Yeah, yeah

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know I haven't posted anything in a long time. Y'know, I got busy what can I say. I have pictures of our outdoor gas fire to post but I have done it yet :-) Was going to do it over the weekend but Friday went to a neighbors for dinner. Saturday, went to another neighbors for dinner. Sunday, ran out of the house to run to the neighbors just to grab something and they were hanging out with some other neighbors having wine so joined in. You see how it goes. I'll put the fire out there soon. Oh, and the vampire feeling is still going on. We don't have mirrors back yet. They should be here this week so fingers crossed.
This is Thanksgiving week. We always spend our holiday with our friends D & S. She has been out of town helping her Mom with some medical issues. Didn't think she would be back for the holiday but today found out she will be back Friday. Yay! So, Thanksgiving Day I hope we are having a nice meal together with D and on Friday, we will do it up good with D & S. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. Enjoy your family and friends and here we go into the holiday season!!!

Happy Halloween

Just dropping a note to wish everyone a Happy Halloween and leave you with a goofy Glenn Halloween picture. Happy Halloween!!

I feel like a Vampire!

You know how Vampire's can't see their own reflection? Well, I feel like a Vampire because all of our bathroom mirrors have been taken down so when I walk into any of the bathrooms, it's just a blank wall where the mirror used to be! It's a weird feeling I tell ya! So why are the mirrors gone you ask? We are having the bathroom mirrors framed so they were picked up and taken away so we will be without mirrors for a while. There are still mirrors in the powder room and our medicine cabinet mirrors are still here so makeup and hair can still be done thank goodness. I took some before pictures so once we get them back, I'll take some after pictures and show you what we had done.
It's the right time of year to be feeling like a Vampire isn't it?! This past Saturday, we went to a Halloween party in the neighborhood. There were some really good and creative costumes. I'm not really into Halloween and the whole dressing up thing so we did simple costumes and went at Charlie Brown and Snoopy. On Halloween night, us and a few neighbors are going to set up a bbq outside and we are going to bbq and have drinks outside in front of our houses while we hand out candy. Fun!!

Before and After - Family!

I will post some more before and after pictures of the house but, we just got back from a week in Seattle so thought I would post a before and after pic of me, my sister (the blonde) and my neice (the brunette of course!). You don't see us all gussied up very often!! We visited family and friends and had a nice week but we went this particular week for my oldest sister's wedding. The wedding turned out to be very nice and a nice time had by all. We clean up ok huh?!!

Before and After - Backyard

I've been wanting to do this for a while and I'm finally getting to the first and I hope to do a few more. I'm having a hard time finding the "before" pictures that I wanted which tells me we need a new system for archiving our pictures as we can't find anything that we are looking for! I did my best so here's a few before and after's of our backyard. When we bought this house we loved the house but were concerned that the backyard was too small for what we wanted to do. Now that it's done, we love it. We love to sit out on the patio for coffee in the morning and use the table area to eat in the early evenings. Our backyard isn't as big as most of our neighbors backyard's but it has everything we want so we are happy!

BEFORE:

































AFTER:

OMG - YUM!!!

I just have to share my new discovery! I have just discovered the most wonderful liqueur. It is Domaine De Canton Ginger Liqueur and it is sooooo000 good! It's Cognac and a baby ginger infusion with some vanilla, honey, ginseng and mmm mmm mmm is it yummy. You have to really like ginger as it has a very strong ginger flavor. So far I've tried it straight on the rocks which is yummy and in a "Classic Ginger Martini" which is quite delicious! There are several more recipes that came with the bottle and are online as well. Hmmmm, the weekend is coming up and I see some experimentation in my future!!!

Hellooooooo

Hiya! I have recieved e-mails from a few people wanting to know where the pictures are and why I haven't posted for so long. Well, I um had a thing going on, um - ok, I have no good excuse! As LS said, I've been lazy about posting and she is right, I have been! So here is a post and a picture of Emily because she is just so darn cute! I take lots of pictures of her and they never seem to turn out very well but this one is great. How cute is she?!!

