I'm So Excited!

For those of you who knew him, you know that dad was a wonderful artist. I'm not going to say too much more about it because I'll blog more about it probably later today. When he died, all of his prints sold out, leaving us with one of each of his prints for his kids. Everybody's favorite was the Cowboy Feeding the Bird. It sold out first and was always the most requested by people wanting his work.

Last week, I found out a friend from Fish and Game was retiring after 30 years. Fish and Game always hires a portrait artist to do the portrait of the person retiring but she didn't want that - she wanted dad's print of the Cowboy Feeding the Bird. I had to tell her we didn't have any. But, mom decided we needed to reprint this picture so I should have them today! I'm excited that now all the grandkids can have one of dad's prints. We're only having 100 prints made, so mom decided we'll sell some and use some to donate to charities for fundraising. I think it's just what dad would want.

I'll post a picture of the print as soon as I get them!

Update...

I feel like I should give an update about my sister-in-law after her surgery but I don't really know what to say. They removed her spleen and did what they could with her bowel and liver but the doctor said "This is a battle we're not going to win." I'm not terribly happy that he said that. Thankfully, new drugs are being tested every day and hopefully within the next year or two, they'll come up with something that will be a cure for Pam. I just saw on the news last night about a new inhibitor that they're testing in England that sounds so promising.

She's a strong and otherwise healthy person and I know if anyone can survive this it will be her.

My Family and Friends,

Tomorrow morning, my wonderful sister-in-law Pam goes in for surgery for her second bout with ovarian cancer. I know she would appreciate prayers...

Bakerella...

If you've noticed, I follow a blog called Bakerella, "because someday, I'll be able to do this." Occasionally, she gives away goodies. Well guess what! I won her random draw for edible pens!



Well, ok, the pens themselves aren't edible I don't imagine, but the ink is. She makes these wonderful cupcakes and cake pops. I actually tried to make cake pops at Easter because hers were so cute. Not so good.

But here's what SHE can do with the edible ink.



Now you all know that I don't cook. In fact, anything I try, if I can't/don't do it perfectly the first time I try it, then I'm done. Well, she wants pictures of what I do with them. HELP! ANYBODY? T, do you bake? Do you think I could hire someone to do something really cute and then send pictures? Now I've got to admit, I did make a decent, well, it was edible, meatloaf tonight. Do you think I could make meatloaf pops and use the pens on those?

I'm beginning to sweat, my heart is beating funny - PANIC ATTACK!!!!!!

WTH?

BRUSSELS - A Belgian teenager has told police how she emerged from a tattoo parlor with 56 stars over one side of her face, rather than the three she had asked for, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

"I said this part, the top, is ok, but not the rest," Kimberley Vlaeminck from the city of Kortrijk, 56 miles northwest of Brussels, told Belgian broadcaster VRT.

The 18-year-old said she fell asleep during the procedure, and woke up in pain when her nose was being tattooed.

A spokesman for Kortrijk prosecutors' office said police were investigating after a complaint from the teenager.

The tattoo artist said Vlaeminck had agreed to 56 stars.

"She agreed, but when her father saw it, the trouble started," Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws quoted the man as saying.

Vlaeminck said she wanted to keep the tattoos on her forehead but would have the rest removed.


Now really, I've never had a tattoo, but does ANYONE actually fall asleep during a tattoo on their face??? I think not. And really, when she walked in and saw the "artist"


shouldn't she have been afraid enough to think it might not be a good idea to fall asleep?

Ironman Coeur d'Alene...

My sister-in-law is doing her second Ironman Race tomorrow in Coeur d'Alene. I'm in such awe of people who can do these events. She'll start at 7am with a 2.4 mile swim, then a 112 mile bike ride, finishing with a 26.2 mile run. She's been training for the last two years - started practically right after her last Ironman.

If you'd like to track her progress tomorrow, you can do so by following this link and typing in her bib # 2430.

Good luck Ruth!

Riding a Bike...

When I was a kid, bike riding was really fun - and safe. No gears, no helmets, no special tires or peddles. SAFE.

Adam is 15 and very athletic. He's a good boy. Spoiled, but a good boy. He and several of his friends have taken up roadbiking. At first I thought, "Well how nice is that?" Out riding bikes, nice and slow, looking at the scenery, maybe stopping every once in a while to watch a coyote or deer. Peaceful - and SAFE.



