Back in business!

My friend Karan has helped me out big time! She offered to have my sewing machine fixed, and while I'm waiting for it to be fixed, she lent me a couple of hers. YAY! We spent today sewing at her home. I sewed a bunch of handles for her. I'm going to do more tomorrow. I got home today and just CRASHED!

I love spending time with her and her family. Her kids are so nice! Kayleigh and I talked a lot, she's grown up so much in the past few years. She's very cute, and talkative. We talked about tv shows, Webkinz, and cats. I love their cats too! And Megan has grown up so much too. She's really turned into a beautiful young lady. Karan, you're so lucky to have such great kids!

I'm really inspired to create new purses and reusable tote bags. We'll see how it all turns out. I had some really great inspiration from what I was able to see at the Gift show this weekend. Thanks to my cousin, Tina, for taking me with her again this year. I really do get inspired by what I see out there.

Hit a bit of a snag...

Well, my sewing days are on hold for right now. In the middle of sewing a strap, the sewing machine siezed up. Ok, I guess I should have opened up the top of the sewing machine to oil the sewing machine. But I didn't think about that. I've been oiling the bottom part. Sheesh.

But my sewing machine angel is going to help me to get my sewing machine fixed. So, I'll be back in business next week.

Thank goodness for Sewing Machine Angels!!

Sewing Tote Bags

I am helping my friend Karan sew some tote bags for her non-profit group. And it's been a real learning experience. I'm just learning how to sew things other than straight line. And although a tote bag is all straight lines, I'm learning a lot about stitches and hems.

But first, here's a picture of Oreo helping me out. I was sewing on the machine, not paying any attention to him. I turned my back, and found him making himself very comfortable on my pile of material I am to sew. LOL

Here is the top of the bag. I'm having fun learning how to stitch hems. I think this looks a whole lot better than my first try! LOL
I learned how to gusset the bottom of the bag. I'm so excited! It almost looks like someone else actually did that! LOL
Here's the handle not attached to the bag. I don't have a machine that can go through all the heavy layers of material to attach the handle, but am having fun with the handles!

Jolt Paintball older photos

So, in all my free spare time, I've been scanning photos. These are some from Phil's paintball photo album. And look, Phil has brown hair! LOL When I met Phil, he had brown hair. He keeps telling me that I gave him his grey hair. LOL NOT!And here's a pic of Al with 2 of his friends. Remember my earlier post where he's talking to Bella on the phone? Well, here he is in his younger days. LOL
And here's another one of Phil. :)
And Phil's holding one of his Paintball Relics! One day I went with him to the paintball shop, and they were looking at his paintball marker (ok, we say gun, but the correct term is marker) and they said, "OMG, this is like a paintball Relic!!" I almost fell over laughing. Paintball Relic?? OMG, that was too funny for words. And you know, that gun was only about 15 years old MAYBE??

Mothball Fleet

We passed by the Mothball Fleet this weekend, and of course I had to take a picture. LOL The mothball fleet is a group of ships that the Navy upkeeps in case they need to be called back to duty.

It's actually called the National Defense Reserve Fleet. The USS Iowa is actually out there as well. And when you pass by closer, you can actually see it, we didn't pass by that close to see her, if we do next time, I'll definitely take a picture!

Cats at my mom's house

I took these pictures yesterday of the cats at my parents house. OMG the tiny grey kitten looks like Velcro when she was a kitten.

And yes, these cats know me as well. The grey mom cat will run when she hears people, but if I say, "Hey Kitty" I swear the cat stops in its tracks and runs back cause she thinks I'm going to feed her table scraps. LOL And now, that one and another black cat will run up the stairs and meow at the top of their lungs for me to go out and feed them.

Yes, one more step to being the Crazy Cat Lady Down the Street. And what's worse is that's not even my street! LOL

My first purse

This is my first attempt at sewing a purse. It is an easy pattern. I just have to learn how to sew straight. Well, maybe not straight but consistant? LOL I know there are a bunch of mistakes on it, but it's fun knowing that I can actually sew something other than straight lines. :)

I want to try another one then maybe on to something else?? LOL

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

If you didn't know, Joss Whedon has released Part I of his internet movie: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Starring in the film are Neil Patrick Harris, Doogie to me. Nathan Fillion, Captain Mal Reynolds from Firefly/Serenity, and Felicia Day best known to me in The Guild series.

Now, I just LOVE Nathan Fillion. Loved him in Firefly, and love watching all the various shows and movies that he'll pop-up in from time to time. But I just LOVE him in this movie because he actually sings! Yes, you've read right, he sings!

And I didn't realize how good everyone does sing in the film. Had no clue that Neil PH could actually sing. And was pleasantly surprised to hear Felicia sing.

I don't want to ruin it for everyone, the beginning starts out a tad slow for me, yes, cause i want to get to the parts with Nathan in it, I admit it. LOL But it's really a fun movie.

