Great Expectations

Well, I’m writing again…just as I said I would. However, this will be the last entry to a blog I’ve kept for over a year and a half, full of many fond memories to conclude just one chapter of our lives. It seems that a lot has taken place over the past few weeks, that has me thinking about the days ahead. I thought the health insurance license Lee worked so hard to get, was our ticket to a mad dash of financial independence…finally. But, it turns out I was wrong, and that wouldn’t be the first time I’ve said that. The entire four months of training was nothing more than added stress and a waste of time. Was it worth it to get the license? Yes. Between the life, health, and even his real estate license, he’ll always have something to fall back on if the need arises. He has recently been offered a job as an Account Manager for a company called Easy Pay 90. He quickly went through training in just a few days with a vigorous effort, and will test his endurance through the trial and error of selling techniques once more. Lee is a salesman…a mighty fine one at that. So, with his confidence in one hand and his tenacity in the other, I feel optimistic that this will be a lucrative business for us indeed…our ticket to a state of financial independence. I have continued to draw rubber stamp designs, and I’ll share what I still think is good news, regardless of the outcome. I contacted several rubber stamp manufacturers to find out the cost evaluation on the number of designs I have and the different sizes. One individual I spoke to, told me to email her my designs so she could review them as possible candidates for future rubber stamps. She told me that if she liked what she saw, then we could talk further about an opportunity to get paid royalties on the stamps that do sell from the company. I was immediately elated at the thought that her enthusiasm and friendly approach could serve as the catalyst to help transform a hobby into a potential business. I didn’t hear back from the individual, but that just means I’m at the beginning stages; taking the first initial steps to getting my name out there. I know the art industry is saturated, but with every passion and a unique style, comes a chance to be the next aspiring artist. It’s worth a shot to me. I went to the herbalist the other day in an exuberant effort to figure out why I continue to get breakouts on my face, lower back pain, allergies, and if it’s possible that I may have a thyroid imbalance. As many of you know, I’m against any kind of synthetic prescription drugs, or any other drugs for that matter, so I felt a natural approach was the path to take. The appointment was both informative and enlightening as I discovered many new and interesting things about myself. Being a person with an O negative blood type, I learned that my body doesn’t react well to dairy or wheat products, which could explain the allergies I get at certain times of the day, including a swollen, itchy throat , sneezing fits, and a stuffy nose. It seems that O blood types live healthier lives on a high protein diet, and are considered the carnivores. I received a list of foods specific to my blood type. What would it actually be like to cut out the foods I’m used to eating, and basically change my way of life for a list? If I were to follow this list, and not falter in any way, I would be very limited on what I could eat. This applies to all things I love, like popcorn, ice cream, and the usual not-so-good treats that a “sweet tooth sucker” like me would like. Darn!! In addition, I learned that I’m an “earthy” person that likes taking care of the home, nurturing, likes order, and very organized. It’s important for me to stay close to my family and friends. I learned what weaknesses I have based on a quick exam of my eyes, and what supplements I need based on the energy they give off. I walked away inadvertently at first, by the daunting thought of that new food list. But after a moment, I became receptive to the idea of a new me, so to speak. So, with the right foods at hand, I’m going to challenge myself, alongside Lee, as we walk this new path of self discovery together…one day at a time. On another note, Boise State football is on the rise again, so we will be tearing it up on the blue turf against Oregon State, which happens to be on Lee’s Birthday. Wish us luck! In conclusion, all of these posts represent many of my life experiences during times of happiness, sadness, discouragement, and triumph. I thank all of you who were a part of these experiences. Below, I have posted one last photo of my family during our trip to Lagoon a few weeks ago. May the days be bright, cheery, and fun for all of you! Thanks again!

