Honey, I'm home!

I can't believe I've been gone for 9 months! Sheesh, I could have had a BABY in that time. Thank goodness I didn't...Lord knows I'm too old and way too busy for a baby. Now a grand-baby?  Maybe one of these days.

So, where did we leave off?  Oh yes, I do believe it was February.  Where oh where do I start.  Well, it's been a VERY busy year.  I'll do my best to catch up and not bore anyone to tears.

The most exciting thing that has happened all year is that my beautiful oldest daughter, known here as "Bear" got married in April.  Crazy, isn't it? I'm WAY too young to have a daughter of marrying age, right?  Hardly! Bear got married to her fiance Barry (I did NOT make that up.) and it was a lovely, perfect wedding.

We were all thrilled that everything came together beautifully. It was both exhilarating and a huge relief at the same time. 

After the wedding, we slid into a very warm summer.  Sometime in mid May, Kona managed to tear his CCL (the dog equivalent to our ACL)  He had to have knee surgery on July 9th.  Not fun, not fun at all! 

We are extremely lucky to have a huge support system, many of them coming from Kona's FaceBook page. If you are on FaceBook, be sure to like his page. He goes by Kona the Love Sponge. I may have been gone from here for a while, but I've been busy on his page just about everyday. Priorities, right?  Haha! 

Back in July I also did something that some people might have thought was a bit odd.  I shaved my head.  One of my dearest friends is battling breast cancer, and I shaved it in her honor and to share the experience with her.  My hair has pretty much grown back now, but she is still fighting, and if I had my way, I'd still be bald.  

I didn't mind the look, and it sure was easy!  It was a great experience and I would do it again in a heartbeat...

Kona's rehab took quite a while, but in the long run it was totally worth all the work we did with him.  He had weekly cold laser therapy sessions and underwater treadmill sessions.  We were so thankful to find a fantastic place to take him.  Here is a little bit of what he went through.

Kona wasn't the only one who surgery this summer. The Boy managed to do a heck of a job messing up his knee and also had ACL surgery...He also had a summer of physical therapy and work to get back on his feet.

As they say, if it's not one thing, it's 15 others, right?  

So now, here we are, staring the holidays in the face.  I know I've said it before, but it's amazing how the time flies. The Boy is back at school at Purdue University for his final year. It was just yesterday that he was leaving and I was a sobbing mess.  Bear is married, and Pickle, my baby, is out and about, enjoying her independence and spreading her wings. She turns 21 in less than a month. I swear I was just taking her to kindergarten...

Hubby and I celebrated out 24th anniversary in Oct.  No Halloween party this year - the wedding was enough to take care of this year.  We are kicking around the idea of another Halloween blow-out next year, but that is still to be determined.  

The dogs keep us busy - Harley will be 12 in April, Jill tunrs 10 next month, Kona turned 7 last week, and our puppy, Lucas (aka Squirt) is already 18 months old! Remember when he was just a little guy? Yup - time flies indeed. 

Well, that's it for now...a little bit of catch up. I'm sure I've forgotten a ton of stuff, I mean it has been 9 months for goodness sakes.  I'll be back soon, and I promise it won't be another 9 months.

"Busy" indeed!

Today's photo-a-day challenge prompt is the word "busy" which seems incredibly appropriate considering I've been too busy to post since last Friday!  I have been keeping up with my photo challenge though, just not posting here. 

I've been so busy, in fact, that is completely slipped my mind that last month, on the 6th, was my 5 year Blog-iversary!  WOW! How did that come up so quick?  Yup, just as I was posting about being a SLACKER, I hit the 5 year mark. Kinda crazy, right?

So, let's see, where were we...okie dokie, we'll play a little catch-up on the prompts for the last couple of days. 

Saturday's prompt was "view from your bed" - you can see here the view out my bedroom window...dog toys anyone?

Sunday's prompt was "water" - I couldn't decide which of these I like better - so I cheated and posted them both. 



Monday's prompt was "alone"


Tuesday's prompt was "your favorite color" - here is what I posted, with a little explanation. Photo-a-day challenge, prompt for today was "your favorite color." On most days I would probably answer this with a post of something pink or purple (they tie in my book) but today the colors that ring "favorite" to me are the colors of our country's flag.

 As I mentioned, today's prompt was "busy" - I have so many to choose from...Today Kona and I participated in a heath fair. We were there for about 4 hours, and we were very busy.

 He's over all of this picture taking stuff...bring on the petting!

