Shanna's Year in Status 2010

FWD: Re: EAT! DRINK! SHOP! THIS SATURDAY THE 18th!!!!! Flier attached :)

Come and shop. stop by and say hi. You can check out our craftmanship for a good cause.

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From: Lisa Lopez <lisa@rawsugarinc.com>
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Date: Thu, Dec 16, 6:47 PM -0700
Subject: Re: EAT! DRINK! SHOP! THIS SATURDAY THE 18th!!!!! Flier attached :)

*Hello fellow procrastinator's,*
>
> Only 7 days till Christmas!! Come and join us as we show of
> our crafty talents at our EAT[?]! DRINK[?]! SHOP[?]! shopping bazaar.
> Phoenix Entrepreneur's coming together for a cause. Baby gifts, candles,
> jewelry, hair and purse accessories, western gifts, soaps and smell goods,
> salsa, dogie treats, handbags, and plenty more to fill up your entire gift
> list.
>
> Hope to see you there,
> *P.S. please forward this to your contact list :*[?]
>

> Lisa Lopez
> photographer/artist
> 646-209-3878
> lisa@rawsugarinc.com
>
>
>

Christmas Shop, Eat, Drink

When's Dinner? I'm about to blow up!!

We had our two AZ grandsons stay with us overnight this past weekend. It's like a holiday celebration with the energy they bring with them!! Well, It's like trying to take your dog for a walk in new territory. He stops to pee on every bush! The grandson's are pretty much the same in their actions.Haha, they jump from one thing to the next, they have to make sure everything has been touched, used, and revisited! We, "G", Chad and I have to tag team it while the boys are here. How does so much energy get so bottled up in one little body just amazes me. Troy is 6 and Jake with be 4 in Nov.
 And in the middle of it all Jake says, "when is dinner?,I'm about to blow up!!" I told him that when he let me finish doing projects with him, I could cook some dinner, he told me right then and there I was done.
 Sunday morning the boys were knocking on Uncle Bubba's (Chad) door very quietly until he pulled open the door and said "What do you want" they replied with "is it morning yet?" uncle bubba looked at the cell phone to see the time and it was 4:55am. he said " it's still dark, what do you think?" He convinced them to go back to the bedroom and turn on cartoons for awhile. Well, one hour passed and it was light out so they scurried to uncle bubba's door again and knocked and waited for the tower of fear to answer the door again. Uncle bubba opened the door and these 2 little faces looking up said, " It's light out, do you think nana and papa are up yet?" NO, I don't think so. But uncle bubba was a good sport and got up with the boys and let the dogs out of our room so they could entertain the boys for a few mins. There is so much to do that why waste it sleeping? They were waiting to feed the horses, ride the quad, build engines, paint the barn, make jewelry, cook, and the list goes on and on and on...................
 The boys had a great time and crashed in the car on the way home. Not to mention that "G", Chad and I all took 2hr naps after the boys left.

A Few of the 1880's Dresses

Some of my Sewing Designs

Enjoying the toys and grandkids

Our Vacation in Branson Mo.

Our first visit to Branson Mo. was a wonderful experience. We stayed at the Barrington Hotel, which I would highly recommend! It's located on the Red Route and was very nice. The rooms were comfortable, the beds and pillows were awesome and the staff was friendly and helpful. They also had a good continental breakfast room for us to have a wide variety of items.
 Branson has resort tour vendors on every corner in the town. If you worked the system right you could eat, play and sleep for next to nothing! Ha ha Of course you would be sitting in resort sales rooms a lot and would have to work that time into your schedule.
 We saw some great shows. The first day we just cased the strip and of course the Wal-Mart only to find there is a main stage of entertainment in the mall. They are there to show case themselves and hawk their Cd's T-shirts etc. and they play for tips.That evening we saw the Grand Jubilee. It was a great variety show and very handsome young men!! Oh and the girls are ok also! I have come to realize tho that I think every entertainer uses the same dentist!! The smiles were big and the teeth were blinding white!! But they all looked alike. Maybe it's a regional thing! We had a wonderful steak dinner Tues. night at Montana Mikes.
 Most of the evening shows start at 8:00pm so be sure to dine before the show as we found out the streets are neatly rolled up at 10:30pm and no place to eat.
 We saw The Clay Cooper show it was well worth it, Bucket and Boards they are two very talented guys that can keep rhythms to anything and also do comedy. I really enjoyed them, I don't think Gary appreciated the humor or the talented drums on ladders, buckets and each other, but I did and it's a great show for the kids. Then we saw Hamner Barber, they are a good show of magic and amazing ventriloquist. We went to the Pierce Arrow theater and saw some good acts, they were very funny. The last show we saw was the Legends in Concert. It was a very good Vegas Type Show and the stars were very believable. The Elvis was amazing and also Michael Jackson,Blues Brothers,Alan Jackson,Little Richard and Britney Spears, who was the worst!!! But Britney isn't my favorite either. All of the shows had amazing costumes and changed every song. It was well worth it.
 One thing I can say about Branson is that I have never experienced any place that recognizes the Veterans of the US like they do. Every show has the Vets stand and they give thanks to them. Many shows incorporate a patriotic act. Also they aren't afraid of saying God Bless America!!!

