It had to happen sooner or later.....

But seriously, my car? Come on guys, that's lame! LOL

With one very cute teenage daughter and many boys paying a lot of attention to her, we knew eventually this type of hijinks's would happen....but.....my car?

K-9 Competition

This was a blast....watching these amazing athletes, both dog and handler. The K-9 dogs I work with have always been a bright spot in my day. But I've never had the opportunity to watch them work....until today.

Ned's gotta be my favorite. He works out of my office, so I get to see him the most - but all of them have a warm spot in my heart. I love that they are approachable, family pets...but I sure wouldn't want to be a bad guy when they are on the hunt. Fierce and focused, fast and furious...they definitely earn their keep.

Lonely for my bestee

It's been almost two years .... since she left Colorado. Some days having her gone is hard, some days it's downright heartbreaking. Today is one of those days. She's in bed sick with the flu and I so want to go be with her, fix her chicken noodle soup, watch chick-flicks together, play conasta with her, and just help ease the burdens she is facing right now.

I miss her so much - I miss crafting with her, playing games with her, watching tv with her, cooking with her ... just being with her.

I wish you could come home Torrey!

In awe and amazement

Although they said it wasn't the "perfect night for viewing" due to the fact that the moon was so bright, I decided that wasn't going to stop me...I wanted to view the Perseid Meteor Shower and share the wonder of it with Haley.

I had grandiose plans to get up at 3:00 am, take Haley and our lawn chairs/sleeping bags and head out of town to find the best place we could to watch God's show.

At 1:00 am, I was still awake, not having even been to bed yet. So, I trotted up to Haley's room, gently woke her only to receive an "I'm staying in bed" response. Well, so much for that idea!

I couldn't see driving outside the city lights for "just me".... So, I grabbed my reclining lawn chair, a pair of sweats, a jacket and headed outside.

I positioned myself so that a tree was blocking the light of the moon, (teach them for telling me it wouldn't work) laid back and started searching the heavens.

It wasn't long before my efforts were greatly rewarded! Streak after streak of bright, but fading light shooting across the night sky.

Ahhhhh....I snuggled into my warm coat, absorbed in the moment, the solitude, the quiet and the amazing show before me. I even closed my eyes at one point, relaxing to the point of almost sleep....

Who knows how long I laid there, enjoying a peaceful rest..... but in an instant, the moment was gone! Out of no where, our darn cat jumped onto my chest - sending an immediate adrenaline rush coursing through my body, making me leap up from my comfortable pose, and quite possibly sending Kaboo into orbit, where she could enjoy the show up close and personal. My father has been right all along....cats are way way too sneaky!

So much for my quiet, relaxing moment. Sleep was not coming anytime soon!

He's not as cute as he looks.....

Milo, Meelos, Muchacha, Bubba…and various other names I can’t say because my parents read this blog…

He’s my boy and I love him dearly! He gives me unconditional love and really has attached himself to my heart…BUT… he really is a little pain in the a$$.

Minor idiosyncrasies aside, the kid is just a bundle of contradictions and fallacies in which I only have time to list but a few.

First of all, he’s got that “Bubba-from-the-bayou” look with that crazy under bite and missing front teeth. It’s been said (not by me of course) that he just looks dumb. Now I’m not calling him the smartest four-legged thing to walk the earth (just snorted a little Pepsi up my nose at that thought), but I also don’t think he’s quite as stupid as some might believe (not mentioning any names here, Tom). I believe he just hasn’t… reached his full potential (and may never).

And what is up with the incessant barking when he knows one of us is outside, and the poor abused fellow has to remain in the house? One can only assume that he is being held against his will, in an air-conditioned or heated home, with fluffy couches, beds, and pillows covered in his own hair, with food constantly at this paw-tips, and more toys than a simpleton dog should be allowed to have … only assumption is that this isn’t enough. His “people” MUST be present for his every whim as well.

Speaking of toys, this poor soul has been inflicted with every one known to the dog-loving world…in an attempt to keep him from chewing more mouth splints (3 and counting), we have purchased dozens upon dozens of toys, from ropes with stuffed hearts on them, to squeaking balls that only tend to make him turn his head to one side and look even more “Bubba’ish”. And don’t even get me started on him and stuffed animals…what is it about the batting inside these poor, unsuspecting critters? Well, let’s just say, the eyes go first… because that opens up a treasure chest! A hole in which all of the stuffing can be accessed. And nothing is more fun for this fur-ball then tearing out the stuffing and leaving a trail of it all over the house. That is by far his favorite thing to do… and heaven forbid he gets a hold of one of Haley’s prized possessions… he’s lucky he is quicker and has good survival instincts.

Now I realize that this is a “family blog”… and therefore, the story of his twin girlfriends will have to be cleaned up a little… but it can’t go untold. At one point, our family owned two fury, bright green tube pillows… you know, the kind that you buy at Walgreen’s, 2 for $10 bucks, great for camping, or using to hug while snuggled on the couch with a good movie. I digress... Not sure if it was the shape, the color, the soft fur-like covering or just the hormones running rampant through his little 6 month old body, but for some reason… these became “his girlfriends” (wink, wink)… and when he was done with them, trust me... you didn’t want to place your head anywhere near them EVER again. This was an amazing source of amusement for a little while, although when it became a spectacle in front of home visitors, embarrassment usually followed. The first twin only lasted a couple of weeks before he literally ripped her guts out. The second one lasted a little longer, but eventually succumbed to the same destiny. He showed no remorse or regret…the heartless little $%#&*.

As long as we are discussing his rather embarrassing traits, his gastrointestinal attributes cannot go unmentioned. Oh my gosh, my eyes have started watering just at the thought of the gaseous smells this dog can omit. Cat food is the worst culprit. Heaven forbid one of the cats knocks their food down and he gets a hold of it… I cannot even begin to describe the unique, one-of-a-kind odor that his little body can produce. Silent but oh so deadly.

