Diary of a Quixotic Artist...What IS she thinking???

"Seriously?" or "The Freeway IS NOT Your Personal Potty"

2009-07-07T16:08:00.000-07:00

I was driving down the freeway towards the beach. There's this part where it ends and becomes a major boulevard. As I near this section, to my left is the emergency shoulder, which is roughly 2 cars wide. I see this white SUV pulled over to the side of the road. There's this girl who appears to be in her 20's, wearing one of those little sundresses one would throw on over a bathing suit, running around the car like she's really upset. At this point, I'm thinking she has a flat tire or something. I actually thought about pulling over and calling AAA for her because she looked positively frantic.

Bear in mind there's a LOT of traffic so I'm inching along next the vehicle. I can see her peering in through windows in a panic. Now I'm thinking she locked her kid in the car or something. I drive a few feet forward and as I do this, I can see through my driver's side mirror that the front passenger door has opened. I am relieved to know that there's someone w/ her and that she isn't locked out.

That's when I see it...still through my sideview mirror...

This chick gets in front of door, I'm assuming to block the view of traffic passing the SUV. However, anyone driving past and looking back can SEE HER. She gets in front of the door, LIFTS her skirt, pulls her little yellow bikini bottoms down and SQUATS DOWN to PEE ON THE SIDE OF THE FREEWAY. Ladies and gentlemen, she's doing this IN FRONT OF RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC!!!!

The best part? Right in mid-flow, as it were, a CHiPpie pulls up on his motorcycle behind the SUV, lights flashing. You can actually see the officer doing the 'WHAT THE HECK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?' motions as the girl is rapidly trying to pull her bottoms up. Her male companion is making signs like he's trying to explain himself.

Now, I don't know what happened after this because traffic began moving again. One thing's for sure. I bet that girl never does that again. Seriously, I don't care how bad you have to go, you just don't do that sort of thing where EVERYONE, LITERALLY under the sun can see you. Good gawd, I don't know what gets into some people!

Ren Faire 2009

2009-05-19T11:29:00.000-07:00

We finally made it to the Renaissance Faire...on closing day! :-) I wanted to get Chris' costume started, but unfortunately we couldn't find the items he wanted. All we walked away with were pants in a nice shade of green. I'm kind of glad we didn't impulse shop because I've been looking around the net and found a lot more cooler options for the character he wants to be.

There's nothing like spending a nice day at the Faire w/ your family. I loved seeing all the different costumes and characters that people came up with. I have only ONE complaint.

Ladies, seriously. Wench outfits are sexy, you're meant to show cleavage, BUT quite frankly it's pretty gross when you've squished and squeezed your ample breasts out SO MUCH that the blue veins in your mammary glands look like they are about to explode . You women know who I'm talking about. Seriously, it's neither fun, nor sexy. It just looks POSITIVELY PAINFUL!!! PLEASE STOP THE MADNESS!

Whew! Ok, I've had my say.

Among our highlights of the day...watching 2 great shows: The Kondor Bros (a juggling act) and of course, The Van Kleaver Bros (a comedy/knife throwing act who we are great fans of). Both were amazing and very funny. If you ever get a chance to see them, I highly recommend it. I was joking around that I'd love to get the Van Kleaver Brothers for my birthday party next year. hehehe

I have to say, one of my favorite parts is dressing up. I'm hoping that the next time we go, Chris will be decked out. People who were dressed up kept razzing the poor guy saying he was 'naked' ... I'm assuming because they couldn't 'see' his modern clothes? :-p So my mission is to get him outfitted...then maybe work on a new one for me. I'm wavering between a 'huntress' or maybe something exotic...like tribal. hmmmm

Enjoy the slide show. I hope I put the code in right. :-D

Happy Birthday to ME :-)

2009-03-07T09:26:00.000-08:00

First I have to say, THANKS EVERYONE for all the birthday wishes. I did have a wonderful birthday. :D

Chris is the bestest ever! He took us out for an early bday dinner at Cheesecake Factory...he even 'made' me buy a slice of the "30th Anniversary Chocolate Cheesecake" to take home. Man that place has HUGE portions. I could only finish half my meal. We ended up sharing that slice of cheesecake the next day, but mmmm...so delish!