How do YOU spell relief? S-C-H-O-O-L

The Girl off to 8th grade, the Boy off to 5th grade, the Baby a day without them!

Hi all! I'm Shanna, Wanda's daughter. I figured since she's on vacation, I'd hijack her blog and share my less than profound thoughts.

Today is the first day of school for my 2 older children. This day has come not a moment too soon!! My 13 year old is entering 8th grade and it seems since her 13th birthday, she has developed all of the teenage angst and attitude that you hear so much about. Where did that come from? She used to be such a pleasant child. The 11 year old is starting his 5th grade year and where we live, that means intermediate school instead of the elementary school just down the road. This is the first time he has to ride a bus and I know he's nervous about making sure he catches the right one after school. I, on the other hand, would welcome a few additional hours of respite from their constant bickering and badgering.

Summers are hard on us stay-at-home moms. I have a theory that we age 5 years for every 3 months we have to stay home with these creatures we call offspring. How did the generations before us survive? Well, I have a theory on that, too. Mom and I have discussed this in length, in fact. First, Moms of yesteryear were called housewives, not stay at home moms, and as such, the expectation was on keeping the entire home which included caring for the children. The main focus wasn't on the kids and they weren't expected to entertain us 24/7. We were expected to help Mom and entertain ourselves. Second, I think there were a lot of early afternoon cocktail hours. Not in my own childhood home, but watch the old 50's tv shows and see if you don't think Lucy Ricardo and June Cleaver aren't a little sauced. It seems the demands on today's parents have increased exponentially since even the time my mom had to endure the hot summer months with myself and my 2 brothers. We used to play outside all day long, coming in for lunch only and then back home when the porch lights came on. If we were thirsty, we drank from the hose. Now days, society looks poorly upon the parent that sends their child outside with a heat index of over 90. If you do send them outside, you must first ensure they are covered head to toe in SPF 1000, have a hat on, reflective gear and helmets for their bicycles and a constant source of water available to them. Really? Where are our children learning survival skills here?

I remember being allowed to go to the local recreation center at 10 years old to swim. My mom didn't take us to the pool, she bought us a pool pass and we rode our bikes 2 miles to spend the day with the lifeguards. She was busy with my little brother at home, who was much younger and couldn't go do the things my older brother and I could. My local pool requires the kids be 14 before they can go to the pool unattended. They have 3 lifeguards watching the pool at all times, as well as 4 -5 manning the entrance and rotating in to give breaks. If my kids want to swim, I have to pack for the day to go sit and watch them in the pool. All the while, thoughts of laundry to wash and bathrooms to scrub runs through my head.

When I was a kid, if I received an invitation to a birthday party, my mom would dress me up, stick a gift in my hand and send me on my way to the birthday child's house. Now? Birthday parties are social galas. Everyone expects some fancy party at a bouncy palace with gift bags for the guests. When did swag become a necessity? Why is the birthday boy or girl now expected to give their guests gifts? The treat used to be in the gathering of kids, having cake and ice cream and playing a few party games. I've tried to re institute the old fashioned birthday party a few times and heard the parents whispering about the lack of goody bags. Yes, now the parents have to stay for the parties, too. It puts a lot of pressure on parents to keep up.