Joss is releasing the movie in 3 parts between July 15th and July 20th. Part 2 will be released on the 17th, and part 3 on the 19th. Joss is letting us view this through the internet for free. But has the movie available for download on i-tunes. But then he will hopefully release a DVD so that he can actually pay the people who worked on the movie. They all volunteered their time and efforts. How cool is that??

So, if you can, check it out! It's really very funny.

And if you haven't already checked out The Guild, please check that out as well. It's scary cause I know people like that!! It's a really funny series, and I can't wait for The Guild 2 to come out!!

Al and Bella

This photo was taken a couple of years ago at Christmas time. Bella picked up a cellphone that was on the table and decided to call Al. Eventhough Al was sitting at the table, she had to call him. LOL And I just had to take a picture of them.

I was cleaning out my old computer and found it. It just cracks me up!

Fremont Flyers in Benicia

Today we had a tournament in Benicia for the Fremont Flyers. It's one of the Softball teams that Alex plays on that her dad Rusty coaches. Phil helps out coaching the catchers and pitchers. We've only been to two of the tournaments so far, and I know I'm having a good time watching the games.
It's so neat seeing how Alex has grown from a t-ball player to a fast pitch softball player. I love watching her play, and she actually got a home run hit today during one of the games! YAY!
If you've ever wondered what the city of Oakland looks like, here's a picture of Oakland from the side. We were passing through on our way to Benicia today.

Thanks Kay!

I'm back in business, thanks to Kay! I googled how to adjust the tension, and it seems to be working. :) Will post more when I make more! YAY!

American Idols Tour

Debi, Joanne, and I went to see the American Idols tonight, and it was a really good show. One thing I did miss was the group singing though. They had the group sing twice, and the rest of the time the Idols sang 3 songs solo.

I was surprised with Chikezie. I wasn't a big fan of his on the show, but he impressed me at the concert. He has a lot of energy, and has a great live singing voice. I didn't know the songs he sang, but I enjoyed them!

Loved Ramiele. She didn't have the greatest voice tonight, but she has lots of spunk and energy. I loved that she sang "I want you back" by Michael Jackson. :) In an earlier review, they said she looked scared, but I think she is enjoying the tour now and really looked comfortable.

I loved Michael Johns. And am still bummed that he didn't go further in the competition. He has good stage presence. I think much better than David Cook, really. I loved his song choices tonight. Mainly because I knew the songs. LOL He relates to the crowd, and it was fun listening to him talk between songs too.

I'm still not a big fan of Kristy Lee. She was ok, she has a good voice. And loved that she sang "God bless the USA." She was trying to be all sexy, and it didn't work for me dawg.

Carly Smithson was AMAZING. I loved her performances. She can sing and really can perform. Eventhough I didn't know the first song she sang, she belted it out and performed it like an old pro. LOVED the Heart song she sang. She can almost belt it out like Ann Wilson.

Brooke White was one of my favorites on the show. She just has this wonderful sincerity. Loved all the songs she performed tonight. I think she did really well. Not one of the top performances tonight, but I really did like her.

Ok, I LOVED Jason Castro. I know a lot of people think he's just ok. But I thought he did so well tonight. He picked songs that showcase his voice. LOVED the IZ version of "Over the Rainbow". And he sang another song he sang on the show too. He knows what his strong points are, and plays to them. It was just awesome.

And I think Syesha kicked butt tonight! She has such a strong voice, and has grown so much in the past year with her performances. She's not the shy girl that showed up to the Idol auditions. She knows she can sing, and chooses the right kind of songs to showcase her beautiful voice. I can't wait till she has a CD out! :)

David Archuleta was awesome! I think he did so well tonight. And I really think he should have won American Idol. I mean I love David Cook, but Archie blew him out of the water. He has a long career going for him. He's another one who knows what songs to sing and what not to sing. He has such a strong voice, he just needs to learn how to speak clearly between songs. I could barely understand what he was saying when he was talking to the audience. But that will definitely come in time. Loved that he played the piano on his first song, "Let it Be". I wished he would have sang "Imagine" though. That was my favorite of the two.

So, now we get to David Cook. He was one of my favorites during the show, but I think he needs to work more on his stage presence. Something just didn't click with him tonight. I don't know if he needs more time on the road to be more comfortable, or not. But I just didn't get into his song set as I did with the other Idols. He's good, but I think he needed to choose a few different songs that would appeal to the audience. I liked the songs he sang, but if you don't like that style of music, you wouldn't like it as much.

I can't wait to hear how the rest of the tour goes for them. It was a blast, and they did a lot of really great work!!

So I figured out...

So, after a bunch of experimentation yesterday, I realized that one of my problems is that I'm using 50 year old thread. Yep, at least 50-years-0ld. LOL My aunt that passed on had a bunch of thread in her sewing kit, and I inherited her sewing kit. So I thought I'd use it...NOT. LOL That stuff snaps really quick.

So, new thread, and no problems. LOL

Then I also realized that the thread had slipped off of one of the things you thread it through. Kay says I should adjust the tension. Ok, what is that?? I think it's the dial thingy on the front??