Anyways, he took my actual birthday off from work so that I could sleep in. Do you know, that boy got up at 5am, baked me a birthday cake, frosted it, made the kids breakfast, packed their lunches and then took them to school? When he got home, he even made me breakfast! We were gonna go for a hike on the jetty for the picnic lunch we couldn't do on our anniversary, but alas, the weather was rainy. Instead we went out for clam chowder. :)

This is the cake. I wanted German chocolate w/ the coconut frosting. he made it half that and half milk chocolate. Yeah, I know, one side looks like its barfing. We think it was just the kind of frosting he bought cuz the other side was fine. hehehe

Oh and did I mention? Our lease is up in a couple of months for my jeep. It just so happens that between dealer incentives and sales (and the fact that we have a friend that works at dealership...hehe) he paid off our lease early and BOUGHT A NEW CAR!!! YahooBear is so cute...he wanted to make it so that we could call it my 'birthday car'. He asked me what I wanted to name it, and we both said "WESTLEY!" at the same time. We are big "Princess Bride" fans here. When it came time to open my real present, he kept joking that it would go perfectly with my car. He said he didn't mean it to be that way since he bought it well before we thought of buying this car. Y'all, it was a Dread Pirate Roberts action figure! :lol

The family car (because I hate calling it 'just mine') is a Chevy Traverse, which is a SUV Crossover. It's got loads of room, and gets amazing mileage. I just have to get used to driving a slightly bigger car than my Jeep was. ;)

Yes, overall, a wonderful birthday...it would have been even w/o the Traverse. I love that guy ☺♥☺

Valentine's Day... can you feel the love?

2009-02-19T09:35:00.001-08:00

Yes, I know Valentine's day was five days ago, but I gotta say, it was a pretty cool day. First of all, the biggest thing is that it's also my Lola's birthday. She turned 95. EVERYONE who could make it was in town to celebrate. We're talking most of her 10 children, a lot of her 31 grandchildren and lots of her great-grandkids.

I woke up early so I could get ready for the day and also bake heart-shaped brownies for my family. I let the cool by the sink on a rack and turned my back to put another batch in the oven. Next thing I know, I hear this *CRASH* I turn around and Tink is sitting in the sink w/ the brownies dumped over on the other side of the sink. Her eyes are huge saucers that speak volumes of "Oh $h!t, I'm in trouble now!"

Needless to say she was. I unceremoniously picked her up by the scruff of the neck and tossed her on the ground. It wasn't til later that I realized it was her birthday, too...Her FIRST! (Yes, indeed, Tink is a Valentine's day kitty.) I was thinking maybe she thought the brownies were hers? hehe

Later that morning, my sister and I met our cousins at "The Beach House" for brunch. Our cousin, Mary, set the whole thing up because we rarely get to see each other. It was a blast catching up and also meeting their spouses...our newest cousins. I love that our cousins picked the most amazing people to marry. They're all so perfect for each other and I'm glad to finally have met everyone :-) There was lots of laughter, so much so that even our waitress couldn't help but laugh and joke as she served us. You gotta love my family :-)

That afternoon, Luz and I went over to the restaurant to decorate for Lola's party. Pretty soon the whole room was filled w/ heart-shaped balloons, sparkly decorations...and PEOPLE...LOTS of PEOPLE! We have a pretty large family just on my mom's side. Lola has 10 children, about 31 grandchildren and countless great-grands. Even two of Lola's sisters were there with a few of their kids. I think she was pretty overwhelmed w/ the crowd, but I think she loved it judging by the huge smile she had the entire time.

There's more pics of the party here. Everyone had a great time.

I should add one more thing. When we got home, Chris gave me some Valentine's day cards. I say 'cards' because he bought several of them. He told me he had a hard time deciding which one to buy because they were all perfect. I'm smiling now because they were pretty cute and funny :-)

THen there was one more. From Tink.
The Front:

Inside:

Love Transcends Distance

2009-02-13T20:23:00.000-08:00

I read this amazing story today on MSN: "Boy Photoshops a Girl: A Flickr Love Story". It just goes along w/ what I believe about Soulmates and fate. Here are two people who live thousands of miles apart across an ocean, but meet each other, of all places, on Flickr.com. Her friends noticed they had a similar photography style. Around that same time, he just happened to notice her work, too, and contacted her.

I won't go into too much detail, but what I love is that they started emailing back and forth due to their common talents in photography. This lead into an incredible collaborative project. You have to check out their page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aknacer/sets/72157605881081844/

The rest is history. My romantic heart hopes that everything works out for them so they can be together :-)

Whew! FINALLY, I did it!

2009-01-26T17:38:00.000-08:00

Yes, boys and girls, yours truly has FINALLY updated her website. Please feel free to look around.

Here's a list of what I've updated:
*Events Page...I've got a solo show at Alta Coffee Co. throughout February
*Henna Page...I re-vamped and organized. It needed to be done really, really bad. Awesome thing is that I figured out how to embed my flicker slideshow.
*Soulmate Fantasy Paintings...I separated body of works. I had to start a new section for 2008 to present ;-)
*AND A new Henna Bio...I know there are potential clients who wonder how long I've been in the business. Can you believe it's been 10 YEARS???? WOW!

That's the big news. There ya go. Have fun looking :-)

Oh yeah! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! It's the Year of the Ox :-)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

2009-01-05T12:00:00.001-08:00

Goodbye hellish 2008 and welcome 2009!!!

I'm not sure how everyone out there is feeling, but I'm SO OVER 2008. As I said in my last post, it was not the best year ever. Sure, some of it was good, but all the health issues for everyone. Sheesh!