We were in Las Vegas for a few days last week. It was a family gathering for Glenn's sisters Master Degree graduation. We had a really good time seeing the family and we had some friends that just happened to be in Las Vegas the same time we were so we met up with them as well. We did a little shopping and had some great meals. We didn't go to a show but we went to the Bodies exhibition while we were there which was kind of cool. Not as creepy as you might think. We drove to Vegas and we brought Glenn's parents home with us so they were here for a few days visiting. They were here on my birthday (yesterday) and we went to an upscale mexican restaurant for dinner which was great. It is my new favorite mexican restaurant ever! Ok that's all for now. Talk to you again soo!

Stand By

Stand by for pictures coming soon! Yes, I've said that before but then our camera broke and we FINALLY bought a new one. We ordered it online and it should arrive today. Yay!! Once we get it and get everything all hooked up, I promise I'll post some pics.

July 10th Update:
I posted the above a couple weeks ago and I just discovered that it didn't make it to my blog. It was sitting in drafts. So, the camera is working (yay!) better after some tweaking. The initial pics were blurry then we fixed that and they were grainy. I think everything is set now. We just need to install the software so we can load the pictures. Yeah, we don't jump right into getting all this done but will. We have been VERY busy. My Mom and Nephew came for a visit on June 25th. They left June 28th and my friend Sarah arrived that same day. Sarah left yesterday, July 9th and my Dad arrives tomorrow and leaves the 14th. See? Very busy with guests. So, I'm going to enjoy our guests and then will get back to the pictures.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to my Daddio! I hope you have a wonderful day doing whatever you want to do. For my Dad, I'm thinking that will include enjoying a cold beer, playing with his dog Chi Chi and hanging out with Karima. Enjoy and I look forward to seeing you soon! Here is a Father's Day picture for you! Happy Fathers Day!!!

Party Time!

We have a "dinner" party in our neighborhood once a month. It rotates houses and the host prepares a main dish and everyone brings sides, appetizers, desserts, drinks, etc. It's a great way to meet neighbors and to stay in touch with people. We were quite happy to hear about this gathering when we moved here and we have been attending them each month since late last year. You get to socialize with the neighbors and eat and drink and then walk home! What a great neighborhood, huh?! Anyway, we volunteered to host a party and our party was last night. We had 30+ people and we had a Caribbean theme so we made jerk chicken, mango/rum glazed shrimp and rice and beans cooked in coconut milk. It was a great success! We were worried because the weather did not cooperate. It hasn't rained in months here and of course the day of our party, there was thunder and lightning and downpouring rain. It turned out ok. It was pouring down rain early but then it let up so Glenn could grill. It sprinkled a little bit more and then it cleared up and people were able to go outside. Since it had cooled down so much, we were able to use our new fire feature in the backyard which was a big hit. It was a good night and we are all cleaned up and ready to enjoy the long weekend. Hope you all have a great long weekend as well - Enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day

Just wanted to say Happy Mother's Day to my Momma. Hope you have a happy Mothers Day and I am excited to see you next month! Have a great day. Happy Mother's Day to all you other Mom's out there as well.

Busy, busy, busy

Oh boy, we've been busy lately. Last weekend we were at a neighborhood party on Saturday and on Sunday, we drove up north to see Glenn's cousin. Both were fun! This past weekend, our friends from PA Jeane and Bob were at our house and spent the night on Friday. It was so nice to see them, it was our first visitors from PA. We have a very nice visit and I hated to see them go home! On Saturday night, we went to a Cinco de Mayo party which was fun. Our friends went to an auction a few months ago and got a guitar player for 3 hours so they scheduled him to come for the party. He was great! He sang all alternative music songs which is what we mostly listen to so it was very fun. Sunday, we did almost nothing which was very nice. We ran an errand and then just hung out on the back patio and went swimming and just hung out. The pool was up to 83 degrees - pretty nice! Speaking of the pool, how about a picture?!!!

