The Main Stitch

back to the beach

2010-04-26T06:22:00.000-07:00

odog is all about the sand and digging holes

me scottie and amy playing at the beach

ian is all about kiaking now. he doenst really like hanging out with us anymore because he is 13 so he can escape on his own private boat

the j man gearing up for his spin on the kiack. cool beans!

ontario

2010-03-10T05:08:00.000-08:00

owen is 10

2010-02-10T05:34:00.000-08:00

owen making his wish. he loved his cold stone ice cream cake.

owen thanked me for the best birthday ever when we were leaving wal-mart.

owen in heaven deciding what to buy with his birthday money and what he wanted from mike and i. he was set on legos. he wound up with the new atlantis set from us and he bought a star wars set, razor scooter and machete with his birthday money from his grandparents. he was thrilled to the brim.

weekend

2010-02-01T05:48:00.000-08:00

owen and jule at delbert days petting the goats

ians 13th birthday present. he wanted to have tepanayki- he had lobster, scallops and shrimp.

ian and i dressed for dinner for his birthday.

the jule bug on his special mom-time date.

jules new pet mouse. his name is trevor or "little t". he brought him home saturday night.

a day at the park

2010-01-25T05:52:00.000-08:00

jule doulgas is having a great time riding his bike and fishing with inez. he loves to be outside and active.

ian nesby had a great time fishing under the bridge, but was leary to play at the skatepark until he finally got bored enough to just do it. then he had fun also.

owen is happy to be anywhere and always has to come get some snuggle time in with mom.

collections

2010-01-19T05:05:00.000-08:00

so one of my customers (the resturant) bounced a substantial check on us in november which we have given her ample oppurtunity to clear up with us and have gone out of our way to accomadate her. BUT, after the third lie and coming up with nothing but empty promises, i took mario and we went to parker to handle this in person yesterday. i thought it ended up to be nothing but a great lunch (we had hamburgers at the roadrunner on the river) since she was hiding from us, but turns out we made a ripple because there was money under the door when i came in this morning. i am feeling pretty good about it this morning.

2010-01-18T05:45:00.000-08:00

i do not like men with clean, soft hands. i think men should be rugged and handy.

the versitility of peanut butter

2010-01-13T05:21:00.000-08:00

so i am sitting here using a kit kat bar as a spoon on refrigerated peanut butter. i like this combination. after the gym last night i came home and had frozen chocolate chips on room temperature peanut butter which i though was wonderful, but wished the peanut butter was cold. i also like snickers bars dipped in peanut butter. toasted peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are topping my lists of snacks i like as of late also. it has been years since that has sounded good. i only like my bananas and apples with peanut butter on them. i think peanut butter is quite possibly the best all-round snack out there. just so you know.

70 on a sunday

2010-01-11T05:52:00.000-08:00

i took 4 boys to the park yesterday for the afternoon. ian elected to go to the movies with our neighbor which i think he regretted later (they saw alvin and the chipmunks), which when asked if he enjoyed it, he looked at me with an aggravated scowl and said "mom, like i said, it was alvin and the chipmunks." okay, now that we are through that................................owen, jule and marios kids christopher (3) and troy (turned 1 saturday) and i all hung out at the skate park for the day. we took scooters, bikes peanut butter and jelly sandwichs and cupcakes to celebrate troys birthday. aside from not being able to pee except when mario showed up to drop off baby wipes for me, we had a great time. it was 70 degrees (yeah, in january- totally rocks) and just beautiful out. no wind (the trademark of a desert winter), no clouds, just sunny and warm. the boys went non-stop on their scooters and bikes and had a blast. they had several friends there also which made for more fun for them. saturday they went to the park for a birthday party after martial arts and got to play all day also. they were really happy about having such a great weekend so the pressure is on for next weekend. i finished the pool house yesterday on my lists of gut it out and clean it. i did the storage room last week so now i am down to the workshop and laundry room. progress happens. i am the cleaning machine baby! marios lease was up on his apartment and so he is staying in the pool house until he can find a suitable place for he and the boys. in more important news, ian will be 13 in less than a month and owen 10. what the hell????????????? by the way, this, by no means, shows that i am getting old. it is scary.

a bit sore

2010-01-06T05:04:00.001-08:00

i resumed my workouts monday after a full 7 days off with NOTHING. i feel much better but am not as strong on the right side of my pelvis as i was. the physical trainer said this is normal after an injury and it will get stronger again which is good news because i feel great and i am trying to get through the regular workouts but i found out i can't get my right leg up normally. i tripped over a bag jumping because it hit and running my stride on that side is not full. annoying, but it will turn around. i made it through two workouts monday and three yesterday. the boys brought their chess set last night and played which was really cool. they usually bring books, but it was nice to see the three of them getting along doing something. i love those short people. i think i will keep them. hahah.

its a new year

2010-01-04T05:06:00.000-08:00

the boys came back home yesterday and are starting school today. it is a brand new year full of oppertunity and interest. i managed to gut the kids rooms while they were with their dad so they have a nice clean slate to start off with and i did our closet last night. this is very exciting for me because i love organization and clean. i have to conquor the storage room, laundry room and workshop next, but at least progress is being made. i am off doctors hold on my pelvis so back to the workout schedule today. i am looking foward to getting back to normal. we took over the other half of the building at work last week which is really good for us. we are growing despite the economic struggles of the last year and are quite busy although our compeditors are not. i do wish everyone was busy, but i am not complaining. we are working hard and have a positive outlook on the new year!

its in the mail

2009-12-29T05:54:00.000-08:00

so the mail came yesterday and what do you know, there was a long awaited check!!! i can pay all of our bills now (thank god) and am still waiting on the resturant person to make good on her bounced check, but mabye that will happen soon too. we are very fortunate to be so busy with some good jobs, i hope this continues through the year. the boys are with their dad in overguaard playing in the snow and building legos. i have to take the week off from all of my training per chiroprators orders. i have been trying to cut back on the really twisty exercises but i am not healing, i knocked it out of place again and it has been really painful. i thought if i worked through the pain it would just go away, but that is not happening. so, i am off this week from kids and exercise. i would like to get the house finished being cleaned out. last night i didn't make it very far on that though as i laid down to read a bit and fell asleep. it was by the fire though so that was nice. mom sent me a book called gargoyle that i am going to try to finish this week since i have new found time. it seems interesting so far...................

holiday pics

2009-12-28T05:18:00.000-08:00

dad in his "christmas shirt and hat". he was very christmasy in his outfit.

