Lipstick Junkie ...

I really love these new VIVIDS lipsticks. I'm not really a Maybelline person, although I do like some of their mascaras. Mostly, I wear Cover Girl for just about everything. However, these VIVIDS are awesome. I bought the orange the other day and picked up the pink today. Check out the link here to see the other shades. They're really cool. I'm totally into super bright lipstick at the moment, for some reason. They look good enough to eat. Probably not a good idea.

Today has been an interesting day. It started off normal with Rick leaving the house about 6:30am. However, not much after he shut the door, I heard a loud thunk. He slipped on some ice on the third to last step of our front stairway. He said he hit his head and shoulder, but insisted he was okay enough to go to work. I had a noon appointment to get my teeth cleaned, which meant I had to take the boys with me. I was totally paranoid about them going down the stairs, but they did okay. Then right by the car — BAM! Neil's feet flew right out from under him. Fortunately, he was okay, so I was thankful for that.

By the time we were driving up to the dentist (it's an hour away), Rick said he was hurting pretty bad and was going in for x-rays. Turns out nothing is broken, but he might have done something to his shoulder rotary cuff. They x-rayed it and are sending the films to be looked at closer. He's home now resting, but also has a splint to keep it immobilized for awhile.

Anyway, I stopped on my way home to get Rick some ibuprofen. To my delight, I also saw that locally grown honeycrisp apples were on sale for $1.99 per pound. I've totally been craving apples lately, and most of the other markets haven't had any honeycrisps since the fall. So, today has been very unusual. We haven't gotten any school done, but I guess we can catch up with that tomorrow. I just hope the rest of the week goes by smoothly.

Holidays, sinuses, and cookies.

I decided to give the boys the day off tomorrow for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Rick is off on federal holidays, so I figured it would be a good day to just relax at home. I do need to work on the school schedule and finish up some laundry. I'm also trying real hard to get back on track with my exercise program. I slacked off most of last week because I felt horrible. I think I have a sinus infection, but I'm not sure. My face is killing me and I don't have anything to take.

Maybe I'll bake some more oatmeal cookies tomorrow like the ones pictured here. These had mini chocolate chips in them, so they went pretty quickly. Neil is so picky, but these are one cookie he will eat. If getting him to eat some oatmeal is through a cookie — so be it! I'm thinking I'll make a batch with mini chocolate chips again for him, and then another batch with Craisins for Rick. I normally put raisins in them, but Rick thought the Craisins would be good, so I'm going to try that. I hope you have a great holiday, if you have the day off.

ARGH!

I found this picture of Nathan on some older files on our downstairs computer. It was taken in Utah in 2005, somewhere near Bear Lake. It's a beautiful lake. We've never really stopped at the lake, although we used to drive by it every time we went up to Grand Teton NP. Right before you get to the lake is a little town that sells the BEST raspberry milkshakes. Mmm!

Anyway, this picture describes how I'm feeling tonight. About a week ago, my Yahoo account was spammed and literally everyone got some sort of junk sent to them — including me! I had to go through all the trouble of changing my password, cleaning up my contact list, and apologizing profusly to everyone I knew. I get spams from friends all the time and I know they weren't the ones sending them. It never bothers me, so I just delete them and carry on about my business. However, it's still upsetting when the spam comes from you. 

To make a long, boring story longer — I changed my password and now I can't remember what it is. Argh! I've tried too many times to figure it out on Yahoo and now they've locked me out because they think someone evil is trying to access the account. Sad thing is, when I go to the place where it says to reset my password, it asks me again for my password! Argh again! Then there are the security questions. Well, I answered those way back in 2009 and I don't remember the answer to one of them. My secondary email address is the only one in their system and I no longer use that, so I can't even get them to email me the link to reset it. 

Regardless, I'm locked out of my own account until sometime tomorrow. It's really frustrating. Rick keeps all his passwords in a special place and has always told me to do the same thing. Oh no. I always think I'll remember them. I never do, and I'll probably never learn. {{{sigh}}}

Loo Paper?

Neil is all into Trash Packs right now. His birthday is coming up next month, so all he's talking about are the sets he'd like to get. If you don't know what they are, click here to check them out. They're little rubbery like figures with disgusting names like Scum Gum, Burpy Slurpy, Chicky Pox, Spew-Ghetti, Stench Fries, Mucky Maggot, Puke Pod — you get the idea, right?