He has learned one thing… he knows the word treats and when all other attempts to get him to come, listen, stop doing something, or just perk up, the word is golden. He has also perfected the “watch and grab” method of stealing the chews or toys from Kota because no matter what Milo has, it’s not as good as what Dakota is chewing on. As soon as Kota is distracted, even for a brief second, it’s gone… and he’s left bewildered at the quickness of this sneaky, hairy, little thief.

All in all, you gotta love this kid. With all his spastic faults and quirks, he fits into our lives and our home perfectly… After all, the entire Amidei household is quirky beyond measure.

Starting their life together.....

Well, they did it....and although I wasn't able to be there to witness it, I couldn't be happier. Kelly is a perfect match for Chris and a wonderful addition to our family. They are blessed to have found each other and even more blessed to start their life together in such a beautiful way.

Gratz Chris and Kelly. We love you!

New lens - Zoo pics

For my birthday, my wonderful family gave me the means to get the lens I have been coveting. It's the 70-300 mm! Ah...life is good.

So on this beautiful June Saturday, new lens in hand, we headed for the zoo.

Although there is a learning curve involved, I was pretty darn happy with the results of my first day of shooting with this new lens.

What do you think?

Photo Walk

One beautiful spring afternoon, Haley and I grabbed our camera's and headed to a wonderful trail close to our house on a photo walk.

Haley was taking some awesome photo's of some dead wood, of the creek and using her great eye for different angles and shapes. I'm proud of the way she is developing her talent of perspective.

Specifically, I wanted to use some magnifying lenses that Torrey turned me onto. They provide a very detailed close up, but also have a fun fish-eye barrel type perspective that is unusual and quite fun to play with. I spent most of my time looking for things that would work well with those rings on the end of my camera.

I'm quite happy with some of the results, although I do feel I still have a learning curve to get it to work just right and consistantly.

Haley and I have decided we need to do this more often. It was a wonderful time together and a great way to share our passion for photography.

One Special Lady

There are very few people in my life that have a bigger place in my heart than this lady. She's not only my aunt, she's an inspiration and a light to my soul.

I'm terrible about keeping in touch with her...and I vow to do better...but when we get together, I realize how much she means to me.

She's such a sweet soul and I know that we are connected not only by blood, but by spirit as well...kindred spirits.

She just makes me smile! And you know what? That's right...
I love you Aunt Laura!

Ready or Not...Here They Come

• It's happening.... Any parent of a cute daughter would relate.... It's a nightmare! ACK!!!
• The boys are showing up on our doorstep, they're calling, they're texting, they're HERE! ACK!!!
• The flavor of the week? Jacob. He's a polite and cute kid, who never says goodbye, just "peace". ACK!!!
• What's a parent to do? That's not rhetorical...seriously, tell me please!

Weekend Scrapbooking Retreat Report

What a wonderful weekend! Lots of great time for scrapbooking, excellent food and most important, being surrounded by terrifically talented and awesome people. Gosh I love these weekends. Tons and tons of time to scrap, late night after late night, chick flick after chick flick, great food and fabulous fellowship.

I admit, my first few pages were very subpar...but it's been a long time since I've actually scrapped a page. So, I'm chaulking those up to "warm-up"... Once I finally got some mojo flowing, I was pretty happy with the end results. Although, my stack of completed work was far minimal compared to some of these gals who scrapped circles around me.

Thanks Mom....You rock in my book. I so appreciate all your hard work and dedication to pulling this together. I love and adore you.

(By the way girls...first to post! hahahaha)

Paper anyone?

With all the jewelry play I've been experimenting with, I realized how long it's been since I've worked with paper....my true medium of choice.

So, last weekend I had the chance to go play a little at Heather's house and although we didn't pull an all-nighter like we thought we would, we did have a chance to play and make some fun cards. I haven't done anything creative with paper in a long long time, so it seemed a little rough. But it has reawaken my desire to scrap and make cards.

With the scrapbook weekend retreat at mom's fast approaching, I think my goal this weekend will be to clean up my scrap space, put away some of the jewelry stuff for now and bring out the paper. I even had a few good photo's of Haley that are screaming to be scrapped.

Here's hoping the inspiration flows.....

Two weeks in...and loving it

I haven't posted about the new job because I keep meaning to go take some photos of the office / firehouse and post them. Well, so far that hasn't happened. Maybe I could just add ....

But that wouldn't be right now would it?

Here's a synopsis of my new job.... I am working for the Boulder County Sherrif's office. The small town of Superior sub contracts with the Boulder County Sherrif's office to provide a police force for their small community. I work with that force. I am the administrative person for the small sub-station.

Now, some might ask what does that have to do with fireman? Well, our small sub-station has a small three-room office in the firehouse. So, not only do I get to work with all the deputies, but I get to see and work around all the firemen as well. Now, what girl would not like that job? That's right ladies....eat your heart out!

More on the job later....

Fun stuff - Friendly Plastic w/ Rub-on's

So, while Linda Peterson was here she taught me this fun technique. She was taking white friendly plastic, using rub-ons on top and then using alcohol inks to add color to the piece. I loved the look (and by-the-way, got a wonderful prototype piece from her...), but tried it with a metalic silver piece of Friendly Plastic instead of the white. Here are some samples of the pendants I've made using this technique.

The metalic underneath the alcohol inks gives it almost a satin-like finish under the rub-ons. In fact, some of the pieces have a very Asian-silk-print-material-look to them. The photo's don't really do them justice.

I'm really liking the way these are turning out and looking for more innovative ways to use this fun medium.