I should have known better.

Adam has never been one that was safe. Every sport he gets into has to be aggressive and dangerous. Aggressive roller blading, aggressive skiing, and now - God help me! - aggressive biking. He's got those shoes with doohickies on the bottom that "clip" into the special pedals we put on his bike. Now really, how safe is that to have your shoes semi-permanently attached to your bike? That's just danger waiting to happen.

Yesterday, he and his friend Jake went on two bike rides - "17 miles", he proudly told me, "in 23 minutes". Of course, up here, it's all up and down hills. Then he proceeded to tell me how they got going 50 miles an hour down one of the hills. (He has a speedometer and odometer on his bike.)

"Well you better just be careful! You know that ALL it takes is one tiny rock and BAM! down you go! If you hit the pavement going that fast, it's gonna scrape every bit of hide off your body! Now do you really want to be one big scab?! You better slow down or you're really gonna hurt yourself!"

I was practically hysterical picturing what could happen to my son at 50 miles an hour...

"Mom! Stop it! You're not supposed to be telling me stuff like that! What if I decide to start racing? I don't need to be worried about stuff like that happening, I need to be worried about winning."

Well, I wonder if they make bike suits out of bubble wrap. Maybe I need to invent one.


I'm off to Reno with mom for a few days for my birthday. Hopefully when I get back, my son will still be recongnizable. I'm very worried...

Poop Freeze!

We all know about Elmer and poop. Can't see it, can't smell it, can't touch it.

Thanks to SkyMall (you know, that really cool magazine available on airplanes where you can buy awesome stuff) I found the following that could be the answer to our prayers. (Ok, I haven't really prayed about this).


Love your pup but hate the poop? Yeah -- we do, too. So we'd jump at any product that could take the yuck out of our canine waste disposal duties. Poop Freeze purports to do just that by freezing the dookie into a solid lump that won't squish or smear. But in our backyard (I won't say "hands-on") trials, the squish persisted, even when we sprayed the, uh, poop out of the dung and waited the recommended 10 seconds for rigidification to ensue.

We don't know whether it worked any better in the Poop Freeze laboratories' clinical trials because, as you can (or can't) see in the picture above, the photographer discreetly left the target of the spray.

Yep, I thought this was the product we've been searching for - for Elmer's sake. But alas, I went onto the SkyMall website to read the reviews. After all 15 bucks is a good chunk of change!

Customer Review: 2 out of 5

Pros: poo did not stink (WELL, THAT'S A GOOD START!)

"Did not make "poo" hard. sticky, in fingernails." (AW, COME ON NOW! THAT'S JUST NASTY! DO YOU REALLY THINK SHE THOUGHT SHE WOULDN'T NEED TO USE FRICKIN' GLOVES??

Gender: Female
Age: 41-45

So, even if I thought it might work, I'd never be able to use it without gagging thanks to the review above and the description of the dookie into a solid lump that won't squish or smear.

Luckily the reviewer lives in Arizona. I don't have to wonder if every shopping cart I touch from now on, previously had her hands on it...

Anyone Remember The Hair Bear Bunch???

Now I know that everyone in the world is going to be blogging about this. How can you possibly resist? The infamous Phil Spector and his wide array of wigs absolutely fascinates me. Really, no commentary is needed. Which is YOUR favorite!?

This is one of his first mugshots. Now the hair is plenty scary, but those eyes - eeeewwww!

I think he's flipping the Prosecutor the bird... And again, those eyes!

Now see, this one might not be so bad if it were a better color. I'm sorry, he's just not a blond. It's makes his skin look too pale. Maybe if he wore a cherry red lipstick this one could be saved.

This one looks like it's out of the 70s.

And this one looks like he just got out of bed. Damn, is he wearing a pearl necklace???

Rock star, scary guy, rather demure...

And now for my post title. Does anyone remember the cartoon The Hair Bear Bunch?

Well here it is in real life! Really, does he think this looks good?

And now, dear Phil, has been reduced to this. According to his wife "They've taken his life, his dignity, and now his hair." Sorry 'mam, that's considered contraband in the Big House/Stoney Lonesome/Crowbar Hotel/Joint/Pokey/Shitter...