Too many people I care about had bad mogumbo going on. IF it wasn't hospitalization, it was a death. It just seemed like too much all at once, and all in one year.

SO...my wish for you is that this year brings incredible joy, health, abundance, and peace.

Love,
Me

Ahhh, Yet Another Milestone for my 40th year...and New Year's Eve

2008-12-31T12:24:00.001-08:00

So I finally did it yesterday. It may be TMI, but I took "the girls out and got 'em smashed". That's what one of my Ya-Ya friends calls it. Yes, its the inevitable thing that every woman has to do starting their 40th year. BahBumBUUUMMMM...Mammogram.

I must admit, it wasn't too bad. Uncomfortable, as others have told me, but not unbearable. Anyone who has to get this done should be lucky enough to get theirs done w/ a great tech like I did. Gentle, talked you through it and then you're all done. She even showed me what the images looked like. Its pretty wild how far technology has come along that you can actually see every detail in the digital images. Freaky, but very cool. :-) That's done, things look good. So, I'm all good :-D

It's New Year's Eve...HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!! I hope this year brings health, happiness and prosperity to you and your loved ones. I really do hope the new year is much, MUCH better than 2008. I've had too many people who I care about around me who've had serious health issues or even deaths in the family(ies). I'm wishing everyone the best...throwing out positive energy and vibes to all of you!!! :-D

<3 Lernie

I love this...

2008-12-23T17:15:00.000-08:00

I got to go down to San Clemente to visit with my friend, Cheryl. The girls and I took some Christmas cookies and her presents and had breakfast with her. Afterwards, we 'had' to wander up and down Del Mar checking out the cool shops along the way. There's a neat little shop there called Erba that has all kinds of delicious smelling lotions, soaps, candles and things made from herbs. You walk in there and lovely scents greet you as you walk through the door. Lemongrass, lavender, passionfruit...mmmmmm!

Amongst these items, there are other bits and pieces, like books, stationary, aprons...and signs. Being that I love all things Irish...plus I'm the sap of the year...I LOVED this one:

It totally made me smile. Isn't that the most perfect sentiment to people you really care about this season? *happy sigh* :-D

Stay outta the doghouse!!!

2008-12-07T12:12:00.000-08:00

In light of Holiday buying. Just something for you guys to think about. Pretty dang funny , I have to say: Here's the Video

Small Update on Lola

2008-12-02T08:19:00.002-08:00

Lola is still in the hospital. She actually went home the same day I last wrote about. Unfortunately, the next evening she had to be checked back in. Her Glucose levels were through the roof and she appeared to be very shocky. Not good.

Long and short of it is that she's also having a hard time swallowing. It's to the point that those reflexes aren't working anymore. The unfortunate outcome is that she now has a feeding tube. My mom, her brothers and sisters only agreed to allow that to be put in because they couldn't see NOT doing it since Lola is very alert. She's not your usual case where she's not all there and doesn't know what's going on. She's VERY MUCH THERE. They felt it was better to do that because they could see...all of us can, that she's actually fighting to live. My Lola is amazing.

I was there a few days ago w/ my sister. We had our kids with us because Lola loves to see her grandkids and great-grandkids. She laughed as they hugged her hello. We talked w/ her a little bit, but there were periods where she would burst into tears. Lu and I figured out she was trying to say,"Look at me. Look at this thing they put on me. Look at my arm. I'm a mess".

You see, Lola, while not a vain woman, took a lot of pride in her appearance. She was all about keeping everyone and everything neat and tidy. We sort of worry that one of the reasons she's fighting to live is because she's afraid of what's on the other side. Will my Lolo be there waiting? Will he see her as she is now?

When it was time for us to go, we all gave her a kiss and hug goodbye. It was a goodbye til we could visit again, not goodbye because she's going to die. Still, when Lu went to kiss her, Lola began to cry again. Both of us stayed longer trying to comfort her and make her understand that she' be ok and that we'd come back to visit as soon as we could. We finally got her calmed down before we left.

Today she's still at the hospital. I'm going to try to go down and visit her.

Another "What was I thinking???" moment

2008-12-02T08:14:00.000-08:00

Knitting. Yes, I do dig the art form these days. I especially love making things for people I care about. BUT what is one to do when she wants to make A LOT of presents for people but has NO TIME!!!

Last year, I picked out patterns that were a snap to finish. We're talking 1-2 day projects. I tried to do the same this year, but for one thing, this Laminaria shawl I'm currently working on is taking freaking FOREVER! I like the pattern a lot, but will I be able to handle knitting another one? My mom really, REALLY wants one for Christmas. This means whatever other projects I'm making for other people (and there are at least 4 others on my list) have to be done around said shawl. This includes my Dad's scarf.

It's 12/2 so I've got what, 22 days to finish this stuff? Can I make it? oh dear...