This is a picture from when my sister was here visiting. She finally sent me all her pictures so I have some pictures to post finally! Our backyard is under major construction right now so when it is done at the end of the week, those pots next to the pool will have sago palms in them and the end will have plants. And the big change is the other side of the yard that was just all dirt. I have a before picture and I'll get an after picture and show you. I can't wait for it to be done!

Happy Birthday!

Today is Glenn's Birthday! Happy Birthday to you Darling!!! We are headed out to dinner tonight with friends to a place we've been wanting to try. We will be sitting outside on the patio enjoying the lovely evening. Should be nice!

This isn't a very good picture (taken from a cell phone) but here is a picture of the birthday cake I made. I made a rich chocolate cake and to put between the layers, I made chocolate mousse and I frosted it with chocolate ganache and decorated the top with chocolate curls. I added orange zest to the cake when I made it so it had a yummy dark chocolate/orange flavor. It turned out quite nicely if I do say so myself!

Spring in the Desert

It is very pretty here with all the spring colors! There is a lot of green in the hills from all the rain we had a few months ago. And driving around the last few weeks, I've noticed all the prickly pear cactus have buds on top and the last week or so they have all been blooming. It's very pretty! Down the center of the roads in our neighborhood, they have trees that are all in bloom in bright yellow and then under them, lots of prickly pear cactus that have bright orange blossoms on them. I of course don't have a camera to take a picture but I found this one on the internet that looks just like the yellow trees and the blooms on the cactus only these blooms look closed and the ones around here are all open and beeeutiful!!

It's heating up!

We have had some beautiful weather lately. In the 80's mostly but the last couple days have been in the mid 90's! Yesterday afternoon I wanted to take a dip in the pool but it was only 72 degrees, a bit chilly to go in just yet. We have been in a few times in the last couple weeks but we turned the heater on for a bit before going in. It isn't warm enough yet to maintain that temperature. It's going to cool back down to the 80's this week which is fine with me. All too soon, the hot hot hot temperatures will be here. We had friends in town from Seattle over the weekend and they were loving the warm weather! They did lots of sun bathing by the pool. They said it was soooo nice to be in the warm weather.

Who turned the lights off?!!

We ordered window coverings (blinds and shutters) a couple weeks ago for all our windows - finally! Today we got the blinds and wow, what a difference! Not only do they look nice, but when they are closed it is SO dark in here! We have had those temporary paper blinds on the window for so long, I'm used to all the light that comes in. When the blinds were installed, he left them closed. I walked into the living room and it was so dark! I opened all the blinds up to let some light in. I was worried about the color we chose and whether we would like it etc but no worries - I love them! They are wood blinds with nice and wide 2.5 inch slats. Pretty!! The shutters for the front of the house aren't here yet but they should be up in a couple weeks. The house is coming along...........

Coming Soon - Pictures! And No April Fooling Story

I know, I've promised to post pictures before but that was before I realized our camera was broken. But, I should be able to post some pics soon since my sister is a picture taking crazy woman!!! She has taken lots of pictures and I asked her to send them to me when she gets home. So, assuming she does, I'll have some pics soon.
So, the not so fun stuff is that my sister and her fiance were headed up north for a few days and then will return to our house tomorrow. Anyway, in preparation for their trip up north, they packed some stuff in their suitcases. Their rental SUV was parked in our driveway and he took one suitcase out to the car and loaded it in the back. Came back in for the next suitcase and we chatted a bit and I wished them a good trip. A minute or so later they rang the doorbell. I answered and asked what did you guys forget? They told me their suitcase had been stolen. Yeah, yeah, April Fools right? We had been joking with each other earlier that morning with April Fools Day jokes. But, they weren't kidding. When he loaded the first suitcase in the back of the SUV, the back was left open as he came in to finish up and grab the other suitcase. While we were all inside, someone stole his suitcase from the back of the SUV. We were shocked that something like this would happen in our neighborhood let alone right in our driveway!! The neighborhood is very nice, quiet, kind of secluded. We would never think that we need to warn people not to leave something in their car in our driveway. It is a new neighborhood and there are still a lot of people in and out. Construction people, landscaping people, pool builders etc, etc so you don't really know who is in and out of here. What a total bummer. I guess you just never know and should always be on the lookout. We will now be very careful about leaving anything out. I'm just sorry that my guests had to be the victim of someone's stupid crime.