the bag i made for mom. i needlepointed this over the last couple of years (yes, i am slow at finishing things) and finally made it into a bag for her. will send it off this week.

the bag. it is all leather (yes, real leather) with upholstery fabric lining. the needlepoint peice is set on leather and is a pocket.

mike and i (notice my way cool fingerless mittens that jovi made me). i wear them all the time.

two excited boys. owen was with his dad so he was not here. jule is very proud of the tie he borrowed from mike to look handsome. he has on his oldest pair of jeans with holes in them and his converse tennis shoes too, but he was looking good buddy.

no lights

2009-12-23T05:14:00.000-08:00

with only two days until christmas left, i have determined that there will be no tree this year as we have yet to get it out of the box (fresh ones are fire hazards here in the desert), no lights up as we have not gotten them out either or had the time to put them up regardless, and am still two jackets short of finishing the christmas gifts. we have the girls sent off as of yesterday, but i am running a bit behind on the others. work keeps getting in the way of elfdom. promises of checks in the mail are turning out to be lies so the headache of filing with the courts is lingering over our heads. i am not really feeling the holiday season this year. mike and i will drive jule and ian to williams christmas day. owen is already there and thrilled to be without his brothers for the week. the drive should be pretty as there is much snow that has fallen. i will post pics of the girls bags after they receive them. they are spectacular. everyone here wants one now. including me.

an update

2009-12-09T05:02:00.000-08:00

ian hasn't been around for many pictures lately. he is on his own program but doing well and happy. he loves cooking and does so every chance he gets. owen alexander is the most loving and most obstinate child mixed all into one. he loves to stir up his brothers and me then pretend that we are all crazy and he has done nothing. jule douglas just wants to be big like his brothers. he just turned eight last month and told me last night that is really is closer to 9 now. we have been working hard at work. luckily we have been busy.

pumpkin carving

2009-10-29T05:55:00.000-07:00

the boys did their pumpkins without any help this year. they drew their own faces, cleaned them out and carved them all by themselves. they are getting so big. jule make faces on both sides of his. the boys are doing really well, they are growing up really fast. jule can now do backflips on the trampoline and sings songs to me that he writes in his special notebook, owen is amazingly creative and very social and ian has his first girlfriend (who is an eight grader and he is in seventh).

im back baby!

2009-10-12T06:11:00.000-07:00

after several years of trying to figure it out, i finally have. i am back to prehystorectomy size again, i am eating whatever i want (within reason) and feel great. its all about bioidential horomones and exercise. were on a roll.

girls...............................

2009-09-25T05:51:00.000-07:00

ian called me to pick him up from school yesterday at an odd time, which i didn't really put much thought into, but when i got to the school, he was on the phone very excited. he informed me that he called me 30 minutes late because he was talking to girls. four of them to be exact. they came up to him and wanted to talk. he was beside himself he was soooo happy. so, apparently one is in his cooking class he goes to on mondays after school and told the other ones that ian makes good doughnuts so they asked him to make some for them. he came home and did his chores so he could oblige this request. he made wonderful doughnuts which he fried himself (under my supervision) and we put them in really cute decorative bags for him to give to the girls. i put them up on the counter before we left for martial arts, but ian got excited and moved them into his room without telling me so that way he wouldn't forget them....... (highly unlikely). when we arrived home they were missing and ian found them all eated with the empty bags in the backyard. yep, the dogs were being themselves again. he was sooooooooo upset. he will make more doughnuts sunday to give to them monday and is bringing them cookies and banana bread that we made earlier to show them he tried........ in other news....................before we left jule said that he promised katlyin brownies with rainbow chips on them for her birthday (which is today) and if we didn't make them last night he would have to wait "a whole nuther year" to make them for her. they have been friends since kindergarden and made it around the class dating circle a few times now...... mike pickedup some brownie mix and hersheys kissables (rainbow chips) for us and when we returned jule made kaitlyn beautiful brownies. when i tucked him in last night he had a goofy smile on his face and asked me if i thought he would have good luck tomorrow...................... he is soooo funny.... and by the way, i did ask owen if he needed to make a girl anything and he let me know that all of the girls in his class already like him because they all chase him and one follows him home most of the time (which he thinks is weird) so he doesnt have to make them anything and all of the boys want to be his friend which he thinks is cooler. i love my short people. also, jule sang me the entire song "the wall" by jonny cash yesterday afternoon by memory... i was very impressed.

clawing..................

2009-09-22T05:54:00.000-07:00

i can't seem to rid myself of the overwheming sense of frustration i have developed as of late. i have my schedule full daily to keep my mind from wandering into places it shouldn't, but i am not exercising out the worry the way i used to be able to. i am literally clawing up the ladder, fighting anyone and anything trying to bring my world down. i am fighting the economy just like every other business owner in this country. lake havasu had the highest rate of unemployment in october and november 08 in the entire country and we still have not recovered. i am staring at empty boat manufacturers across the street from me every day. they are operating on skeleton crews just to sell existing boats - new production ended last year......... i want to know why bank of america would rather forclose on me than renegociate my 2300$ a month morgage payment part of which is at an 11% interest rate. people are getting between 2-4% and i am willing to pay my 6.75% i have, just drop the 11% one and roll it into one loan........ this is common sense, or so i beleive it to be........ i am very fortunate that i do have business coming in the door everyday. my competitors are struggling just to get their phones to ring and i don't want to be in their shoes, or even the same brand for that matter. i keep telling myself that if we can keep our heads above water - even mostly- we can keep from drowning problem is that i am not in the water, i have been pushed off a damn cliff and i am clawing back to the top but my fingernails have worn thin and i am not sure how much longer i can hold on........ watch out though, i am one tough bitch!

out and about

2009-09-15T05:45:00.000-07:00

the boys are trying to be super cool here. i think this was supposed to be hang loose but is closer to some star wars sign. jule took the picture of me with my head cut off. mike stayed home to watch football and ian elected to stay at the neighbors so jule owen and i had the afternoon to ourselves.

this is what happens when people let me do what i want

2009-09-08T05:18:00.000-07:00

we built this last week and the customer was overjoyed. he has called us back to tell us how much he really likes it. i like it when they say just do what looks good and let us run with it. so much better than just some blah design..... in other news, ian is grounded from tv and computer until he pulls up his english grade so he calls me this weekend to ask if he is still grounded. obviouly stillyes, so he tells me that i did this last year too and it didn't work so why would i try it again this year. i informed him that i would be happy to do this as long as it takes to accomplish the goal this year (we did last year too) and that i expect more from him. he let me know that he is only average and it is my problem that i expect more. the conversation ended there after i asked to talk to his dad. he changed the subject and for the record, is still grounded from computer and tv.