My Lola...Random Musings

2008-11-20T11:36:00.000-08:00

Just felt like talking about my Lola. ("Lola" is what Filipinos call their Grandmothers)

My Lola is my maternal grandmother who's 94. She was born on Valentine's day,which is pretty appropriate for her personality. She's a very loving person...her world was about taking care of her family. She was all about taking care of her 10 children and later, her 32 grandkids. Her initial stroke was a pretty bad one, back when I was about 17. It left her paralyzed on her right side. The damage to her brain was such that she can't really speak very well and what does come out is Tagalog. This isn't to say that she doesn't understand us when we're talking in English to her. She really does, and at 94, there's still a whole lot of mischief in those eyes.

Lola has been in the hospital since Saturday. Apparently her blood sugar got very low, and I'm not getting the full story, but she ended up at the hospital. Long and short of it is that I found out about this on Tues, but couldn't go to visit her til yesterday. My mom had been worried about her eating, and though the staff at this hospital is A LOT better than the last hospital she was in, Mom said she felt better if I could help feed her. Lola has a way of tricking people into thinking she's eating, but she's not. I'll get to that later.

When I initally found her in her room, someone had propped her up in a chair w/ a bunch of pillows. She didn't know I was there until I was standing right in front of her. Once she realized I was there, her eyes lit up and she kept saying "Talaga? Talaga!" which means "Really? Really!" From then on she was all smiles. She tried to ask about my girls. She does this by motioning w/ her good hand what she thinks their height is. Our conversations are always like that...hand motions, broken tagalog, me trying to interpret what she wants to communicate.

I refuse to play the "Who Am I, Mommy?" game that my mother does with her. I KNOW Lola's cognitive function is completely intact. You can see it in her eyes. If you tell her a funny story from when you were a kid, she'll laugh and shake her finger at you, as if to say, "oh I remember that. You were a handful". Besides which when she sees me, she's able to sometimes get out "Lehhhr...Ler...LERNIE!" Personally, and my sister confirms this, I believe she's messing w/ all 10 of her children when she acts like she doesn't know who they are.

For example, on my 39th bday, we were walking around the Descano Gardens when I got a call from my sister. She told me Lola had had another mild stroke, but that she was asking for me. I asked her how she knew that, to which she said, "She's asking for you and Chris (my cousin who shares the same birthday with me). She keeps saying 'Lernie....Chris....birthday'". Lola is really big on remembering EVERYONE'S birthday. She will make sure that each and every one of her kids and grandkids gets a birthday card. She'll even try to sign the card in her shakey writing. My sister went on to tell me that our mom, uncles and aunts were all crowded into the hospital room doing the "Who Am I MOmmy?" game. Lola kept shaking her head and shrugging her shoulders. Finally my mom pointed to my sister and said, "Mommy, who's this?" Lola laughed and replied, "uh...um...LUCY!" My mom got all excited and asked her who she was again, to which Lola laughed again, "Uh...MOMMY SE LUCY!!!" (Mommy of Lucy)

See? Pure mischief. So here's where her mischievous side comes into play when feeding her. She tucks the food into her cheek like a chipmunk and when you least expect it, she spits it up. I kid you not. Then she looks at you like "ah-HAH! gotcha!" Yesterday, I'm happy to say, she ate all her soup, half the chicken and a bit of mashed potatoes. When I asked her if she wanted any of the carrots, she gave me one of her squishy "I don't want it" faces. I laughed a little there and told her, "Hey, Lola! When we were little, you wouldn't let us get away with that!" She just laughed back at me.

As I was feeding her, I just kept looking at Lola's face. She's still really beautiful. Yes, her hair is now mostly white and there are a few wrinkles around her eyes, but for the most part, her skin is very smooth still. I thought about how as each of her children had their own first child, she embroidered each layette with "Baby ___". How her and Lolo would always make a point of spending several weeks/months w/ each of their children's families to help take care of Grandkids. I remember how she was an amazing cook. How she always knew just what favorite Filipino dish each of us kids liked.

Lola should be going home today. I'll call my mom to find out more later. I just wanted to share my thoughts about her. Thanks for reading...

Sheesh...of all things how could I forget?

2008-11-14T08:40:00.000-08:00

I was just reading through my last blog about the Thyrogen body scan. It occurred to me that I forgot to mention what the outcome was. Ugh! Chalk it up to my swiss cheese memory.

The results were outstanding! Turns out that 1 of the 3 remaining cells has disappeared. I can't remember the actual terminology, but at any rate, that's great news. Also, Dr. M changed my meds to 125mcg Levoxyl vs. the alternating 112 and 125 every other day. That was a huge pain.

ALSO, looks like we won't have to irradiate those cells. That's even more awesome news for me because that means I won't have to be off meds and on that stupid low iodine diet for three weeks again. WOOHOO!!!! :-D

So that's the scoop.

The Art of Food and Wine...