One of Neil's favorites is pictured above. This is Loo Paper, and yes, it's an icky roll of toilet paper. I'm not sure why he likes this one so much, but he does. My personal favorite is Scummy Squirrel, but he doesn't have that one yet. Anyway, today Neil asked me to print up a coloring page for Loo Paper. I thought he'd just color it, but he later came upstairs with a roll of toilet paper he had transformed into the real deal. It didn't turn out too bad! 

A rose is a rose is a rose ...

Ever hear that saying? Do you know what it means? Gertrude Stein wrote it in her 1913 poem called Sacred Emily. It was originally, "Rose is a rose is a rose". The first rose stood for a person by that name. The saying simply means "things are what they are". It's interesting how we also have the saying, "It is what it is." That is another idiomatic phrase, indicating the immutable nature of an object of circumstance. However, in this case ...

A rose is a rose is a rose — and it is what it is.

The Critter Series

These are the four picture books in my Critter Series. Lemur Troops & Critter Groups and Stork Musters & Critter Clusters were both illustrated by Nikki Boetger. Pony Strings & Critter Things and Rhino Crashes & Critter Classes were illustrated by Ginger Nielson. Each book contains twenty-one critter groups, or congregations — along with a rhyme for each one. All four books are adorably illustrated. They are available directly through my publisher, 4RV Publishing. You can also find them online at places like Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and Amazon. Or you can order the books through any local bookseller. The entire set would make a great gift package for any child. They're geared towards children ages 4 to 8 years, but kids of all ages will enjoy them. I don't know if there will be more books, but I hope so.

Just to let you know, I have a new blog. As you know, I have an obsession with all things plaid, so I decided to make a separate blog just for that. If you have anything plaid you'd like to share, feel free to email me a picture of it. Or, if you have any plaid-sightings in stores, snap a picture and I'll try to include it as well. I'd love more followers, so please check it out ...

Don't get mad ... get PLAID!

Also, my cat Denny has his own blog. I was always posting pictures of him, so I thought it would be fun to do one just for him. I'm sure he'd love more followers as well ...

Denny's Blog

ETA — My boys have also gotten into blogging lately. Neil has this silly stuffed cat made out of a purple sock that he calls Bootcamp. He takes him everywhere and the boys are always making movies with him. They decided to make a blog for him. Please keep in mind that my boys are ages 13 and 10, so if you have any kids that would like to follow along with the adventures of a sock cat, they can here ...

The Bootcamp Blog

Rosie and the Rustlers

I came across this picture book at the thrift store today. I had to buy it. I'm not familiar with Roy Gerrard, but he also wrote Wagon's West, which I recognized. When I went to look this book up on Amazon to learn more about it, I was shocked to find out how much the 1995 hard cover book is going for. Amazon is asking $454.10 for that edition. Wow! Click here for details. That's not even the first edition, which came out in 1989.

When I looked for info on the paperbacks, they run from $7.40 to $44.99. Interesting. I'm talking about the original versions, I believe, which have a different cover than this one. This one is listed here, but Amazon says it's unavailable.I'm curious because I bought this book at the Salvation Army for a quarter.

I bought the book for the illustrations. I mean, really, look at those characters. They are absolutely adorable. And how can you not love those big ten gallon hats? It is most definitely a western-themed picture book — there are guns, gangs, Indians, and everything else you'd expect to find in the Old West. It's a cute story, and of course, the good guys win in the end. The excerpt on the back reads: 

While Rosie and her wranglers are off visiting their friends the Cherokee, Greasy Ben and his gang try to steal Rosie's cattle. Luckily, Utah Dan comes up with a plan to stop them. The Old West has never been more appealing than in this rip-roaring tale of ranchers vs. rustlers.

I was hooked with the illustrations. Not only that, but the main character's name is Rosie Jones — which I thought was cool. Other characters are called Fancy Dan, Salad Sam, One-Leg Smith, Singing Sid, Mad McGhee, and Utah Jim. It's definitely worth getting if you happen to come across it. Check out this illustration ...