jule douglas

2009-08-14T06:28:00.000-07:00

so jule has his fund raiser paperwork sitting on the counter when i get home and i ask him what this is. he replies "something, i need to sell 125 items". so i say okay, what are you selling. "i don't know but there is a catalog and i need to sell 125 items." so he goes next door and no one is home yet (this is 3 pm), and comes back then i tell him he can go anywhere in the neighbor hood as long as he is home before we leave for class. he goes to my parents where he says no one is home but someone is sewing. he rang the door bell and knocked then just walked in and saw that the door was closed where the noise was coming from so figured that he should leave. (i called my mom no one was there so i don't know what he heard). funny boy. so then, he goes to the neighbors across the street. he gets one to look at his catalog, then comes home to get his order sheet. i asked "what are you doing" ? he says "getting the order form because i didn't bring it". i asked why not since he needed it for ordering to which he replied" i don't know, i have never done this before, but i thought about it in 1st grade (last year). " i almost died laughing. so there goes jule douglas in his 'my grandma got me this tee shirt in tennessee' shirt with the hearts on it, his flip flops which are a size too big for him and his olive shorts across the street with his order form (he left the neighbor in the carport with the order form). he then came back with the completed form but no check so i had to send him back a third time. he is on the program now. my funny boy. he informed me that he only needs to sell 81 items now and wants to know what i am getting. he is trying to earn an electric guitar. he showed me the picture.

look how cute ette and aaron are.

2009-07-30T20:43:00.000-07:00

the race car seat that nearly made me cry.

the cutest couple ever

these dune buggy seats were hours and hours, but the customer was thrilled.

another view of the race car seat, he loved it.

to the lake we go

2009-07-20T05:40:00.000-07:00

we went to laughlin and back yesterday in marios boat. the best part was the gorge of course though.

petroglyphs behind the jumping rock

under the bridge at topok. is is so cool up here.

jazmin jumping off the cliff. it was freaking cold.

okay, rachel. here is a pic for you. i am now a size 7/8 and bordering a 6. exercise is worth it. not a great pic, but you get the idea. big change from last year.

2009-07-20T05:31:00.000-07:00

jule and owen love to practice their moves on eachother. the trampoline is a softer landing place.

robin i am here.

2009-07-07T05:17:00.000-07:00

so you want a new blog. i will post pics soon. my camera is either dead or i bought a bum battery. that is soon to be discovered, but in the meantime all is well or at least appears to be. we are working like crazy but the boys are gone to erics for 3 weeks so i am taking full advantage of the extra time to not cook and whatnot. i have been working out in all of my free time and the results are worth it. i am happy with myself again (finally), and am working on being more explosive now. i am having a hard time eating enough calories to sustain this much excersize though so i have to get on that so i don't look like a gross person and loose too much weight. no one wants their veins to pop out. our sensie from the arevelo academy will be in cambodia for the next 2 weeks so today is my last private lesson for a bit. the fighters will be leading my regular class so that will be fun. they always push us really hard which is great. i have to get my work boards reorganized in the next couple of days because i have to showboat for referralls thurday and it is time to get some new pics up anyway. so all in all, i am a crazy person staying busy, but its always been like that anyway. so, i guess all is normal.

alive and well.

2009-06-06T08:58:00.000-07:00

we are working our butts off but we are alive and well. owen and jule are with me for the summer because their dad doesn't have help to watch them this year. ian is having a blast fishing and hiking daily and is also learning to shoot a few guns. owen and jule just completed kung fu camp and will attend tournament camp at the martial arts academy in a couple of weeks. they will go to a tournament in vegas the weekend after the camp. should be interesting. we have been working 7 days a week and will leave today (i am hopeing soon than later) to see jovi in ventura. i am really excited because it has been 5 years since i have seen her and have never met zion or liel. in other news, i have lost all of my excess weight now and am trying to become a bad ass mother. i am enjoying my core training class more that i thought i would and am thinking of starting some of the fighting classes as well. we will see if the times work out for my schedule. mike is going to wyoming at the end of the month to see his grandmother and mom and jazmin will be out this summer to visit.

the south has risen

2009-05-29T19:56:00.000-07:00

i was totally impressed with the effort put into this monstrosity. it reminds me of mississippi.

boating trip

2009-05-20T17:33:00.000-07:00

sunday we went to the lake and mario took his boat out. we all went on a short ride to copper canyon and the kids all got out to swim ( and mario). it was fun and marios boat is finally running great. we went home early (about 5ish) and i was taking a nap by 5:30. rare, but i was so tired from the week. the boys go to erics for the weekend then jule and owen come back monday. ian gets to stay for the whole summer. the other two will get to go if diane makes it full time while still on vacation. jule bug is climbing the ladder, ian has on the red vest and owen is sitting with the blue vest.

mothers day

2009-05-13T19:12:00.000-07:00

in stead of doing something, i opted to stay home and clean for mothers day. the boys swam all day and i changed out ians bed (twice, yes, we broke 2) . i cleaned and cleaned then cooked for a few days and it was nice, but now i need to do it again as is to be expected with a crew the size i have.

the top to a cool rhino job i did.

custom seat covers to match the top. this job was really nice looking

my very cool zebra toenails. i love summer nails!

we are alive.

2009-05-06T19:07:00.000-07:00

jule bug doing a flip into the pool. he totally rocks

o dogs being the crazy boy he is.

i-nez trying to do a little grilling. he is trying to get into cooking more and wants to work for his aunt rachel really badly. it is what he is planning when he grows up.

jule dougas as dirty as he can get, shoeless from forgetting them at martial arts and just a total and complete mess. i love these boys more than anything.

some more pics

2009-04-25T17:32:00.000-07:00

here are a few more pics from the 41 ford we were doing. it went home yeserday finally. yeah. the customer was very happy and is fabricating his finish work himself. it was a fun little project (okay, not so little project). we are busy and i am tired. i quit drinking monday and am hoping to be skinny again soon. my core training/fighting class is fun and kicks my ass so that is good too.

