh, and speaking of classes, I enrolled in a Big Picture Class! I'm taking "Design Your Life" with Cathy Zielske. I'm totally jazzed, it sounds like it will be an eye-opening experience. I was going to ask some friends if they wanted to take it with me, but no one was around when I tried to reach them, so I decided to sign up on my own. I'm excited and can't wait for class to start (not till October, darn it!)

At work, we moved into a new building at the end of July, and I wanted to put something pretty on my wall. I started looking through old images and came across this one, which I swear I have never seen before, yet I took it! LOL So, I'm going to put it up tomorrow. I printed it out in a huge 13 x 19. It is SO pretty! I think it will be a great inspirational piece to look at while I'm thinking at work. I'm also putting up a couple of other photos, but this is my favorite, for now. I also made it my iMac background. It is SO pretty!

I've been reading this week. I've decided I am a "Rabid Reader." LOL A few weeks ago, I started hearing about a book called "Breaking Dawn." I had no idea what it was about, but on my last a recent trip to Barnes & Noble, I went ahead and bought a copy. Then, last weekend, while talking to my dear friend Debbie (we've been friends since high school!) who was in town for her daughter's baby shower, I learned that this was the FOURTH book in a series. So, that meant I had to go back to Barnes & Noble one more time again. Steven took me, on Sunday, and we got the first book. He offered to buy the whole series, but me, being naive, said "oh no, it will take me a while to read this, it's like 500 pages."  Right. It took me until Tuesday. It was really good! So back to B & N I went-for the last time this week, honest. Oh yea, and the cashier knows me now... sigh. I bought the remaining two books that I didn't have, and I have been a rabid reader since. I'm on the 3rd book now, and about half way through that. Sheesh. It's like I'm possessed. Steven is finding it amusing, because I go into these little reading whirlwinds every once in a while... usually around August, I think, and I'll read and read and read and read. Kind of like he always does. Anyhow, if you can't find me, I'm probably in a quiet corner reading this crazy vampire romance series. (I love romance novels, but not vampires, usually. This is SO out of character.)

That's me. I think that's everything. The garden is kind of okay. It's getting to that end of the season time, and we'll be planting new, exciting things soon. We've picked about 6 of the 15 or so spaghetti squash so far, and a handful of heirloom tomatoes. Steven's getting tired of trying to come up with new and exciting ways of serving zucchini and summer squash. I think he'll be happy to see new veggies planted. hee hee!

-Take care and be sure to enjoy these last days of summer goodness.

very cool giveaway

So I got an email from Mary Ann telling me about this cool giveaway.

You *should* be able to click on the photo and go to Lila Tueller Designs blog and see the giveaway purses, (she's giving away 2, how cool is that?), but in case you can't, click HERE.

Hope your week is going well. Ours is, except that Josh apparently cut his finger at work tonight. We got there to pick him up and he had a HUGE wad of gauze around his index fingertip. The older lady that works with him said "Why don't you just go home now...." Then told me what happened. He was cutting ribbons for balloons and I guess his skinny finger looked like a ribbon. (Sometimes, with boys it's best to just take things as they come, as my friend Jolene will always advise....) Anyhow, he is FINE. We are home, and I'm done blogging for the day, I think.

-Take care and don't try running with scissors.... :D

happy anniversary...

Today is our 17th anniversary! Steven surprised me with a fabulous weekend away. We left yesterday after lunch, and drove to Santa Cruz (about 45 minutes away), where he had reserved us a fabulous room at Chaminade. Chaminade is this totally secret wonderful resort. Many folks around San Jose don't even know it exists, but we found it by accident a few years ago when Steven had an offsite meeting there. He took me back later, to share it, and we had brunch. He had planned on booking us brunch there for this morning and having us stay somewhere else, because we didn't know you could stay there if you weren't having a conference, but you can!

This was our room. (Ok, so it's our room AND Steven, consider it a bonus!) The room was so warm and inviting and yet very unassuming. Everything matched, and was fresh and wonderful. When we stepped into the hallway, we noticed that even the hallways matched. So often, even at nice places, you get this hodge podge of stuff, where they've "sort of" freshened up. This place had it all going on. It was really nice. The minute you walked in, there was kind of a hush that came about you, because it was so peaceful.

About the time we settled on onto our patio overlooking this, a lovely natureway that led directly into a huge copse of Eucalyptus trees and more, there was a knock on the door.