The Latest News

The thought of blogging has come to mind once again. While this used to be a regular occurrence, I’m finding it more and more difficult to keep up. Now, it seems I have to force myself to sit at the computer and write another post, since I can’t bear the thought of actually abandoning the one place I can write about anything in my life and share my thoughts and feelings on different events, people, places, and things I find to be important enough to talk about…that is my blog. Life hasn’t been too eventful the last couple of weeks, which could be why I haven’t posted in awhile, but I have the latest update nonetheless. This last Saturday we had a combined yard sale with my family, which was kind of fun, considering that we just sat around most of the time. I find that it is entertaining to watch people and this was the perfect place to do just that. You can always pick out those people who thrive for a good yard sale bargain and they will do just about anything they can to get it. I don’t have any pictures…unfortunately, but I’m sure you can imagine. Lee and I made a whopping $41.00 at the yard sale, and considered ourselves lucky, as we were just going to donate all of our stuff to the D.I. anyway. All the plans I’ve had to start a rubber stamp business have come to a halt…at least for the time being. After discussing it further with Lee, we decided it would be more cost effective to sell the designs to a manufacturer of rubber stamps, rather than spend the kind of money it would take to purchase all the equipment like a rubber stamp maker, laser printer, another computer, etc. So, the office I started putting together for myself, is no longer an office, but another spare bedroom. Although this has all been so sudden and a bit disheartening, I am quite relieved to say the least. Honestly, it was beginning to be too much to focus on all at once and I was getting overwhelmed at the idea. Needleless to say, I have now started moving many of my office accessories downstairs to our main office in the house, which is totally fine by me. We’ve even been able to make a little extra money by selling the desk and dresser that I had painted and refinished. I will now focus strictly on the designs to be drawn, and not about getting the office in tip, top shape. I have, however, been putting some thought into our own bedroom, as it has needed some attention the whole four years we’ve lived in our house. After finally getting a new bed frame, headboard, and a couple of nightstands, the room is starting to come together as a bedroom should. So, to add the finishing touches, I have been looking into patchwork quilts to compliment the bed, lamps, pictures on the wall, shelving units, and other décor items that will complete the look altogether. That has been another project, but I’m taking my time. Our rabbits, Salem and Zelda are doing great, and have been adjusting to the many changes recently with the hot weather. The main cages we built for them are out in the garage, which they like the best, but since it’s been getting too hot out there, we’ve moved them into the house, where they will stay in their “temporary summer vacation homes” (as we call them). It has been fun having them in the house with us, as we have been able to spend more time with them. We’ve done a lot of organizing around the house, and I’ve also stayed busy with a few cleaning jobs here and there. I decided to save the best news for last. Lee passed his Health Insurance Exam!! I’m so proud of him and his efforts. He’s been waiting for this moment for a long time, and now he can get back on track with work and a regular routine again. Wow! I’ve written more than I thought I would, but once I get writing, I can go on and on. I can’t promise that I’ll write as soon as I’d like to again, but I will return to write again.

Feline Fiasco

A couple of nights ago, we went to my parent’s house to celebrate my sister Kylie’s birthday. Her boyfriend Clae, decided to surprise her over the weekend with a trip to Portland, Oregon. They had my parent’s watch their new kitten Beasley, while they were away. The kitten was already at my parent’s house the night of the party, so she was able to join in on the fun. However, Beasley was acting very mischievous. She must have wanted all kinds of attention, as she was climbing up the screen door, jumping up on the table while we were eating, and even scurried up the large tree in the back yard, at which point she was unable to come down for quite some time. I have pictures here of Kylie trying to coax her down the tree with scraps of a leftover steak from our meal. I just wish I had pictures of all the other things she had done that night. I think Beasley’s elicit behavior added to the fulfillment of Kylie’s birthday party and certainly dazzled us with her presence the whole time.