More Visitors

As I mentioned in my last post, my sister arrives tomorrow for a week long visit. And at the end of April, our friends Bob and Jeanne will be in AZ. We just found out today that friends from Seattle will be coming down to visit the second weekend in April. And, Glenn's cousin will be in town the third weekend in April. Lots of visitors - fun! So,when are you all coming to visit?!!!

It's all Done!!

The painting is all done! Wow, professional painters work fast. It's a bunch of money but for a huge space that needs to be painted, it is worth it. I also suck at painting so when we have painted in the past, poor Glenn gets stuck with most of it. I usually start out helping but then he says he will finish it.
So, today the master bedroom was finished and I was afraid to look at our dark brown accent wall but I walked in and it looks great! I can't wait to put the room back together. So, come visit me and I'll show you!!
Speaking of visitors, my sister arrives on Friday with her fiance who I have not yet met. We are looking forward to them visiting and hanging out with them. And then a few weeks later, our friends Jeanne and Bob will be in AZ to visit family and we get to hang out with them while they are here too. Can't wait!!

Color!

We are having the interior of the house painted finally! It has been a very boring white since we moved in. The painter started today and got quite a bit done. It took us so long to choose a color and even the one we finally chose I was afraid I wouldn't like once it was all over the walls. It is now throughout a large portion of our house and..... I love it! It's so nice and feels so much more finished than it did before. The color is called Chaparral and it's like a khakish yellowish color. I like it a lot and can't wait until he is finished. Most of the house will be that color. The Master bedroom will be that with a dark brown accent wall. The powder room will be a color called Pumpkin Pie. Oh yeah baby, it's going to be nice!

Update on "Stuff"

We FINALLY have our front yard landscaped-YAY! Yep, after 6 months in our house and a front yard of just dirt, it is finally is landscaped which in Arizona means rocks, boulders and plants. No grass allowed per the HOA. I would take a picture to show you but our digital camera is broken.
I was all excited a week or two ago because we decided on a paint color and lined up a painter to paint the interior of our house. It's all builders white right now, very boring and I am anxious to get it done. However, we've been stalled trying to get our color matched in the paint brand that our painter and everyone we've talked to seems to recommend. I never dreamed it would be this hard to match a paint color. We're trying a couple other colors this weekend. Hopefully we will have some success!
We bought new chairs for our kitchen counter area. I was excited to get them and now I can't decide if I like them or not. The chairs themselves are very nice but not sure they go in the house. I'm a bit challenged when it comes to decorating so I'm not sure but they are very dark wood (they almost look black). Not sure. I would post a picture but our digital camera is broken.
A couple weeks ago, we were shopping and found this really pretty decorative huge copper plate. We bought it and put it up on top of our kitchen cabinets and I love it! We decided that plates will be the theme up there. I found another one that is a glass plate with gold and red colors. Love it too! I'd take a picture for you but our digital camera is broken.
Several people have asked if we've been swimming and the answer is no, not yet. It has been 80 degrees all week so we will probably get it heated up and then start using it soon. We have been in the hot tub a few times in the last week. Ahhhh so refreshing. I know I owe you a picture of the pool as well. I haven't posted one since it was finished. I would post one now but our digital camera is broken.
And lastly, guess what? Our darn digital camera is broken. Can you believe it?!!

Dave who?

How weird is this. My Mom is married to Dave. My younger sister is married to Dave. My older sister is geting married in September to - yep, Dave! How am I supposed to keep track of them? They're everywhere!!!!!