in and about the life of becka main

2009-04-17T19:23:00.000-07:00

so as you all know, i am perfect. okay, really, i can try. i was so sick yesterday i wanted to die. i woke up throwing up and with diarreah, and had to go to referrals (be there by 6:30 am) and take ian to school since he left his backback at the shop. so, i did. i was sick all day and had to sew the top for the konkiki boat (a commercial boat under the bridge for tourists) so it could be lauched again and could not go home sick. i finally got done about quarter to 5 and went home, got in bed and did not move until 7:15 this morning. i am paying for it today, but i was not functioning at full force yesterday. i did, however, sew an entire jeep interior today which just left because i was supposed to do it yesterday too. i have so much to do, so many jobs. i am not complaining, by any means, i just get so behind when i get sick. i have to figure that out. i have started core training classes at the boys martial arts studio and am getting addicted to it. we are learnign some fighting which i didn't think i would like, but am loving. so, hard body, here i come. sorry for the lack of blogs of late, just crazy busy and unable to keep up with life! love you all,

some new pics for you

2009-04-17T18:35:00.000-07:00

so i went for a pedicure and they talked me into nails (which they have been trying to for a couple of years now and i tell them no). well, they won. and, i am so happy they did because i love them and have had them for a week now, and it has been a great trial week (lots of injuries) and they are wonderful. i now have girl hands. yeah for me.

mary ann brought mike an easter basket because she is sooooooo cool. we love her. mike aaprciates easter baskets more than kids do.

jule was in a school play they sang songs about being friends. jule LOVES to perform. it was fun to watch.

ian and owen at jules school play. they are about like the picture. crazy boys.

fullerton

2009-03-30T16:33:00.000-07:00

harrison looking cool in his glasses.........

me in my new glasses (totally harrison inspired)
my shoes to prove i was there...........it was a theme throughout the trip...

amber in her new place. it is the first time she moved without me helping her in years. it was really strange to go in and see it all put together alredy! good job amber.

the hotties of fullerton. amber and sarah were the hit of the club. EVERYONE was hitting on them. i was just the too tall friend as usual. i even wore flats damnit, but i didn't dress up too much, didn't bring much with me.

humor.

2009-03-22T12:55:00.000-07:00

so jule douglas (and all of my boys, really) are like me and don't give a crap about what they wear or if it is fashionable (except owen, who does care but his idea of fashionable is askewed) so they put on whatever they want and i don't care as long at it is clean. (which is a battle by they way.) so, jule gets dressed the other day in his black and grey striped polo style shirt, blue basketball shorts and orange and black striped knee-high socks scrunched down with his running shoes. i said " are you sure you want to wear those shorts with that shirt?" and he asked why which i explained to him that his shorts didn't match and he informed me that they did and i said that jean shorts would be a better choice to which he replied "mom, i don't have any striped shorts!" so, i thought it best to leave it at that and be happy that he doesn't own striped shorts.

my new jeep

2009-03-15T10:14:00.000-07:00

the orange jeep i posted some pics of the uphostery earlier, but here is an overall shot. it is getting lots of attention. mike carpeted it (which was tons of work, we had to insulate it also) and i upholstered the seats and did the visors and boots around the shifters. it went towards the yelllow one which i am now driving as of last night. i love it! we are painting it mainstitch blue and adding my needle and thread and i am doing the seats . i will post before and afters. there is no cancer in this jeep, the top adn doors come all the way off (which they will very soon) and it has a lift kit and brand new tires already on it. i also have a new windsheild but won't put that on until we paint it. i am very excited and so are my boys. they get to climb in and out of the bac k seat through the back.

another day gone.

2009-03-12T19:11:00.000-07:00

so i have been really stressed out lately with my new court date of today coming up. terry was trying to attach to my bank account, and i had to go produce paperwork and whatnot this afternoon. i had referrals this morning (had a board meeting tuesday morning) have lots of membership business to attend to ((i am the membership chairperson)) and i have not had time to prepare since i have been trying to get work done here and get paperwork together for court today. i also had several jobs due out and orders to make today, which i did sucessfully, and then a parent/teacher conference with ians teachers (all 6 of them and it feels like a court trial every time) at 1:40 followed by court at 3:00 with my arch enemy. the day just kept elevating with obsticals all of which i jumped and cleared with no deductions, but my stomach suffered immensley. the conference with ians teachers was interesting, because all of them understand the issue, but none of them wanted to address it. ian has been getting physcially assaulted in class most of this quarter by a kid who is now expelled because of his abuse, and his grades have gone down to b's and 2 c's because he has not turned in some of his work (which he has done and left at home). he has been more concerned about whether or not he will get hit at school or made fun of rather than his work since that comes easily for him. the teachers were not expecting me to call them on what goes on in their classrooms. ian tells me everything, including what he has done. anyway, the conference went very well and i think the teachers will be a little more observant of their classrooms and then court, well, that is a twelve page story, but it ends with the judge walking out and saying to terry "the court will not be a part of this". she cannot attach to my bank account and will have to figure out how to do anything now without the help of the court. she finally showed her true colors, and i can drink without worry for the first time in months.

the joys of march in havasu

2009-03-11T08:30:00.000-07:00

the boys climbing all over friendly island. this is a great place for camping or day trips.

owens turn to drive! he loved this.

ian nesby brought us back in to the no wake zone, a very big boy thing to do. our friend jeff really made the boys feel welcome on his boat.

mike in his element.

me saturday night. we went out with mario and heather. i danced all night long. sunday we went boating on jeff and taras boat (which is really cool) and had a great time. being out on the lake is soooo my favorite thing to do. the boys love it to. it is so relaxing out there. i can unwind and just hang out for a bit.

what i've been up to.

2009-03-07T16:57:00.000-08:00

this is a double bimini that i made wendsday. it is silver with a mediterrean tweed stripe. what sets mine apart from others? mine are all french seamed so there are no raw edges and all of my sleeves are striped so that the look is clean and fresh. most people put solid sleeves on patterned biminis because it is much easier.

this is a jeep that mike carpeted and i did the seats and boots in to make partial payment on the jeep i am getting. the owner of the lot is happy with the outcome. the interior looks bitchin.

me scaling a ledge to install these screens. i spent most of the time on the ladder trying not to fall off because it was a bitch to access these fence sections. the owner of the home is really excited about some privacy now and the screens really make the yard perk up. i will not be this white next month. it is time to get in the sun.

a few pics for your curiousity.

2009-03-07T16:49:00.000-08:00

owen and jule love to do the home depot projects and todays was a race track with cars to build, so they thought that was the best thing ever. they have been playing with them most of the day.

jule douglas making his "special sandwich" . he cracks me up. he puts on bologna, relish, green onion, lettuce, tomato, cheddar cheese and sometimes ketchup. he is very serious about it and loves to sit and eat this creation.

for amber to fix.

another view for amber.... pretend it is summer and my skin looks better.

i was an idiot.