2008-11-13T11:09:00.000-08:00

I finally got a chance to sit down and finish writing about this past weekend. This was the first time I'd ever done an event like this and it was just an amazing experience. Kempersports coordinated the event and I must say, they did a great job! Chris and I were worried about logistics and how to load in...was it going to be a total melee. Nope. Not one hitch. In fact, there were people running around HELPING everyone unload w/ those electric carts.

Check out the signs they made for me. I knew that they were going to make signs, but I wasn't expecting this quality. I love that they even put me on the artist schedule along w/ my booth location.

Chris and I standing in front of my booth space. Looks pretty good, right?

Me doing henna on one of the guests:

This is one of my buddies, Rich Flynn. When Jason invited me to be a part of this festival and explained to me what it was about, I booked right away. Then I called him back and told him about Rich. Since he's "Painter of the Moment", I thought he'd be great at the Art of Food and Wine. Jason agreed and booked him.

I think this was great exposure for me and I really enjoyed doing henna on everyone. The networking between different vendors was great, too. I should add that this is the first real show that Chris has been with me at from start to finish. I have to say, I think my guy has a bit of a talent for networking, too ;-) hehehe Best part of all, I was able to combine both of my businesses that I love...my painting AND my henna. Yeah!!!

I hope they invite me back next year...(HINT HINT, Jason and Amy at Kempersports... ;-D )

Major Bean got a MAJOR AWARD!

2008-11-11T18:53:00.000-08:00

Onto more of how my week went. First and foremost...STRESS...yes, loads of stress. This weekend was all about preparing for the "Art of Food and Wine in Palm Desert" show where I was invited to do henna and show my art work. In the midst of this my FIL had a seizure while driving. I won't go into detail about that, but the long and short of it was that my in-laws are all ok and Dad is on the mend.

Happy news:
Bean was back in town for a convention, literally down the street from where we live! I haven't seen him in a couple of years and have been missing my lil bro a lot. He was able to find time to hang out w/ us between classes, etc. so that was really cool. Best part of it was that there was time to attend his awards ceremony where he received the Young Leadership Award from the Air Force. Reading through his bio in the program, I realized how much he'd been doing for our country. Just amazing! We're all really proud of him, that's for sure.

For those of you who are wondering why in the world we call him "Bean"...
Well, anyone who has ever been around Filipino families will notice that our relatives who were born and raised in the Philippines have a huge accent. Among other things, they get their P's and F's mixed up, as well as their B's and V's. My brother's name is Vincent, but when Mom or Dad would call him, it would sound like "BEAN-CENT!!!" So, my sis and I started calling him Bean.

Yes, Girls, he IS single. He looks pretty good in his uniform, too ;-)

Yes...yes, I know I'm behind w/ my blogs

2008-11-11T18:16:00.000-08:00

So let's start with a few shares. Be forwarned that since I've been remiss in updating blogs, I've got A LOT to share. I really don't know who reads these things, but whoever does, I hope they amuse you ;-)

Halloween was a blast. The kids had their friends over for what was supposed to be a 'haunted tea party' a la "Sweeney Todd".

The idea was to have the look of Mrs. Lovett's pie shop and the kids were supposed to spook trick or treaters. Well, in usual teenage weirdness, they were more like this:
ToTers: TRICK OR TREAT!
Teens: So yeah...here's some candy
Toters: TRICK OR TREAT!!
Teens: yeah so like here's some candy. oh look how cute you are! (proceeds to give huge handfuls vs the 1 or 2 pieces to make the candy last through the night)

Needless to say we were out of candy in less than 1.5 hrs. There were many lil guys who didn't get any. (insert me rolling my eyes)

We had a little accident while Chris was lighting the pumpkins:

Our Traditional Ghosts in the Graveyard...the kids have told me that it's just NOT Halloween w/ this treat, Rice Krispies treats and a huge batch of my homemade spaghetti ;-)

We each had our carved pumpkins, but I had to share mine. It was supposed to be a scary cat face, but doesn't the negative space kind of look like 2 people dancing in flames? Yeah, seriously I didn't mean to do that...hahaha

Last but not least...me as my alter-ego, Talia the Sorceress. Isn't it freaky how my crystal ball is glowing like that? It was an accidental trick of the light....or WAS IT? mwahahahaha!

Whoohoo!!! :-D

2008-10-17T10:08:00.000-07:00

Just got back from my Body Scan. Sheesh! It took about an hour to do. This time around the scanner was a bit more enclosed than I remember the other ones being. At least it felt that way. Not sure how I did it, but I kept my claustrophobia under check. I kind of shut my eyes and thought about other stuff.

Once I was done, the tech told me I was free to go. No extra visit on Monday and...AND I get to go back to normal foods!!! YES!!! So, since it's still fairly early in the morning, 10am, I've gone and got myself an Iced Toffeenut Latte w/ Soy.

Currently, I'm sipping my drink as I type, relishing the wonders of soy, caffeine and Toffeenut syrup. hehe I should be starving for solid food, but I'm going to hold off til later so I can get a noodle plate at Great Khan. After these little splurges, I'm going to go back to eating healthy. I lost 4 lbs this week and I'd just as soon try to keep losing the weight while I can.