Kylie calling Beasley down from the tree

Clae holding Beasley, the troublemaker

Kylie hanging with her friend Jill

Thinking of a birthday wish

Blowing out the candles

Cabin Photos and Fun

You may recall from my last post that I do have a few more photos to share, so I’ve decided to include some random ones in this post. About three weeks ago, we headed up to the family’s cabin for a weekend of fun and relaxation, and I might add, it was the perfect way to end a nice Memorial Day weekend. From the moment we arrived, it wasn’t two minutes later, that our niece and nephews Rayney, Dagan, Corban, and Lincoln wanted to go outside and play. Since everyone else seemed to be enthralled with the TV, I decided to see if I could entertain them in some way. As we headed outside, I had the thought to do a mini photo session, and have the kids pose in different ways for the camera. They delighted in this for about thirty minutes, and then moved on to other activities like picking clover, playing Duck, Duck, Goose and throwing rocks into the little pool of water created by the recent snow melt in the driveway. When we got back inside Corban starting telling stories of the snowy mountains, the wolves, and the giant rabbits that were going to come and eat us. He went on to say that we should hide, so they won’t get us. One of the funniest moments at the cabin, was when Corban came to Grandpa Doug holding a can of chili, asking if Grandpa could make him some. Then Grandpa Doug started making fun of the way Corban said the word chili. It really did sound like he was saying the word cherry. Corban proceeded to try and say it the right way, but he was having no luck, and Grandpa just kept teasing him. We all had a few good laughs, as those kids bring a lot of joy to our lives. I’m grateful for them, and while they can be a handful, it has me longing for my own kids someday. Aside from the mosquitoes that were eating us all alive, while taking a nice stroll down by the lake as a family, it was a very nice weekend. Not to mention, it was very relaxing with a few nice meals prepared by my mother and sister-in-law. Overall, I think everyone enjoyed the trip there, and it was definitely nice to be together as one big family.


Dagan in his boat, rowing through the water


Rayney took a photo of us on the lookout


Getting ready to steer the boat

This one is my favorite...Lincoln really is a natural poser for pictures

Welcome Home Giant Chins

I feel like I’m playing catch up with the many photos I’ve taken within the last couple weeks. So, you could expect to see a blog post one after the other for the next few days, as I have a lot of photos to share. One of my last posts indicated that we were seeking rabbits. Well, that day has come. We had done a lot of research about rabbits, as we knew we would want to breed them for meat. That may seem like a horrendous act of animal cruelty, but we mean well. We have tried rabbit meat in the past, and like a common response to many unusual cuts of meat, it really does taste just like chicken! We also learned it is more lean and tender, and has a greater amount of health benefits compared to chicken. With the rising prices of food, we have found this to be a great investment towards our food storage, and we can keep the cost of food down in our budget. So, we began looking specifically for meat rabbits. The Flemish Giant was an option at first, but we found out soon after, that they do get a lot bigger than we expected, about twenty plus pounds and they tend to consume a lot of food each day. We then found the Giant Chinchilla Rabbit breed, which seemed more appealing, since they don’t get quite as big and don’t eat as much either. During our online search for a breeder of this specific type, we came across a lady by the name of Susan, who breeds them in Cheyenne, Wyoming. We began emailing back and forth to get some additional information, and she offered to sell us her male rabbit, whose tail was bitten off after birth, for a discounted rate. She also told us of a friend of hers, who also breeds these Giant Chins, and said we could get a female rabbit from her. After discussing it further, we decided to purchase the rabbits. Now, it came time to figure out just how we were going to get them transported from Wyoming to our home town. Susan said she doesn’t ship her rabbits, but agreed to meet us halfway at a rabbit show she was to attend over the weekend in Evanston, Wyoming. That ended up being about a five hour drive for each of us, which was a lot more convenient than a twelve hour drive to Cheyenne. Upon arriving at the rabbit show, our initial meeting of the rabbits was much more than we expected, as the rabbits were twice the size we thought they would be when we picked them up, but they were as cute as ever so we didn’t care. We had already chosen names for the rabbits, since these were going to be our pets that we could love and take care of as any other. The names we chose for them are Salem and Zelda. After getting them all situated in their boxes, we started back down the road for the long trip home. We knew that rabbits didn’t travel well, so we expected them to have a hard time in the car. Salem seemed content the whole way home, but Zelda kept getting out of her box the whole time, while eating the newspaper we had laid in the bottom, and starting chewing on the box corners, ripping pieces of the cardboard. Needleless to say, it was a long trip back, but they are adjusting to their new home quite nicely, and have enjoyed their time spent outside roaming the backyard and hanging out inside the house. We really have enjoyed them, and have started discovering their individual personalities. Zelda is a little frisky, but well-behaved. Salem is a lover, but discontent in his cage, as he loves attention. Here, I have posted a few pictures of our new members of the family.