Boy, I think I'd better find an owners manual! LOL

So, I'm back in business. I made a few more, and hopefully will get a few more done tomorrow night. YAY!

Army Wives

I just started watching Army Wives this year. And I love it! I always forgot what day and time it was on last year, and Sunday nights were for Big Love and Rome before. Now that they're not on, I can watch other things. Well, and I watched Desperate Housewives for like a season only because Nathan Fillion was on that season.

I saw the commercials for it in the mornings while I was watching Frasier reruns and Will and Grace reruns. And I wanted to know what happened at the bar at the end of season one, darn it! And luckily I caught the last two shows of that season. Now I'm hooked.

I love how strong these women are on the show. Their husbands go off to wherever the army sends them, and they have to take care of the family while their husbands are gone. And I love how they all band together in their time of need. Each of them are so very different from each other. And I love how they have an Army Husband in the mix too. That is pretty cool.

I loved tonight's show. They found the body of an MIA soldier from the Vietnam War. And they were going to make sure that he had friends and family there at his service. It touched my heart when they all showed up to make sure he would not be buried without anyone at his service.

Another scene I loved was when a plane full of troops were coming home, and two of them didn't have any family greeting them when the airplane arrived. And Claudia Joy and Michael walked over to them to welcome them back home. I don't know if he's supposed to do that anyway, but that was so cool!

Anyway, if you haven't already watched it, you should watch it! I love this show WAY more than the Desperate Housewives show. I think Nathan ought to go on this show instead!!

Webkinz Sleeping Bags

I've been making sleeping bags for my Webkinz. They came out not too shabby. I've got so much fabric, it's good that I can finally do something with them! It's fairly easy, I just have to get used to the sewing machine. It does some things that I'm not too sure why it's happening. I know I'm having bobbin issues. LOL And then the thread breaks while I'm sewing cause it gets stuck. Sigh.

But I'm having fun. I want to make some for the kids that I know have webkinz. They'll have so much fun with them!

New Addition to the Zoo

So, here's our new addition to our zoo. I'm calling it Pepe. I think it was a boy, but who the heck knows. All I know is that I'm not gonna get too close to it to figure it out. LOL

It runs away whenever it sees us for too long, which is good. I don't want it to get to used to us. I think it's a pretty big skunk. It's about the size of Oreo, with a bushier tail. It's coat is really nice. You would think that being out in the wild, the skunk's coat would be all matted and dirty. But this one was fairly clean. Like someone was taking a comb to its coat and cleaning it.

And they have pretty long claws, another reason not to get too close to the skunk. I mean if the stink factor wasn't enough, claws are a second reason.

It's been back a few times this week so far, so we'll see how long it stays in the neighborhood.

Fourth of July

This year we broke from tradition. We spent this Fourth of July with some of Jackie's co-workers. They invited us to their yard for a bbq and fun!
I was happy with how these pictures came out. I read a bit on how you're supposed to take photos of fireworks. And you're supposed to bring a tripod and have the shutter stay open for a longer period of time. Ok, so I didn't have a tripod. But I think that these pictures came out pretty well.
The people are kinda fuzzy cause you can't get them to pose when you're taking long exposure photos of fireworks. Well, you can but it would be a bit funny to say, "HEY! Don't Move!" LOL
Sadie and Nichole were having way too much fun with each other!
And Jordana was enjoying driving everyone around in the golf cart thing. She took us out on a pretty fun ride! LOL Can't wait till she learns how to drive. ;)

Happy Fourth of July!

I hope that everyone has a great day today! Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. One reason was because it was the one holiday that I could really enjoy before, during, and after. No work, no store, no customers, and no long hours.

But really, it's a day to remember our independence. It's a day to remember how hard our forefathers fought to declare our independence. And it's a day to remember all the soldiers of all the wars who have fought to maintain that independence.

For without them, we would not have the freedoms that we enjoy today.

So have a Happy Independence Day! And enjoy your time with your family and friends today!

Oreo's Chair

This is Oreo's pink chair. We got these chairs from my aunt's house. And Oreo has claimed this one for his own chair. It's located next to the computer desk, where I'm pretty much always located. One day we put one of my fleece blankets on it, and he climbed right on top of it. He doesn't even sleep with Phil as much anymore.

It's so funny, my dad had no idea that it was the cat's chair, so he decided he needed to sit on the chair. Then was wondering why the cat kept walking around and around the chair giving him the stink eye. LOL

One thing I'm always wondering about cats is how do they feel the different textures through their fur? They don't like to sleep on fake fur blankets or even crocheted or knitted blankets. They LOVE polar fleece. I know it's soft, but how do they feel the softness through their fur? I swear they always pick the flannel sheets to sleep on, not the regular ones. Weird.

Banana Upside Down Cake

In a magazine I saw a recipe for Banana Coconut upside down cake. And since we're not big fans of coconut here, I just did the bananas. I called up Phil's sister to see how she makes her cake, and off I went.

It actually looks better than it did in the magazine, too bad I don't eat bananas. LOL