Red Plaid Paper Lantern

I received a lovely surprise last night. A friend of mine made me this lovely paper lantern. Yes, it's really made from paper! Rae knew I loved red plaid, so this was perfect for me. She's made some amazing things from paper. I spent a few nights with her a few years back at a mountain cabin and we made these really cute paper purses. That's the one I made below. Mind you, when it comes to me and crafting, it usually includes construction paper and wiggle eyes. So, this little purse was a challenge for me, especially putting it together by candlelight with my bad eyes. The purse part was okay; the tiny beaded handle was what I struggled with. I don't know how Rae does these things, but her projects are amazing.

This plaid lantern is amazing! Rae included a little battery-operated tea light that goes in a hole in the back. It even flickers. There's also a little cord to hang it up. It's the coolest thing. Thank you so much, Rae!

Rocky Raccoon

Feeling out of sorts today, but I am trying to keep up with my blog better, so here's a picture for today. It's an older one, taken a few years ago, of a cute raccoon that kept coming around. Looks like there might be snow in the background, as it was taken in March 2009. What a cutie.

New Plaid Find!

As you know, I'm all into red plaid right now. I found this red plaid scarf recently, so I was thrilled to add it to my ever growing collection of plaidness! I wore it yesterday when we drove our daughter back to college. I love how well it stands out when you pair it up with black clothing. I've been thinking about making a plaid related blog for all of my silly finds. I do a Plaid of the Day on Twitter, but a blog might be fun instead.

Red Hot Chili Dilly!

This is an illustration from my eighth picture book — A Dinner Date for Dilly. I was thrilled when I found out this image was one of the three approved for promotion purposes. Ginger Nielson did a great job with all of the drawings, but this particular one is a favorite for me. As you know, I love all hot chilis and anything super spicy. So, Dilly's face is hilarious to me. And as you also know, I am a huge fan of the band Red Hot Chili Peppers. So, I guess you could say this illustration has double meaning for me — Red Hot Chili Dilly!

A Dinner Date for Dilly is published by 4RV Publishing. Click on any of these links to purchase it directly from the publisher. It's also available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble Online, Books-A-Million. It can also be ordered through any local bookseller with ISBN-13: 9780985266127.

Home Sweet Home

Today on Facebook I shared some really cool log-style homes that are for sale in the small town I live in. One was a whopping ten million dollars, but it sure was an awesome house. A friend of mine wanted to know what my house looked like, so I came to my blog to find the old slideshow I had made previously. I forgot the site, which I think was called Slide, had gone out of business. None of my old slideshows are up anymore. So anyway, I decided to share a few pictures of my house here again. I apologize if you've already seen them. Most of these are older pictures, but the house pretty much looks the same. I didn't include every room of the house either. This is a four bedroom home with three bathrooms. It also features a great room, family room, walk-out basement, etc. It's about twice the size of the house we had in California. Somehow though, we still managed to fill it up with stuff. Go figure. As always, if you click on them, the pics get bigger.

It's a start!

I wanted to come up with some New Year's resolutions that were reasonable and obtainable. I think it's more important to set a simple goal, rather than create a huge list of things only to forget about them soon after. One of the things I want to do this year is finish this rug. I can't even remember when I got it. It's been years and years. As you can see from the tiny latch-hook sitting near the bottom, the rug is quite large. I've been wanting to finish it so I could hang it up in my staircase. I have a big empty wall there that would be perfect for this. I have always loved latch-hook rug kits. My mom got me hooked on them when I was pretty young and I've made quite a few over the years. This is probably the biggest one I've ever had.

For Christmas 2011, my daughter gave me one of those knitting looms that you make scarves on. Knitting is one thing I've always wanted to learn how to do. My mom used to knit and I loved it when she'd make me sweaters. Well, to make a long story short, the loom sat here forever. I finally got it out one day and Rick got his hands on it. He started making scarves left and right. Turns out, he finds it really relaxing. He made me a really cool red & black scarf. He just needs to add the fringe and it will be finished. He even made his sister a scarf for Christmas! Now I just need to buy him some more yarn. A husband who loves knitting — classic.

In the meantime, I think I'll start working on this rug. Who knows. Maybe 2013 will be the year I finally complete it and get it up on my wall. I guess if anything, I at least have a one-third start on it! 

Happy New Year!