Las Vegas Invitation

The last five days of our Vegas trip have been somewhat of a blur. There was so much to see and do that by the end of it all; the days seemed to run together as one. I knew that I would want to write about our experience, but I wonder where to begin. First, I should say that my perception of Las Vegas is very different from what I remember from my last visit ten years ago. I thought about our stay in Southern California last year over the summer, and remember the culture shock that we faced while we were there. We also seemed to be in a state of shell shock upon arriving in Las Vegas, even though there was a mixed diversity of people. The livelihood of such a city is beyond overwhelming, yet full of exciting sights, sounds, colors, and just plain fun. I guess that is why it is known as the “Entertainment Capital of the World”. Many people, including tourists are often lured to Las Vegas for the gambling appeal, but our visit consisted of activities of a different sort. The main reason for our trip was my brother-in-law’s wedding held at the Caesar’s Palace, which ended up being a beautiful ceremony. Aside from the most important part, the highlights of our trip included several walks up and down the main strip of Las Vegas Blvd. where we walked through several hotels and casinos of which had their own unique architectural structure and theme, with many shops, restaurants, and beautiful displays. We took advantage of as much of the free entertainment we could, since we couldn’t justify spending money on the astronomical prices of many of the shows, let alone food and drinks. My favorite attraction was the Fountains of the Bellagio hotel. The way the music synced up with the dancing fountains across the entire lake was breathtaking. We also enjoyed many of the aquariums we saw, as well as the Lion and Flamingo habitats. Our last night in Vegas was spent on the “old style” strip of Las Vegas, where we saw the Fremont Street Experience Show. It is best described as the biggest television screen over a wide dome the length of the street, showing concert videos, with designs and pictures featuring a summer of 69’ theme. Now, I won’t say that Las Vegas was all pudding and pie when it came to entertainment. There were still the usual vulgar images of what is familiar to the Las Vegas scene, but we managed to overlook a lot of that to the best of our ability. I just have to say that I’m thankful we don’t have kids, as we would have had to hide their exposure to such things. However, Las Vegas is also a family-friendly environment with many activities for the kids too. We have talked about returning to this lively city again, so we’ll see what brings us back to the entertainment capital of the world in the future. Until then…here are some photos you might enjoy from our adventure.

Eastside Cannery Hotel

This was our hotel for the first two nights at the Eastside Cannery

Our Comfortable Pillow-Top Beds

This was a view of the swimming pool from our room on the 8th floor
Pro Shop Sports & Aquarium at Silverton

This was a great display of hanging salt water fish and boats in many varieties

A Big Brown Bear

A Couple of Moose

Diver Feeding the Sharks

Jellyfish Tank

Ethel M Chocolate Factory & Botanical Cactus Gardens

This is supposed to be the cactus plant you can make tequila with...who knew?

We saw a lot of lizards while on our trek through the garden

Jack Rabbits

Other Hotels and Sights on the Strip

We stayed at the Excaliber Hotel for the last two nights of our trip

The Luxor Hotel

The MGM Grand Hotel

The Lion Habitat

M&M's World & Coke World

Eifel Tower at the Paris Hotel

The Flamingo Habitat

A Couple of Mime's Entertaining the Passer-by's

The Treasure Island Ships

The Venetian Hotel

A Lady Posing as a Statue

Gondala Rides Through the Venetian Canal
Joe & Heather's Wedding at Caesar's Palace

Fremont Street Experience