2009-03-03T16:59:00.000-08:00

so i posted pics yesterday and i don't know what the deal was, but the computer won. so, sorry for lack of narative. i had a good trip to louisiana, although very tiring. papaw died in my arms which is uncompromisingly amazing and i got to see lots of family that i haven't gotten to see in a long time. robin and aaron were wonderful to travel with (it is 5 hours between new orleans and shreveport). we listened to several xm stations and rocked out to 80s greats and 90s fun stuff. we ate at crabby jacks in new orleans, had a kick ass shrimp po-boy and got to walk through the french market. so it is crazy to be back and into the swing of things again. love you all.

2009-03-02T17:07:00.000-08:00

2009-03-02T16:56:00.000-08:00

a days of my life.......

2009-02-22T16:54:00.000-08:00

bear and sheba chillin out back. they are good kids, they like lots of love.

romo trying to retreive the fuzz out of the pool that he put there
he is a crazy dog and jumps on me all the time. he came to wake me up on the couch this morning and jumped right on me and stood there like it was my problem that i wasn't comfortable.

ians new retainers. he can only take them out to brush. he is starting to get used to them a bit. he was in pain most of last week.

jule bug thinking that he is the king of the upholstery shop. he talked me out of a dollar to get some chips from the liquor store up the street and tried to talk the guys next door into giving him a car in exchange for him picking up their parking lot. i hope he wins that battle someday!

heather getting some motavation out of the refigerator. they keep wine in here for me so when i come over we are all set. heather is marios girlfriend (christophers mom).

christopher turns 3

2009-02-22T16:44:00.000-08:00

daddy at the end of the night double fisting. gotta love that coors light.

mike explaining to christopher that he has to add another finger now since he is a big boy.

everybody wants to play with the bubble wand.

these are the boys from the shop, i deal with these 3 all day long. can you tell how much trouble they are together???

christophers new bike. he is rockin cool.

my camera battery is dead.

2009-02-20T15:48:00.000-08:00

i will buy a new battery tonight, but no pics for today. we got quite a bit of work out this week which is great. my last boat customer tonight was awsome- he came in with a huge basket of chocolates and beer for mike. i had his name in my head wrong for the whole last month though so i am a big dork (nothing new here) and was embarrassed about that. he was happy with the job though (it did turn out really nice). it has been another crazy week of ups and downs but i am handling it better. i went to the doctor yesterday to get refills on my hormones so that i won't be caught without any due to lack of effort on my part. i feel so incredible physically since i have been taking them. i have dropped two pants sizes (i am an 8 now) but gained 2 pounds. i am 162 at the moment which is huge to me, but i am not going to worry about the weight as long as i look good and feel good. i have some pics of ian with his retainers to post- jovi- didn't mean to make you feel left out..... ian has really been feeling self-concious about his mouth because his teeth have huge gaps between them and he has an overbite. it looks like his teeth are too big for his mouth. we wanted to start braces, but he still has 12 baby teeth so we had to do the double retainer thing for the next couple of years. he has blocks on them so that he can't move his jaw back to correct his overbite and the wires to bring the teeth back in. he is a tounge thruster so we are having to reteach him how to swallow with his tounge placed on the roof of his mouth instead of against his teeth pushing them out. he knows that the benefits will outweigh the pain and annoyance of them. owen and jule will most likely have them too, although their teeth are not like ians. i have mounds of patio furniture to sew up and some car seats to get out, but i am hoping for the next wave of boats to drop off. i am down to two today. we got 4 out this week. wish us luck!

saturday at the shop

2009-02-14T17:21:00.000-08:00

we were expecting rain today and it turned out to be pretty nice out actually. ian made himself a crocodile skin vest (vinyl print) by himself. he sat out here with his needle and thread and designed and stitched it up himself. ian took a picture of romo and i so rachel would be happy. she has been requesting photos of me and other than jule, noone ever really takes any, so here ya go rach. ian gets his retainers on tuesday so he is really excited. he will be wearing them for the next couple of years. i found 200$ in my pocket this morning (in the green shirt i have on in the picture). i was so happy. i could have used that last week to buy groceries, but i used it towards rent for the shop today. it was such a great surprise. i also got chocolate covered strawberries (my favorite thing in life) from mike for valentines day and a card (first time hes done anything in the last 6 years) so i nearly fell over and died with shock. so all in all today was interesting and went well. ian and i are off to the grocery store now since i can actually buy them now. yeah for money!

from jules camera

2009-02-13T17:38:00.000-08:00

jule took these pictures with his camera. he is so proud to have his own that he bought himself. i am his favorite subject. so, here is me through the eyes of jule douglas. as far as the week, my car had serious issues, i lost my wallet in a cab, got served by the constable because terry is trying to attach to my bank account, had rain to deal with at work, which puts us really behind, my credit cards didn't hit my account on time so i tried to by groceries thinking i had money, and i didn't so i had to put the groceries back (very embarassing). the list goes on and on, but i am turning it around. we have gotten some more projects out despite the weather (different ones), the payments finally hit the bank, i 1099ed terry for the money she stole (this makes me feel better about it), wrote a letter offering her my van or 25$ a month payments against the court judgement, and scraped for food all week, and came up with enough meals to get us by. so, all in all, i just need to fight the circumstances cause i can kick ass when i want to, i just got overwhelmed and didn't feel like fighting. so, i am over it now and back to the lean, mean fighting machine.

2009-02-09T07:29:00.001-08:00

im depressed. ill post when im not.

some work photos to prove i am still here!

2009-01-24T16:06:00.000-08:00

midget race car- i did the seat. turned out great - it was my second one, i have another coming in this week and then a bigger one after that.

interior of the chevy nomad i told you about. i made these patterns myself. there were none. we fabricated the door panels too since they were trash.

we used perforated imatation suede and tuck and rolled it, and black tweed and teal welt to set off the paint job.

this is the outside of the car.

a few pics for ya

2009-01-24T12:57:00.000-08:00

jule and his friend austin (yes, they are the same age) got to go to delbert days together and catch some fish. they had a blast.

jule today hanging out at the shop with mom.

what my house looks like at 6:15am. breakfast and off to school

don't tell jule he's not trash! he was keeping warm this morning.

what is and what should never be

2009-01-13T15:48:00.000-08:00

the light of my life. three times over. can you tell how happy they are to be here?

what it means to be my child. (yes, they do get paid for this). 5$ an hour actually. they are breaking me.

at their favorite place on earth right now.

romo at his greatest. he had no idea i was throwing peices on him. that dog sleeps like the dead.

i had to take a picture to share with all of you how truly cool i am. not everyone can pull this look off (im pretty sure i can't either ha ha )

a little light running.