It was a lovely tray of chocolate covered strawberries and champagne! This was such a perfect way to start our romantic getaway! I so love this man and his wonderful sense of romance. I had to take a few photos of the strawberries, because they were truly works of art! I've dipped strawberries in chocolate many times, but I've never done or seen anything like this! When I first looked at the tray, I said to Steven, "Oh the strawberries must have tipped over when she was carrying them..." and I started to upright them. That's when I realized they were *supposed* to be on their sides because of the incredible art on the bottom! I thought it was so striking. I had to take this shot of Steven pouring our champagne. It didn't  come out as well as I would have liked, but it was a fun shot and it was part of the whole experience.

For dinner, we ate right there at the "casual" restaurant on the property. I say "casual" because we had the most amazing dinner. Steven had this incredible local caught Halibut that was glazed with a habanero-ketchup glaze that was amazing. I had a filet mignon that you could literally cut with your fork! We also had this fantastic fruit and cheese platter to start, and we had creme brulee and some kind of lemon lava cake for dessert. (I don't know what the lemon cake was but it was amazing!)

So that's the all the photos. I didn't take any this morning, I didn't take any of our lovely brunch. I just took these last night, then we started to enjoy our peace and quiet and I put the camera away. :) It was a fantastically wonderfully romantic and peaceful escape from the world. We had a featherbed that was delightful and the most peaceful and quiet room. I can't even begin to share how wonderful our time at Chaminade was. If you are ever in the area, you have to go. It's about 10 minutes from the beach and Santa Cruz's craziness, but it's like you are in a whole other world.

-Take care and GO USA! (yes, I'm glued to the Olympics much to the consternation of my family LOL)

Oh! And HAPPY ANNIVERSARY SWEETIE!!! Here's to another 63 years!!!! Love you.

a whole new world?

Bear with me while I vent.

Saturday morning, Steven and I went to Starbucks for scones and coffee, much like we do every Saturday morning. This time, however, it was a lovely morning so we decided to sit outside and enjoy a leisurely breakfast instead of rushing back home to reality. While we were sitting there, an old friend of mine who I used to work with in the mentoring program at Josh's grammar school strolled up and we got to talking. It was nice to catch up with her, and I enjoyed our all too brief chat. We had some light banter, then her husband walked up.

We got to talking, and it turned out they were on their way to the Santa Clara County Fair. Huh? The Fair was on? Not one sign, not one ad. I was so disappointed to find out that the Fair has been reduced to next to nothing. According to this couple, (who are active community participants in the Fair), attendance has dwindled down (gee, I wonder why since they have moved the dates around several times, and aren't advertising!) and now the Fair is simply a place where the 4H kids are able to show their animals. That's NOT a Fair!

Santa Clara County's one link to our agricultural/horticultural background has always been the Fair. Sure, we are the heart of Silicon Valley and a lot of really cool Technology takes place here, but that is NOT our true heritage! I've lived in this valley since 1974. (Now I'm climbing up onto my soapbox and I'm going to vent, so you've been warned. I'm also going to sound like I'm old, but that's okay!) In the past 34 years, I've seen most of the orchards (cherries, prunes, apricots) be replaced with businesses. I've seen old homes torn down (except for one wall, so it can be considered a remodel) and replaced with cookie cutter homes that have no personality. I've watched the companies that started Silicon Valley (IBM, Cottle Road) sell out and leave the area. Why? Because everything is just too expensive and the land is so valuable for building more housing. Housing that no one can afford!

We need to get the Santa Clara Valley back to the values that made it so attractive way back then.

To be honest, I bet the property that the fairgrounds sits on is worth many millions of dollars. It is a HUGE property, and it is being under utilized. Instead of taking away the Fair and taking even more of this valley's heritage away, maybe they should find new ways to advertise and use the fairgrounds for the rest of the year.

Since this is the heart of Silicon Valley, maybe it's time to use the Fairgrounds all year round to hold corporate events, technology contests for kids? expand what The Tech does and have them rent space at the fairgrounds? I don't know what the real answer is, but I think that purposefully killing the Fair is the wrong answer.

Last year, the Fair was one weekend long. I was in Hawaii, but I hear that no one went. Imagine that. You have a 2 day fair that you don't advertise and no one attends, opening the door for you to repeat this the next year. It's just dumb.

If the Fair is going away, take it away. Sell the land, make your millions, give up on our heritage and get on with it. But. Don't complain when this valley loses more and more of its personality and when people move on because the root values of this valley, the things that made everyone want to live here have gone. No one lives in Silicon Valley *just* because they work here. Well, I don't, maybe some do. It was bad enough when we actually got stop lights in my part of town (and that was because they ripped out several orchards and put in business buildings that have been vacant for more than 6 years!), but to take away the fair just feels wrong. However, if it is being reduced to nothing more than a 4H venue with no audience, I think we need to find an alternative place to have the 4H kids show off their incredible stuff, and I think we need to *advertise* so that folks like me who loved to go see the bunnies, pigs, cows, and everything else can still go.