I think today's parent is required by societal standards to spend so much more time with their children than ever before. We have to sit outside and monitor them while they ride their bicycles, we have to attend birthday parties with them in the houses of overgrown rodents, we are inundated with commercials to have family dinners and family game nights. Enough already! I had a fantastic childhood, full of adventure and summertime independence. I don't want to give the impression for one second that my Mom wasn't there for us. She is a great Mom and took care of our every need, but not our every want. What a great lesson to pass along. I think today's parent is expected to take care of every need AND want, which doesn't nurture an independent, strong, ambitious person. I'm swimming upstream against the current now and trying to recapture some of the parenting techniques of yesteryear. So yes, I CELEBRATE the first day of school because I feel I can breathe once again. And I did it without hitting the bottle. Amen.

Wanda!! Get MY Gun!!!

Here we are packing and getting ready to catch a flight to Branson for 5 days and now I'm fetching the gun!! G was out having a quick look around. We have one of the horses lamed up and she keeps laying down to rest her leg. When all of a sudden G flings open the door and yells "get my gun!" Boy I know that yell! I come running and there he is, the nasty furry little critter lurking under Chads green truck. He was eye balling Milam, our horse.
I guess he must have heard the gun word also and he walked away slowly. Now I'm worried about the horse. Guess Chad will have fun taking care of the place. I can see it now, it will look like a sniper school.
We are off to Branson.
I will tell you the rest of the story later

Pears, but no Ideas

G did it to me again. I'm working hard everyday at the computer with Real Estate and my blog and sending out orders on my Etsy account, not to mention the rest of the upholstry job. But I don't have a "real job" because I don't have a time card! So he brings home a 50 pound box of pears. I don't have anything better to do with my time, right?

 Now it's Friday, we leave next week on vacation and I'm worried about the invasion of fruit flies. I find a receipe for pear bundt cake, I doubled it and made 2 cakes. Wow, I used 10 pears! Only to have 150 more to go. I took one to the horses only to get sneered at. What! you didn't core it for me? Blah! Lucky for me the rabbits and quail came to my rescue.

Can you freeze pears? Maybe Pear jam?, how about Pear Wine? now thats a good idea! any ideas?

He "G" is soooo his dad "Archie".

AN INTERESTING FACT ABOUT AUGUST 2010.

AN INTERESTING FACT ABOUT AUGUST 2010.

This August has

5 Sundays,

5 Mondays,

5 Tuesdays,

all in one month. It happens once in 823 years.

I probably will miss it next time

1966 Ford Galaxie 500

Term of Endearment "Meat Head"

So, if you’ve ever watched “All in the Family” you’ll know that Archie called his son-in-law Meathead. It was a term of endearment, kind of. OK, so it wasn’t a term of endearment at all, but that is how I mean it toward my own son-in-law. Now why would I dedicate a sewing link to him, you might ask? Well, my daughter is a wonderful housewife (her preferred terminology) who takes care of their every need and their 3 children. She cooks, she cleans, she volunteers with the cub scouts and girl scouts, she is a very talented artist and a college graduate who gave up her career so he could pursue his Air Force career. Despite all of those wonderful qualities, and some not so wonderful ones, but hey, who’s perfect? Despite all of that, he still thinks that the end-all, be-all of housewifery is a woman who can sew an outfit for the kids. Crazy? Yes. But that’s my son-in-law. He constantly compares her lack of sewing skills to my expertise in the seamstress business. Yes, I can design and cut my own patterns and make an authentic 1880’s reenactment costume, but she can change the oil in her car. She got some of my artistic abilities and a lot of G’s logic and we do, after all, call her our middle son. So, to poke a little fun at my son-in-law, T, I’ve decided to share some of my sewing projects with you here. Don’t worry about me giving him too hard of a time, we’re good like that. Since I don’t have anything ready to share with you just yet, check out this blog http://newdressaday.wordpress.com/. What a creative girl! She’s up-cycling her thrift store finds with a limit of $1.00 per day for 365 days. Just shows you what an open mind can accomplish.

Back To School

Well it's back to school for many friends and relatives. Todays kids are facing so much more than I ever thought. Did you know that children don't have to have lunch tickets or cash anymore. They just stick their finger in a scanner and it reads their finger prints! Ooh scary stuff. Pretty soon it will be chip implants just like your pets.


My day we didn't have school lunch programs. You either brought a sack lunch or you went home for lunch!

"Edith and Archie" sent "G" with peanut butter sandwiches everyday of his 12 years of school!! And believe me I have heard about that the whole 40 years of marriage. He yet to this day has not had another pb sandwich!



It's a Good Life!

Wanda