2009-01-09T07:32:00.000-08:00

i really wanted to get a run in yesterday before i had to take ian to life coaching so i went to pick up the boys from school to see if jule wanted to come with me. (he usually does). so, we head out for our run which we have to hurry since we are on a time schedule. jule bug was mr. dramatic that his legs hurt, his skin was itchy and he kept yelling "im sure glad you don't love me" when i ignored him and just kept encouraging. he did grab my hand and run "holding hands" with me and would be just as happy as he could telling me about school until he ran out of things to say for the moment and would remeber that he was being dramatic. we made it thorough (he keeps track of the time on his watch and tells me how much longer we have) and was just as happy and bouncy as ever when we finished but did proclaim "i am surprised i am alive" at the end. well there you go jule bug, a little drama takes you a long way. he then came with me to ians app. and read a book with me then ate 5 peices of pizza for dinner. ian and owen do not like to run so much so they opt to stay home for that. they will only come when they can ride their bikes.

an afternoon with aunt robin

2009-01-05T16:00:00.000-08:00

the short people on ettes floor playing with their christmas presents which they insisted on bringing in. they played the entire way home with them too. i am very happy to have them back again. jule bug crawled in bed for hugs this morning.

tyler (one of ians friends) came to phoenix with me. he and ette are being super cool for their photo.

"a dog" cut "o dogs" hair. owen is very particular and won't let many people cut his hair, but he was excited to let aaron. he is happpy with the results too. my cool boy.

the volkswagon headliner has nothing to do with robin and aaron but mike did it and it is really cool. most have wooden ceilings in them. this is really time consuming to put in but it looks bitchin!

before and after

2009-01-05T07:42:00.000-08:00

aaron took about 6 inches off my hair yesterday. he layered it a bit and gave me bangs. i am going for younger. so far everyone likes it. what do you think?

off for the short people

2009-01-03T16:30:00.000-08:00

the jule bug called me at 7:30 this morning to see when i was coming to get him. i said i will see you tomorrow and he replied "it is tomorrow". i will have one happy little boy in the morning. he loves his mama. the other two love me too, but couldn't care less about seeing me today or tomorrow as long as they can call me on the phone. ians friend tyler is coming with me tomorrow so ian will be surprised to see him ( i will pick tyler up at 5am then we will leave). i am very happy to be getting them as two weeks is a long time for me not to hear boy stories. school starts back up tomorrow so we will be chickens running again soon. i have gotten caught up on my sleep though and lots of reading done. mike and i are going to a friends house for dinner then home to sit by the fire and go to bed.

a superpower called "kellly"

2009-01-03T14:10:00.000-08:00

i am go grateful to my friend kelly. she came over last night and today to show me how to run the peachtree program that does the accounting for the business. i have been so stressed out because my computer knowledge doesn't extend much past keeping in tough with people and shopping, but kelly got me schooled and i am soooooooooooooooooo happy. i can do my books and get back on track now. the rest is downhill. so on top of being the savior i have much needed, she is also the reason i am not a size 14 anymore (she is my workout partner), runs her boyfriends business (which is much bigger than i can imagine), takes care of her dad and brother and is a great mom. and, is a great friend too- so thanks kelly!

its officially winter

2008-12-27T16:34:00.000-08:00

see my wonderful mushroom heater. this is the "big dog" of my heaters and makes my world and okay place to be this time of year. it is in the mid thirties in the morning and when the sun goes down. we can't feel our fingers without it because the walls are cinderblock and the floor is concrete. the picture of the dogs is under the heater, they hang out there during the day because it is warmer under the nice wonderful heater......... dick and terry got back from california today. dick has on his new hat his son got him. it is one from "kid rock" which dicks son rick knows, so dick thinks that cool. his son was the shop manager for west coast choppers for the last 4 years (which is where my stickers came from) so dick got to meet some cool people . he is 74 and wants to be 30 so bad he makes me laugh. anyway, he loves his hat. terry brought over some money today and informed me that i am making prime rib tomorrow and he will be over at 11 to watch the game with mike. i am also to make baked potatoes, broccoli and some bread, so i will be going to the store momentarily to get these items so i can cook tomorrow. i love these guys though. they make me laugh everyday.

after the gold rush...........

2008-12-26T13:15:00.000-08:00

love that song. but lately i feel that things are slipping out of control and i dream of getting them tided back up. i'm not sure what the future holds, but change seems to be in store. my dreams have been so amazing that i want to jump in. anyways, some days i am happy and some days just out of my mind with things to worry about and take care of. the boys are gone and my body is crying for sleep so hopefully i will all caught back up. i still have one more week of only mothering animals. i miss the kids terribly when they are not here though. i miss waking them up and tucking them in and them telling me stories................. anyways, have a happy holiday weekend.

arguryle and men

2008-12-24T14:59:00.000-08:00

merry christmas boys!

2008-12-20T12:24:00.000-08:00

here is your present from mommy. let me know what its name is. it is a really nice looking girl. love you boys!

a bit from ettes wedding

2008-12-20T09:42:00.000-08:00

mom came from germany, brad from seattle, memaw and papaw from louisiana, aunt brenda from oklahoma, rachel and laine from california, the bridesmaids from louisiana (and they are worth talking about) it was just wonderful. robin and aaron were truely fabulous and so much fun. it was a great wedding and i was happy to be there.

the jule bug

2008-12-11T11:12:00.000-08:00

jule refers to himself as "the jule bug". he will call me (quite often) and i will ask who could this be, and he always says it's the jule bug mom.! he is my 7 year old truly happy, fun loving , animal loving, family loving, mommy loving, antagonistic, prank playing, brilliantly smart, music playing singing, unusually stong, interested in everything child. i can't beleive he wasn't supposed to be here. thank god for the vectomy reversing itself. i can not imagine our lives without this crazy child in it. he is so truely wonderful.

willy in his element.