Artworkwise: Finished 1 piece and am working on another one. This is for the "Elements" series I'm doing. Fire, Water, and Air are finished. I've got the background for Earth done and just have to work on the figures/foreground.

Knitting: Took a break this week from doing anything. Mostly that was because I just wasn't feeling it. I'm going to start on a shawl next. This will be the first time I've done anything w/ lace-weight yarn. Should be an experience ;-)

Thyrogen...Smyrogen?

2008-10-16T09:40:00.000-07:00

This one's for anyone following me and my thyroid adventures. Whee.

My doc ordered a Thyrogen scan. The cool thing about this is that I'm not off my meds and on a low iodine for weeks. With this thing, you are only on a low iodine diet for about 5-6 days. We all know how much I truly abhor that seeing as how pretty much EVERYTHING out there has iodine of some sort in it. Reading labels and then second guessing myself is just not my cup of tea. However, the great thing is that I got to stay on my meds. Me, my family and anyone who comes into contact w/ the terrifying Sta-puff Marshmallow girl are thankful for that. I am a scary Dr. Jekyl/Mrs. Hyde when off meds. eek!

So going onto the THyrogen process. I'll be a little boring here, but I figured it might be important to anyone who will have to do this thing, too. I know I felt completely in the dark. It's a pretty new thing from what I understand. So new, in fact, that the nurses that gave me the Thyrogen injections weren't sure exactly why it was that I could stay on my meds before the actual scan. Try reading the literature on the actual site. yeah, not so easy to follow. Even the nurses said they were scratching their heads. Don't you wish that these drug companies would just write out their literature in plain English? I mean, seriously, it's the consumer that's going to want to read that stuff. Most of us haven't gone to med school either :P

So here's what I had to do:
Sunday...Start Low Iodine Diet
Monday...Thyrogen Shot at St. Joseph's Cancer Treatment Center
Tues...Another shot at St. Joe's CTC
Wed...Radioactive Iodine Isotope (RAI-131) Intake at St. Jo's Hospital Radiology (did I mention they make you take a pregnancy test whether or not you 'can get pregnant')
Thurs...hang out and don't hug or kiss anyone (this sucks because we are a very huggy family *sigh*) Oh, did I mention I have to be on a clear liquid diet from Lunch time til...
Friday...RAI Body Scan at St. Jo's Pavillions Then supposedly I get to eat NORMAL...WHOOHOO!!!

At this point, I'd like to make a remark about St. Jo's patient care. There may be a few wrinkles in some of the paperwork issues. (That's not completely their fault. That has a lot to do w/ how my Doc has a whole new group of front/back office workers who apparently can't get the hang of things.) St. Jo's patient care is AMAZING!!! Sure, I can be a little biassed. I've been around that hospital since I was a kid being that my mom is a doc w/ that hospital. Bear in mind, it's not like anyone knows who I am and that's why they're nice because none of these nurses or doctors knew me. They are just really cool people. :)

Anyways, just so those of you who may have this ordered know. The Thyrogen shot was ok, although I have to say, I felt like a kid again. I haven't had a shot in my rear since I was little, but that's where they have to give it to you. It's a prick, uncomfortable warmth of injection and then it's over. After that, they sit you down and let you rest for about 1/2 hr observation each time. This is in case you have a reaction to the shot.

This is where I make a remark again about the Cancer Treatment Center. Amazing. They make you feel completely at ease like you're talking to old friends. I think this is great when you're nervy about getting shots like me. Seriously. Here's the kicker. It's like you're in a spa of sorts. Don't laugh. I'm serious. They just opened this facility and it's gorgeous...reminds me of a resort hotel when you walk in. Anyways, I get in the room, which feels slightly like one of those quiet rooms at the spa. They sit you down in this comfy RECLINING chair with a bunch of pillows. They take your blood pressure, ask you questions, then have you stand up to get your shot. You get done with that and they have you get all comfy back in your chair. A volunteer came in and asked me if I wanted anything to drink like water, juice or a soda! Then the nurse asked if I needed anything else or if I wanted to watch the TV in the room. I'm not kidding, when I left there, I felt like I should have tipped the nurses. hehehe

St. Jo's Hospital was nice, too. Things have changed a lot since I was a kid...nicer Lobby...better flow for patient admission. Yes, I did have to get admitted even for this outpatient stuff.

Radiology was a LONG wait. There was this girl ahead of me who couldn't have been more than 15 or 16. I thought she was in the patient waiting room for something else, but nope, I found out she was in for thyroid stuff, too. Poor kid. So young and dealing w/ this junk. I was young, too, when they found out I had Graves initially (21/22), but wow! Anyways, I was there for a couple of hours. Come to find out that the poor kid had a hard time swallowing the capsule. It took them 1/2 hr to finally get her to swallow it. That bites :(

So anyhoo...I'll be at St. Jo's Pavillions tomorrow. Should be uneventful. I hope. ;)

We Have a Boat!

