Pat Benatar... Near Me?

I found out (late tonight) that Pat Benatar wrote (or co-wrote) a biography about her life... and even more so, that she'll be at a Borders in Los Angeles TOMORROW (Friday)! It's a little late notice for me, but for you lucky awesome people that wanna hit her "...with your Best Shot... Fire Away!" (insert music here...) She is doing a signing, and here's the info!

Pat Benatar
Between a Heart and a Rock Place

Friday, June 18, 2010 • 7:00 PM
>>Borders – Westwood
1360 Westwood Blvd | Los Angelas, CA | 310.475.3444

Let me know how the signing goes. If you miss her, she'll be back in LA on July 31st (at the Greek) with REO Speedwagon. She'll be in Temecula (CA) all by her lonesome on July 30th (Pechanga). Dunno if I can go just yet... we'll have to wait and see. Wish me luck!

Laundry Days

The clothes pile up
Everyday of the week
Don't want to do it
Turning my cheek

I have to do it
It piles up that way
Don't want to do it
I want to say

It's just sitting there
Looking at me
Those dirty socks
That worn T

Clean us
They constantly plea
Put us in the washer
Let us be free

To tumble around
To mix with clean stuff
When the cycle goes off
We've had enough

Hmm... I guess
It's not that bad
To wash them now
They look so sad

And forlorn
In a pile like that
Waiting, watching
From where I sat

I'm now up
and sorting through
All the piles
As I should do

I need to give them
A clean life
To make a good mother
And a good wife

A Completely Yummy GiveAway!

I took a break from blogging and was extremely intermittent with it all, until yesterday... when challenges hit me and I blogged about it.

Today, a super yummy fantabulous-tasting give-away is tempting me yet again. I would love to sink my teeth and gum away at the flavors alone! Michelle Phillipi is a most excellent card maker. She is also an excellent food (and snack) connoisseur. And I share her in most every taste she's blogged about. Whelp... TODAY she is sharing her tasteful finds (from Julian's Gourmet in NY). And you could win, too! Check it out at Inside My Own Private Idaho, but don't just check out this give-away... check out her awesomeness! Whether it's couponing, cards, or other artistic and creative skills, she's got it all! (and I miss her!)

OMG! I Actually Completed a Challenge!

It's a challenge for me to complete a challenge, let along actually DO the challenge itself. But this was a prize I truly wanted. So... on to it!

The challenge? A Father's Day card (masculine - Thank you to The Pink Stamper for this awesome chance!). I know... my dad isn't much into any type of holiday, so I just made one for an old-timey type of dad... "Pops".. So here ya have it!.The train is from Mickey and Friends, flipped and welded to form a card. The font is Alphalicious (welded again). Love that Gypsy! And thanks to Ranger for the Distress Inks in Black Soot...

It's May! (Well... half past...)

So... a brief update...

(Read this REALLY REALLY fast, because that's how it happened!)

Juan's birthday was on Cinco de Mayo. So... prepping, because (of course), his kids couldn't come camping with us for the weekend, so... we had a impromptu birthday dinner at my mom's house on that Wednesday. But... (of course), I had to go and "f" it up by dislocating my knee on Tuesday night (while out getting groceries for the next day).

And although this has happened to me many times in my younger years, I cleaned, cooked, transported and generally did everything I normally do, including putting together two collages and cropping/playing with all the photos to go in them. My knee didn't get any better.

We had a great time during Juan's birthday. We also celebrated Mother's Day on that Wednesday, as we were going to be camping...

Carrot cake (yum!) and ceviche with haiva (crab) and camarrones (shrimp) was a hit. We also threw in barbecued corn (which was all gone, too!). And I did it all on a budget and stayed within it. My problem? Only the Monster Energy cap that I ordered had come in... the hoodie and t-shirt still had not arrived.

The hat had come in plenty of time, and was ordered through a non-eBay company. Kudo's to them! The e-bay provider... uh... it FINALLY came on Thursday last week. Way late, and even worse news... it was the WRONG shirt! AND... the "silk-screening" on the hoodie is already peeling off after never having been worn. Boo! and the dude has STILL not responded to my messages. I'm about to go all "Buyer Protection" on him!

So... Thursday was also a turning point in my knee. The swelling went through the bottom portion of my leg, all the way to the toes... so I made an appointment. No biggie. Stuck here with my leg propped up, knee brace on, and bored out of my mind. I can only hope I hell faster, sitting on my ass, so that I can get up and do (and catch up, too!) on all the things I need to do.

I'll post pics of the new craft room... which will be lovingly called our "studio"... soon... Enjoy your weekend.