2008-12-10T07:52:00.000-08:00

this is my dear friend willy. he stayed here last night with me to try to get one of my 4 brokend machines running. he built machines for striping tape and has a phenomenal mind. this is his first attempt at sewing machine repair. we got it to work last night and he will be back to try to time it this morning. we took the whole damn machine apart and i learned so much about how it runs and how the gears work, pretty cool.

this is what jule looked like after his run.

they boys just before the island trip.

the pit of despair

2008-12-09T17:00:00.000-08:00

thats where i am. on the stretcher to see how much pain i can take at once. i can hear the cracky old voice whispering "the pit of despair" in my ear. my long arm died this morning and my other machine quit in the middle of a seam this afternoon. they can't go to vegas until thursday and my other two i just got are not ready for the job. they need some loving from the machine doctor also. so, looks like 4 machines will be on their way to vegas thursday, i will be preparing things to sew and selling jobs. jule had a soccer game at 5:30 today which we were told about at 4 and the other two went to mma (jule had to miss because of his game) at 5 and it is so cold i can't feel my fingers outside and the phone is ringing constantly and people are walking in the door like crazy, why you ask? cause my customer service and turn around rock, so see how well it goes over that i can produce NOTHING because my tools are all broke. fucking machines. on top of it all, robin is getting married saturday so i don't have any make-up days this week. sunday is out. damnit.

ruination.

2008-12-06T15:10:00.000-08:00

jule and owen got ahold of a leaky pen today. now we are down 1 soccer uniform (which today was the last game anyway), one pair of pants (with a hole in the knee), i t-shirt and my chair outside the shop (which we did to be cool, but was free). so in hindsight, we are down 1 t-shirt. why would i worry? damn pens.

in and about the news from we and us

2008-12-06T07:13:00.000-08:00

my friend sarahs dad has his grandfathers jeep truck which is really cool and in running condition. they came to me to upholster it for them which was really nice that they thought of me for something so sentimental to them. i hope they like it. i think it turned out really clean.

mike has been building all kinds of things as of late, but is doing a mug shelf for an rv right now. really nice people, they are gypsys, go wherever they want whenever they want. must have retired well, have lots of fun toys in tow.

jimee is with us now and will work for us part time and we are encouraging her to get a job for someone else for some real life experience as working for your parents is not always the best as far as feeling responsible goes.

mario and wesley were on a mad light hanging binge yesterday. one of our customers brought us construction lights which are totally cool. we are hanging them outside as out light out there inhibits what we are able to do past dark.

mike upholstered this chair himself (i made the arm covers, big whoop) and did a beautiful job as usual. we like the black and white on this style chair. gave it a nice artsy quality.

we took the boys, jimee, mario and his family and wesley to the parade of lights under the bridge last night. it was fun for all then we went back to our house to make lumpias and mario brought chicken and brats to grill. the boys stayed up late and we had 8 dogs together which all had a ball. we have 4 each now. heather is a vet tech and loves animals as much as i do, probably more actually. she brought home a baby pit bull last night. it is white with black spots so she named her moo. cutest little baby. she spent the evening with me then fell asleep on heathers son christopher. very sweet. christopher and i feel asleep before everyone. i am just not capable of going past 12:30 anymore. i usually only stay up to 11 or so. i liketo go to bed at 9, but who gets to do that with this many kids? it takes me till then to get them in bed.... anyways, all is fine, everyone is good, and all dogs are happy.

seriously....

2008-12-02T16:15:00.000-08:00

lucky 98 radio station has a dj named star that runs the drive at 5 m-f. she is the single most incapable person that could have been chosen for the job and i am very frustrated daily listening to her stupidity and incompetence. i have called and complained more than once, the problem is that there is not a better station to switch to. so, i think someone should start a new radio station here. voulenteers????

raw beauty

2008-11-29T07:33:00.000-08:00

good times

2008-11-29T07:27:00.000-08:00

we had so much fun last night. aaron was the shop manager and robin was the managers wife. i was the worker and they determined when i got my break (yes, i finally one for 2 minutes about 9pm last night. we worked until 11). we listened to bob dylan and talked and got some jeep seats done.

me on break.

aaron being the mean manager.

robin backing up her husband. get to work- NOW!

thanksgiving

2008-11-28T07:18:00.000-08:00

a happy family eating. we had a fire and emmylou harris light of the stable playing. owen was all about the turkey leg and ate it down to the nubs. he was so excited. they all loved everything. owen and jule ate themselves into stomach aches then announced they were ready for pie! serious partiers they are.

2008-11-28T07:15:00.000-08:00

prideful reenterance

2008-11-28T07:10:00.000-08:00

upon careful consideration, will agreed to off the velcro shoes and came to show me his new choice, which i must say are much better fitting. way to see the light willy!

egg intervention

2008-11-26T11:25:00.000-08:00

terry came in this morning entirely too excited with his new st. vinneys find. (our shop is one building away from saint vincent de pauls thrift store- our favorite place in the world). the egg wave is the awnser to perfectly cooked eggs from your microwave every time. just because you can, doesn't mean you should. my warning has been noted.

what the heck.

2008-11-25T16:56:00.000-08:00

today has been a strange one for havasu. it rained. kindof. on and off all day, but was clouded over all day. very pretty, but strange all the same. i highly recommend listening to diva (annie lenox album) in this kind of weather. i tried to go get some firewood but i missed them by 20 minutes so mike will have to go up to my parents to get some for tonight. jule douglas is all about the fire place this week. he has preped the paper and wood every night for me to light for him. he doesn't ask, just comes to get me when he is ready. the boys watched the charlie brown thanksgiving movie by the fire with their favorite blankets last night and will again tonight because the girls will be here late and they want to wait for them to get here. jimee is coming to stay and jazzy is here for the holiday. mike is excited to see them both as are the boys. i will make the pumpkin pies tonight as i have to work thursday so i will prep tonight and tomorrow night. the turkey will cook while i am here and i will leave early. also a must listen, the the. pillar box red, wonderful song.

thrilled.

2008-11-24T16:31:00.000-08:00

homework enthusiasm at its best.

i am not sure that multi-teaming is as productive as multi-tasking. this is why god created women so that things can actually get accomplished.

its all fun and games......