In the meantime, take care and do something fun. :)  ::climbing down off my soapbox and continuing to eat my lunch.::

errant thoughts...

Well, it is the middle of summer and I have been really busy and not blogging nearly enough. Here's a bunch of stuff that should have been shared by now and wasn't.

• I don't think I mentioned it here, but on July 21st, I became a full time employee at VMware, the company where I have been a contractor since January. I am loving it! Because I had been there for 6 months already, I was able to get right to work and I'm learning cool stuff and having fun and writing and loving it. -Enough said!
• I have taken no photos in at least 2 weeks! I can't remember the last time I went this long without taking photos. I am itching to get my camera out and take some photos of something, like the garden!, but I haven't had time. Life keeps interrupting.
• My time has been taken up with work for the most part. They have the coolest shuttle. It takes me to work and I don't have to drive. Lovin' it. But. I have to catch it at 6:45 in the morning, and it takes about 10 minutes to get to the park n ride, so I end up leaving the house around 6:25, which is very early, in case you didn't know! It isn't the fastest or most direct way to get to work, but considering I have no stress on me, no wear and tear on the car, and no gas use, it's all good. By the time I get home, on shuttle days, it is close to 6:15... so it makes for a long day, but I don't take the shuttle every day, so it's all good. Today, for instance, I worked at home for a few hours. Got lots done, and it was good that I had driven since my meetings had been canceled I was able to come home instead of staying there. Josh was happy, as it meant we got to spend some time together, which is always nice.
• I liked Hancock! We actually went to the movies, as a family, and saw Hancock. It was a pretty cool movie. Josh said there were some parts that he would have filmed differently, but overall, I thought it was a good story and enjoyed it. (Maybe because all I had for dinner was popcorn? LOL)
• This Sunday, Steven and I will celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary! I talked to Mom R. a while ago and she was teasing me and reminding me about our fun wedding in Vegas where we rented a convertible and it poured down rain... sigh. Good times. :)
• It is almost Birthday season in our house. August is Steven, September is me, and October is Josh. That's all I'm saying.
• I have finished designing my Christmas cards! And it is only August. Amazing, huh? I'm going to do something completely different and fun this year, just wait. :)
• I'm going on another mountain scrapbook retreat in mid-September! I can't wait. I have so much fun with the girls, and I always get so much done.
• I am working on the coolest scrapping project ever. I've got 10 pages done so far on Mary Ann's daughter's India/Hindu wedding album, and everyone who has seen the pages has loved them. Life is good when people oo and ahh over your pages, because it makes you think you're doing a good job. LOL (By the way, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist- I'm in love with it!)
• I bought a really cool pedometer! I got this one from Amazon, and I'm so glad I did! It has a USB connector so you can track your days. I've worn it for a week, and now, for the past two days, I've hit over 7,000 steps. Naturally, the goal is 10,000 steps, but that's going to take a bit of working up to. Josh and I have been walking in the evenings, and I'm sure walking a lot at work, so I know I can get to 10,000. My goal is to just keep adding steps, a little at a time, until I hit 10,000. According to everything I've read, 10,000 steps a day is a good goal, so that's what I'm shooting for. Once I get there, I'll start working on the speed of those 10,000 steps. For now, I just want to see 10,o000 on my pedometer!
• School starts August 26th. It is always bittersweet for us to see summer end and school start. This year, Josh has to go and register a couple weeks before school starts. Unlike many other folks, I don't look forward to school starting and getting rid of him. I have a great kid and enjoy the bit of extra time we get to spend in the summer. Even with me working full time, I still manage to sneak out here and there and spend time with him and play, things we can't do during the year. He just has the best sense of humor--- gotta love it. (and no, I don't think he's perfect, but he is ours, and we love him dearly.)
• On a sad note, a good friend has been diagnosed with lung cancer, so we're all trying to be supportive and helpful. It is so hard. I so hate cancer. If I could change one thing in the world, I don't know, it would be a tie between world peace and eliminating cancer. It would really be a tough choice. Anyhow, I'll be bringing her family at least one meal over the next few weeks while she's having chemo. Please add them to your prayers if you are so inclined. (Her name is LeeAnne)

I guess that's enough rambling for the day. At least now you are a bit caught up with where I am and what's new with us. The garden is doing great! Still no ripe tomatoes there, but my little vines here at home are doing great and are chockful of cherry tomatoes. The big tomatoes are almost ripe, but not quite... soon.

Take care and hug your kids, they won't be kids forever, and they grow up way too fast.