Catching Up on Some Cards and Other Stuff

Whew! Time sure goes by fast! I've missed out on posting my Valentine's stuff, some birthdays, some thank yous, gifts, cupcakes and other things. So... I'm just going to cut to the chase a post a coupla little stuff here (that I can find) and give you the short version of it.

This means, that... things will probably be outta order here for a while. I am at a standstill (as of this moment), due to the shaping of my craft/scrap/sewing room, so during my "off" moments, I will post things I can find... randomly... Here's a little for the day:

Here's a quick Thank You note I cut up... using my Cricut (Gypsy Font from the Gypsy) and the Cuttlebug, with some leftover papers circa Valentine's Day.

At some point this year, I went to a baby shower. This was for Little Baby Wyatt (hey, Jenn!). Made with my Cricut, Cricut Sampler, and Gypsy Font. Glitter paper and chalk (for the cheeks) go a long way. The baby was adorable (after birth shower) and the gifts were fun and a-hoy-y (pirate and sail-boat themed).

We also went to another birthday, this time a dual birthday party. Here's one of the cards. I made them both really similar, so that neither girl felt hers was "different" than the other's. They were made (once again) with my Cricut (Alphalicious and Gypsy Wanderings) and the Cuttlebug.


Valentine's Day kept me busy! First of all... money was a scarce thing. So... I got super duper cheapy bags ($.25 from Walmart) and used them for the wrap for the 5-year-old then stuck Cricut-cut hearts and stuff all over for decoration (like she even noticed).

For the older girls (and hubby) I bought the $1 miniature candy bars and made a vase (hot gluing it all together). Cut out hearts and flowers using various cartridges on the Cricut, doubled chenile stems, and hot glued a candy center for the flowers. To use as a "frog", I used Smarties to anchor the candy flowers. Tying a ribbon around for the final touch, and Voila! Finished. And really cheap.

Hubby got me something really good, though. He purchased tickets to the Eagles concert at the Hollywood Bowl (see my review here along with some great pics of the Eagles and the Hollywood Bowl).

My gift for the family? For everyone, I used my Cricut Deep Cut Blade (and housing) to cut out a stencil (with leftover stencil material) of a couple of hearts and stencilled colored sugar onto cupcakes. C'est bon! Fin! I had an extremely inexpensive Valentine's, but with a homemade touch. They all loved it, and I got to rest and eat a cupcake (which went straight to my hips)!

For all of the above (except the candy and bags), I completely used what I already had... SCRAPS and items from the pantry! I looked through everything I had and made the most and the best of it. Utilize your scraps, too. *It's a good thing! (Thanks, Martha!!!)

Rockin' Out With The Eagles (the Band)

It was a Friday. Much like any other Friday, except I was sitting in traffic, waiting... bumper to bumper... just anticipating my night. I was excited. This is something I had been waiting for... for months. I was on my way to the World Famous - Hollywood Bowl, to see one of my all-time faves... The Eagles.
We got there REALLY early (like at 4pm'ish, and the concert was set to start at 7:30). They do this thing called "Stacked Parking" (where everyone [car] is piled into a parking lot like a can of sardines, and the only way you are gonna get out is if the person or people in front of you have left already... needless to say, but... there are no early releases in this situation). We were the fifth in line of the first row of the parking. We had a easy out into the future traffic. Good to go!

I didn't take pics of the food... actually, I didn't take ANY pics (these are all Juan's doing!). We went with the thought we were going to eat at one of the restaurants. Uh... yeah... What we didn't know is... in the past eight years since we'd been to the Hollywood Bowl, things have changed a. lot. NOW... you actually can't get into the restaurants (any of them) unless you've made prior reservations. Ugh. So... we were stuck with concession stands or... we could... W A L K (gasp!) to a local restaurant (the nearest one being .5 miles away). We chose to walk to a pizza place.

As we were headed down the hill... one of the concession stands rolled up their doors... Juan went to ask about the Chicken Caesar Salad. Upon finding that the chicken is cold (not fresh), he started to walk away. The vendor said, "Well, we have burgers, hot dogs..." BURGERS? Uh... they aren't on the menu... "Yeah, they're not, but we have 'em." So... we ordered burgers (the man? ordered... 2. Me? 1.) and coughed up $11 a piece for them.

My thoughts? OMG! I coulda/woulda/shoulda had Red Robin or The RainForest for that kinda price! These are gonna be crappy little burgers for a mass expense.

But... I waited patiently and didn't say a word, as THIS is what my husband wanted to do... and I really didn't want to WALK up and down the hills of Hollywood (the Bowl is SURROUNDED by hills!).