2008-06-28T16:02:00.000-07:00

Chris has been wanting a boat for sometime now. In the last couple of months...well, let's just say from almost the beginning of the year, he has been doing all sorts of research and looking at used boats. At one point he was thinking of going in on a boat w/ our neighbor. Finally, he came home one day w/ all this info from Schock boats in Newport Beach. One thing lead to another and we now own this boat:

Shocking, huh? Who would've thought? It's a 17' Boston Whaler...seats 7 adults. Nice little boat. The loan papers were signed on Thurs and we took it home the same day. Great people at Schock, btw. Very knowledgible and totally non-pressure.

Chris wanted to take the boat out the very next day to break the engine in and just to have a family outing. Here's us getting ready to launch at Newport Dunes. There just happened to be practically no one there so no stress involved :-)

Here's Capt. Chris

Me cicking back and telling myself I'm not gonna be sick. hehehe

As we were traveling down the bay towards open water, we saw a Harbor Patrol boat in the distance. I jokingly asked if Chris knew anyone working the area. Next thing we know, the Patrol Boat lights up and pulls up next to us for inspection. Personally, I kind of liked that that happened our first day out. Made me feel better knowing that we had everything we needed for saftey's sake. The CLCGB's (Cute Little Coast Guard Boys) checked our saftety equipment out while we talked to the deputies on board...who it turns out, we'd both worked w/ at one point or another. :-)

We checked out fine so off they went and off we went. (my my, those little CLCGB's were cute. shhhh...don't tell Chris the 3 of us girls we looking. hahaha)

So we traveled a little further and finally got through past the jetty. The water was calm, air was nice and cool...felt great on that little boat. Finally we were out past the jetty when we saw this brown stuff on a buoy. Wondering what it was, we got up a little closer to discover that it was moving and not just moving, but SEALS!!!!! They were all sitting out there just sunning themselves and having a good ol' time. Totally cute!

We went out a little farther out along the coast. Chris was going at different speeds breaking in that engine. At one point we stopped to fish for a little here:

Overall, a great day. I just wish I'd done a better job at using my sunscreen. It was overcast, but I still got toasted on my upper thighs where the sun hit while I was sitting there enjoying the ride. OUCH! Aloe Vera is my friend :-p

Can't wait to get out on the boat again, that's for sure :-D

Tweakers and Cops in the wee Sma's

2008-06-21T11:59:00.000-07:00

The Bear and I didn't get to sleep til almost 2am this morning. Yes, it was THAT HOT last night. We finally got to sleep only to have a rude awakening at 0500. Someone was pounding on the door so Chris staggered over to answer it. There on the doorstep was Mr. Policeman with... get this OUR HOME PHONE (cordless) in his hand...yes, you read that right OUR HOME PHONE IN HIS HAND!

Turns out that someone hopped our fence, took the cordless phone out of my studio in the backyard and called 911 to report that he and his girlfriend had been robbed at gunpoint. Apparently she'd also been kidnapped. When the cops found this guy, he was roaming our neighborhood w/ our cordless phone in his hand. It took the cops a few mins to figure out which house the dude had gotten it from, but there Mr. Policeman was, at our front door.

The Bear and the cop went out to my studio to make sure nothing was missing. What's super weird is that nothing had been disturbed AT ALL. Where the phone is cradled, I have one of my Star Wars models balanced precariously on a stand. I was a bit amazed that nothing had been knocked over. What a nice, careful tweaker visitor!

Why am I calling the guy a tweaker? Well, the officer told us the 'victim's' behavior was somewhat suspicious and sketchy. Also, we found out that they'd located the 'missing girlfriend' who told the officers that she was alright and that no, nothing like that had happened. Hence, the tweaker suspicion. Nice, huh?

What bugs me is that whereas before, I thought at least my studio was safe. I don't always lock it. Now I'm all about using the locks. *sigh* Quite frankly, I shouldn't have to worry about that. I guess I have to now. Also, how incredibly creepy is it to know that there was someone ROAMING AROUND OUR BACKYARD LOOKING FOR A FREAKIN' PHONE!!!! HOLY CRAP!!!!

YARN!!!! WHEEE!!!!

2008-06-08T13:37:00.000-07:00

Not that I've gone to a lot of yarn 'Bag Sales'. I really haven't. This was my very first one. The LYS down here...Yarn Lady, had their semi-annual Bag Sale. I'd heard a lot about this sale so I decided to go.

There were free bags of bulk yarn hidden in these bins and you sort of had to 'dumpster dive' to find yarn you might like and these free bags. You got 1 free bag w/ your purchase for the day.