Ah, much better.

 Holding hands with random women? That's my boy...

 Enjoying the company of some other terrific teams.

Yesterday we were at the VA Hospital for a Volunteer luncheon.  We received a special pin in recognition of our 500+ hours of volunteering there over the last couple of years. It was very cool!

 Such.A.Ham.

 

On Monday we were at the VA for our normal Monday visit. Sometimes Kona likes to stop and smell the roses...or in this case, the ivy.  

My boy is always happy after his therapy visits. I think he smiles as much as the people we visit!

So that's it for tonight...busy enough for you?  Whew! Tomorrow's prompt is "hello" - I wonder what the day, and the prompt will bring.

The List Grows

What do:
Gadsen, Alabama,
Abilene, Texas,
Wichita, Kansas,
Albany, New York,
Southbend, Indiana,
Honolulu, Hawaii,
Salt Lake City, Utah,
Ashland, Defiance, Wooster, Cambridge and Alliance, Ohio,
Stamford, Greenwich, and Danbury, Conneceticut,
Washington DC,
Denver, Colorado,
San Jose, California,
Huntington, Pennsylvania,
Atlanta, Georgia.
and Halifax, Nova Scotia all have in common? 

So far these cities have all run my photos in their newspapers! I don't mean to sound like I am bragging, I honestly don't, I am just so darn surprise and freaking tickled pink!

In case you missed it, here is the link to the article in the Washington Post.

This is one of the 5 pictures I took that the associated press picked up.This is Bronzon, our winner from 2010.

Seriously Cool!

OK, so a couple of days ago (I think it was Thursday) I got a call from Sue Manning, of the Associated Press. She wanted to interview me about the Halloween Parties I organize for the San Diego Golden Retriever Group I run. We had a lovely conversation, and at the conclusion she asked if I ever take pictures at the events.  Well, OF COURSE I DO!  I went through my albums of photos, and selected about a dozen that I thought we good.  Out of those, Sue and her editor chose a few to include with the story.

Well, I'm tickled to say that the story ran today, and was picked up by The Washington Post, The Denver Post, newspapers in Albany, NY, Greenwich and Danbury, CT, Cambridge, OH, San Jose, CA, and several online publications, including ABCnews.go.com. 

It's a super cool feeling to see the photos I took of some of our awesome group members in these publications.

If you are interested, here is a link to the story with the photos.  The Washington Post

When the Cat is Away, the Mouse will Paint!

Maybe I should have been a dentist! I'm not bad with teeth.

(BIG thanks to Pickle for helping me paint today. She is a true artist~WAY better than I am, that's for sure.) Together we knocked out nearly an entire 7 ft. clown head. 

Ok, so that sounds kind of gross, doesn't it?  Awe, yes, Halloween party prep is underway indeed.

While I am doling out props, I also have to thank AJ for putting together an absolutely incredible "Save the Date" video. He rocked that bad boy, big time! If you are on the "exclusive invite list" you've seen it and I know you'll agree that this is the best "save the date", by far, that we've ever had.

Not on the list, but want to be? Email me, we'll talk...

CSULB- Here She Comes!

Yes, the winds of change are a blowin round here...

It seems like just yesterday when I was registering Pickle for kindergarten...and yet, there we were yesterday, registering her for her first semester of college. My oh my...I do feel old.

We got there VERY early in the morning...and while she spent the day touring the campus, I did a little shopping in the book store...

oh, choices, choices...

After the "official" stuff was done, we got to tour the dorms. First and example of what it "could" look like all made up, and then an empty room.

At the end of the day, she was tired, but very happy. Class schedule in hand and ready to head home and think about the next step - how in the world will she fit ALL of HER clothes into that tiny closet?? Ah, the stress of college!

Graduation Party in Pictures - a Quickie Review

It was a grand day! Lots of "beachy" decorations....

plenty to drink

and of course eat

Mmmmm, Hawaiian BBQ.

Loads of friends...

lots of smiling faces..

a cozy fire to keep us warm and the evening got cool

Pretty girls too!

An attentive audience to watch the slide show

Very attentive!

My pretty girls!

Pickle and her favorite high school teacher.

Pickle and her BF...he's a sweetheart.

Great family and friends!

Awesome neighbors.

Adorable children (my oldest included!)

A special handwritten note from one of the younger guests.



Pickle was tickled about something!

And last (for now)but not least - the wake board was a hit. We had guests sign it and Pickle is taking it to college with her to hang in her dorm room. Cool!