Ahhhh, 80

It's February 27th and I had on capri's and flip flops today, wow! Flip flops in February! It was 82 degrees today which is the first time it has hit 80 since Thanksgiving. It was so darn nice outside today! It will cool back down to normal for this time of year (low to mid 70's) which is also pretty darn nice. I am looking forward to it getting just a bit warmer and being able to get in the pool again. I wish for a bit warmer although, I know that all too soon, it will be unbearably hot. I will enjoy this temperate weather while it's here! And also the fact that winter was cool but no ice, no snow, no white knuckle drives on slippery roads.

Pictures

I've been promising a few people a picture of the pool for quite some time. I had no excuse for not taking it and getting it posted. Just hadn't done it. Last weekend, I got the camera and went to take the picture and get it posted - finally. Well, it seems our digital camera is broken. I can look at pictures we've taken but when I move the switch to take a picture, the screen is just black with white lines running through it. Dang! I guess we are now in the market for a new camera. I will get some pictures posted eventually!

Happy Valentine's Day - he he he

A few years ago we started a new Valentine's tradition and we have so much fun with it. Do you ever walk through the store and see all the Valentine's crap that is out there? You look at it and wonder who the heck buys this stuff? Well, we do now! The tradition now is to buy each other the tackiest thing we can find. Every year it seems I find something and I walk through the store giggling thinking of the reaction I will get when I give it to him. We then give each other our "gifts" and we laugh and laugh and decide who got the tackiest gift. Ok, call us crazy but it is fun. We stopped going out to dinner several years ago because it seems the whole world is out to dinner on Valentines Day. We'd rather go when it's not so busy and rushed. We don't want/need chocolates or sweets so that's out. So our new tradition is fun and we know what we're looking for when buying each other a Valentine gift!!

I'm Clueless

Holy Cow, I logged in and saw my last post. Has it really been since New Year's that I have posted anything? Wow, time flies.
This weekend, we went to a furniture store to pick up a table we had ordered a month or so ago. We went in and paid for the table and did the paperwork (which took a while because they couldn't find it) and looked around etc. As we left, Glenn and our friend Duane were commenting on someone in the store and that they thought he lived in New York and wondered if they had a place here. Huh, what are you guys talking about. Who? Apparently, Ice T and Coco were in the store. I was standing right next to them and didn't even know anyone else was there. This is not a big store and there were only 3 cars in the parking lot including ours. I've had this happen before where someone I'm with sees someone famous and I never saw them. New rule: If you are with me and there is a famous person around you have to tell me!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to you all! We had a nice New Year's Eve. Our friends Duane & Stephanie came over and we did drinks, fondue and a movie - fun! This is a picture of me and Stephanie with our green martini's. What makes them green you ask? Well, those are avocado martini's. Yep, kinda weird huh?! I know you are thinking yuck and we weren't too sure either but wait, they were really good! Stephanie had heard someone talking about avocado martini's and told me and it was intriguing so I had to try it. They were surprisingly delicious! They tasted creamy from the avocado and didn't really have an avocado flavor. The ingredients are avocado's, lime juice, simple syrup and vanilla vodka. The rim of the glass is dipped in a mixture of sugar and salt. Again, surprisingly delicious! So, they are on the sweet side which sounds weird for avocado's but there are some countries where they eat avocado's sweetened with sugar and make avocado mousse, shakes etc. It was so good we each had a second drink! Try it sometime!!!

Avocado Martini:

2 ounces vanilla vodka

1 1/2 to 2 ounces avocado puree (puree 4 avocado's with 3 to 4 ounces of lime juice and a pinch or two of sugar and salt)

1 ounce simple syrup

1 ounce lime juice

Shake in a martini shaker filled with ice cubes. Rim martini glass with a mixture of sugar and salt (I used about equal parts, maybe slightly heavier on the sugar). Enjoy!