My free bag? well, first I should say the first freebie I found was kind of weird w/ odd yarn. They were sort of an orangy/browny/peachy selection. Really not up my alley, and apparently no one else's. I held that bag up and said, "hey! I found a free one! who wants!!" everyone looked up, made a face and went back to foraging for yarn. hahaha

Needless to say, I tossed it back. The 2nd freebie I found, I totally kept. It was a HUGE bag of Colinette Point Five. Now, I've never heard of the stuff, bear in mind, I'm knew to buying more expensive yarns. I'm usually a craft store shopper where the bargains are. However, now that I've discovered how yummy some of these yarns can be, I've slowly started picking up skeins here and there for special projects.

Anyways, when I found this bag, I was so excited! The colors are totally ME and there was the equivalent of 5 skeins of the stuff in there!!!! SWEET!!!

I won't post all the other stuff I found. Although they were pretty cool finds. I was just really excited to find the free yarn and then it be so awesome! I just have to think up something really nice to make w/ it. Maybe a knitting bag? Any ideas?

Prithee, whilst thou see mine magicked pictures?

2008-04-21T21:38:00.000-07:00

Hail and well met, mi Ladies and Lords!!!
Huzzah! ;D

Yesterday was Ren Faire Day for the family unit. I thought I'd share some pics w/ everyone :)

As we were walking in we saw a "Time Bandit" and some Merry Washing Wenches:

Then there were these brothers who insisted on 'cooking up' mischief w/ their cleavers. They were knife throwers/comedy act. That guy on the stage was from the audience. notice where they put the tankard to protect his 'goods' haha
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Even the horse was dressed for the fair:

Me and our girls in their very first Ren outfits that we bought for them there:

Busted!

Lords and Ladies feasting:

Chris was carrying the backpack that day...he didn't want us to have to mess up our costumes...cute, huh? Ah but at least he got his 'ale' while watching the joust :-D

Enjoy!

Check out which Jedi Master I am!

2008-04-11T10:46:00.001-07:00

What Star Wars Jedi or Sith character is most like your personality?
created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Qui-Gon Jinn

You are Qui-Gon Jinn; respected for your wisdom and strong connection to The Force yet considered unorthodox and defiant by the Jedi Council. You rescued Anakin Skywalker from Tatooine because you believed him to be The Chosen One.

You train the lightsaber form Ataru in which The Force is used to aid physical skill to achieve an amazing combination of speed, accuracy and acrobatics.

A diplomat before a warrior, you fell in battle to Darth Maul though your apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi avenged you. You were the first Jedi to achieve a preservation of personal identity after death.

Qui-Gon Jinn

100%

Mace Windu

89%

Yoda

86%

Luke Skywalker

86%

Obi-Wan Kenobi (Post Death of Qui-Gon Jinn)

79%

Obi-Wan Kenobi (Pre Death of Qui-Gon Jinn)

79%

Darth Revan

79%

Darth Sidious

68%

Bastila Shan

64%

Anakin Skywalker

57%

Count Dooku/Darth Tyranus

50%

Darth Vader

50%

Darth Maul

36%

Exar Kun

14%

So I'm OH-FISH-UHLEE FOUR-DEE!

2008-03-13T08:24:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have one big ball-o-hectic. So much so that I haven't even written about my little milestone. Yep, I turned the big 4-0...FOUR-OHHHH...FOUR-dee...hehehe :-D

I've heard of people feeling weirdness about this birthday for them. So far, I don't get it. It's a number. I'm healthy (fairly so, even w/ stupid thyroid issues) and pretty danged happy :-D Sure, the purple isn't covering some of those grays that insist on popping up here and there, but still, who cares? I'm just as goofy and off-the-wall as ever.

Here are my gratitudes at my ripe ol' age of (did I mention?) FORTY:
*I get to work on my art whenever I want.
*I've got a pretty good business that I enjoy.
*Said business doesn't make me rich, just comfortable.
*I've got two monkeys, who at just about 15 yrs old, have their teen-tudes, but are overall great kids.
*A husband who treats me like a goddess.
*Sense of Humor...sometimes I need this to get me through rough spots. You know what they say, "Laughter is the best medicine". :-D

There's a bunch more stuff, but those are the main things that popped into my head.

So wanna know how I celebrated? Well, when Chris asked me what I wanted to do, I asked him to throw me a party. I haven't had a birthday party since we've been married. Normally, I just like us to do something together. This year I wanted to do something really fun since...well, I'm "FOUR-dee". So I asked him to incorporate a couple of things I dig. Star Wars and Monkeys.

Check out the theme to said party. "Curious George Lucas" Bday. hahaha!!

All the decorations were Curious George and Star Wars themed. There was even a crazy balloon fight that the kids all had in the living room. There was alcohol for the adults, but after the party, we realized that not very much had been drank. All that laughter was from pure fun!

My "cake"...Chris baked cupcakes and the girls decorated them:

The Balloon fight: (from Marinna's camera) http://youtube.com/watch?v=1rtv5FVtZbM

It was great celebrating with friends and family.