Out came the burgers, mine with no onion, his with cheese. Much to my surprise, we got three (count them... 1... 2... 3...) trays, each with their own burger in them. Curious, I looked at my burger, peeking through the open wrap. Mmm... grilled Artisan bread/bun. (Oh yummm...!) And the burger? Uh... HELLO burger! It wasn't a teeny-weeny 1/4-pounder. It was one helluva 1/2-pound burger (grilled to perfection... by the way!). Complete with butter leaf lettuce, succulent red-ripe tomato and a side of garlic-mayo. I am in HEAVEN! This was better than Red Robin and Rainforest put together (and I love their burgers!). And Juan said, "I thought they were going to be rinky-dink... and I ordered 2?" After he got through his first and half-way through his 2nd, he asked if I wanted more. Uh... no. I'm so good.

How'd we get the camera in? Turns out, regardless of their strict rules being handed out at every possible moment, as long as the camera is point-and-shoot, not one of those HUGE SLRs with the magnificent lens, they let them in. So... we went back to the car and got his camera (hence the reason why I didn't want to WALK to dinner... taking the hills yet again).

OK, enough of my bad prose... I'll get to the actual entertainment.

The Hollywood Bowl in the daylight, with fans still pouring in...

We got to our seats, and kicked back for a while. We people watched. We met seated close to us. Did you know... People came from all over the United States! The women next to me (who I seriously hope to be life-long friends with - HI, Kaye and Susie!!!) were from Alaska. The guy next to Juan was from New York, and another guy that my two new friends talked to was from Texas. And those are only the people we learned about.

Wow! I would never... well... I can't REALLY say that, as I've been exposed to Southern California and all it has to offer my whole life. We are SO spoiled here. We have everything at our fingertips, or at least within driving distance.

Ok... on to the concert (btw... I'm posting a video, and it is taking FOR.EVER. to process!)...

At 7:35, the Eagles took the stage. They sang in a cappella from their Long Road Out of Eden album. It was awesome. No one else opened for them. They did it for themselves. (*Note* I don't know what song it really was, as I'm not familiar with THAT album. I mostly listen to all of their older stuff. But... I will be getting this album, as what I've now heard... I like!)

These guys are seriously awesome! It was the best concert I've EVER been to (and I've been to quite a few). They joked around with each other, made jokes...

Glenn Frey mostly sang with his eyes closed (and his right finger in his ear), but had a great sense of humor in telling the history of some of the songs. My fave saying of the night? Glenn Frey: We are the eternal band. The Band that never dies! (and they played forever, too!... that's a good thing.)
Don Henley... sang his heart out! He even did some of his solo-ish songs (Boys of Summer and All She Wants to Do is Dance). He sounds JUST like he always did. And the guy is versatile... jumping from percussion to guitar... Timothy Schmit can still sing those high notes in I Can't Tell You Why, play bass, and sound GOOD! Joe Walsh? What can I say... He's CRAZY... He's unpredictable... On his first solo of the night, I seriously thought it was a mercy song (like they "let" him sing, just so he could get some credit). It was THAT bad (think The Who during the Super Bowl... like Grandpas Gone Wild [and horrible]!). But, as the night got on... he warmed up and got A LOT better. They took a short intermission (less than 10 minutes, people!) and returned to again start off with another a cappella from their latest album. This time, they sat together. It was great. This was THE FIRST concert (sans children) I've ever been to that I didn't have a drink. Not. a. drop. of. alcohol. was consumed by this here person here. Seriously. Don't know why, but hubby got some sort of stick up his ass (yes... I still love him!) that we were going to enjoy it SOBER. And enjoy it... I DID!

And the Eagles enjoyed it, too! They played for a whole 3 1/2 hours, with a brief intermission and two encores. They did it all! They were funny. They were entertaining. Their quality (of voice and of music) hasn't deteriorated over the years. They sounded SUPER awesome. But most of all... they enjoyed each other. They jammed together and had a blast. They made us (the audience) feel like they were doing this because they liked to do it. I have never seen a band enjoy performing as much as they appeared to.
I would like to personally thank the Eagles (all members) for this wonderful night in Hollywood. It was a night I will never forget and will forever remember as the BESTEST concert I've ever been to in my whole life. These are great memories, and I will cherish them.

I came out of this concert with a renewed spirit for music, the Eagles, and the Hollywood Bowl. I came out with a couple of new friends, too (and not high on second-hand weed smoke). Thank you, Juan... for your most wonderful Valentine's present.

The Hollywood Bowl at Night.

After all this gushing (my true feelings, by the way), I might probably complain, in another post, about the CHEAP-ASS quality of t-shirt you get for a whopping $35!, but I am still so elated right now, I don't want to go there... right now...

And (if it ever finishes processing...) here is a little share with you. I hope you enjoy it like I did!
SCRATCH the ABOVE! It just won't take!

and here's a much cleaner version (courtesy of someone off youtube)