2008-11-24T10:36:00.000-08:00

till there is no more food. he he. we had a bash for mario and lois (frans wife) saturday night. mario turned 25 and requested yellow cake with chocolate frosting and lois turned 73 and wanted strawberry cake so we had both. fran made drunken chicken and a big pot of beans with pork sausage he let cook for 2 days. he also made marios favorite pea salad (yes, he is a freak) . so, eating time comes, we put the beans on the table and the pea salad and much to the dogs delight the table shattered. so, we had drunken chicken, cake and pie. i get to tile my table now which i have been wanting to do. we have a very bad history with glass tables in out household. jimee put her hand through our last coffee table 4 years ago. that was a fun run for some serious stitches. so, no glass in our house and now apparently, outside either. the party was great lasted until about 1 am and fun was had by all and felt the next morning. we moved mario and heather sunday afternoon into a much nicer house and i made chili and corn bread (with straight bacon fat, yum) for everyone. we ran some to fran and ate ours at marios new place. very busy weekend, and we are only down a pot of beans some pea salad and a table. not bad. oh- and upon delivering the goods to fran last night he handed us a new batch of pea salad with "no glass" for mario. very nice.

music appreciation

2008-11-22T12:06:00.000-08:00

i am here alone today so the stero is only playing what i want it to. makes for such a great day. i am partying with bob dylan, blood on the tracks, right now. i wore out the cassette, am on my second cd which is about done and my record player is having issues without the receiver working at the moment. so, i think i should get another cd for the moment, but there are always so many others that jump out at me when i go. i always forget what i went after until i put on my dying albums. last night i wound up with 6 new cds, none of which were the 3 worn out ones i was out to replace. so, rule of thumb-- don't let becka go music shopping without a list! speaking of music shopping, i found the find of my life in llano texas. i got an original long john baldry album produced on one side by rod stewart and the other side by elton john. it is my all time favorite album EVER and i have nearly worn out my dads copy, so i was so excited to find this one. i had been looking for 15 years for another one. sometimes you round the corner and get smacked by something wonderful. good times.

Velcro Intervention

2008-11-21T16:54:00.000-08:00

this is one of my best friends. he is truly one of the greatest, most inovative brains you will ever meet, invented many sucessful industry changing machines, and more, but has succummed to the power of the velco shoe. the ease of putting these on is not worth the embarrassment of choosing to do so. please beware of the evil powers from the velcro darkside. it belongs on the bottom of boat seats, not shoes!

Happy Birthday Mario

2008-11-21T16:48:00.000-08:00

mario is older tomorrow and he wanted a new truck interior so we customized him out and his interior is beautiful. custom main stitch embroidery in back seat middle and suede headliner and visors. one of the pics below is a before picture. it was light grey, boring stock interior.

2008-11-21T16:44:00.000-08:00

wish me luck!

2008-11-19T20:47:00.000-08:00

8:30 am my ex-employee vs. me in court. she stole from me and thinks i owe her money. so.... tomorrow the judge will decide.

as promised.

2008-11-18T07:21:00.000-08:00

okay, here are the six random things i promised to post last week or longer ago.

1. i am an old woman at heart. i love to sew, needlepoint, quilt, mend, anything that is a needlecraft. oh, and i like to sit by the fire in my rocking chair to do it.

2. i love music. LOVE LOVE LOVE it. i love most kinds. i do not like to watch tv. i love to listen to music.

3. i want a red fiddle. i have always wanted to learn how to play one and i found a red one in laramie, WY that i want badly. there is a store where they handcraft them there.

4. i love to bake and cook. i do this nightly. i also love to clean.

5. my boys make me happy. i love children. i will be a happy grandma one day.

6. i don't like things to match. i like to walk into a hodgpodge of happiness that all goes together. most everything in my house was made by my friends, my kids, my family or mike and i. i love homemade things. (jovi- i love the sweater you made me).

superdorkdome

2008-11-17T14:57:00.001-08:00

my running partner kelly and i have crossed the line into superdorkdome. we wear headlights in the winter since it is still dark in the mornings, have water packs around our waist (mine is blue hers is pink) and now are starting a new program that we haven't memorized so we had the book out at the gym this morning to make sure we were doing the right things. yep. the line has been crossed.

shes changing the way she feels about wasting her time and tears.......

2008-11-12T09:57:00.000-08:00

my family

2008-11-11T09:40:00.000-08:00

owen in his jammies and ready to relax!

fred and mike watching football. the regular.

ian painting a picture for nana in germany. it turned out amazing finished.

the crazy brothers. they love to hang out in ians room.

do you see any grey here? i don't i am sure of it. i have looked in every light and i only think it is getting lighter. i do not think that i have grey yet. damnit!

sunday at the aquatic center

2008-11-10T08:21:00.000-08:00

ian nesby washed out!

owen diving through the waves

my swam out boys all cool and tough.

playing at the outside attractions.

owen and jule douglas in battle

party at my house!- kindof

2008-11-10T07:48:00.000-08:00

jule bug sporting his newly toothless mouth. the other top tooth came out so he is a gapmouth.

christopher and sopie chilling out (getting ready to sleep) in the patio chairs

sampson got to come (he is romos brother) so the dogs had a blast.

i taught heather to crochet and brought home yarn and informed her that she is going to make a blanket for her baby by the time it is born. she took on fast and is into it so far!

what do you want to cook? we have lots of fire!

leaving early!

2008-11-08T15:21:00.000-08:00

it is 4:30 and i am getting ready to leave for the grocery store. we never close early, but we are today and i am thrilled. mario, heather and christopher are coming over for dinner and to hang out and i am making cookies tonight and will hopefully needlepoint some- we will see. i intend to work on robin and aarons quilt tomorrow. i finally finished a needlepoint i have been working on for the last 2 years (my time is so small) and have it stretching and drying right now. it is to go into a leather bag i am making for mom. i am really excited about it so i hope that she likes it. owens team did not score any points today, but owen actually played hard and tried which was fun to see. usually he is just excited to be there and that is about how far it goes. ian had a good day at martial arts and tried to earn his next belt, although he needs some more work. i am happy that he is trying though and doing a great job. i am so happy with his teacher and the facility that he has created. the class is so well controlled but the kids are having fun and love to be there. he is such an amazing teacher. jules soccer team did win and dominated the entire time (as usual). jules teamates are all larger kids like he is. they are tall and stong and fast. they dominated every year so far. jule is a great goalie and loves to play. mike and i started life coaching yesterday and will go on wendsdays from now on. i am very excited about it and hope that good comes out of it. we are going to the same one that i have been taking ian to. she has been amazing with ian. his attitude is so much better and he has goals daily that he tries to acheive (mainly personal but some physical too like getting his homework done......). hope you all are having a wonderful weekend and i will post some pics next time. i didn't remember to take the camera with me today.

throughout the day

2008-11-06T16:44:00.000-08:00

this is dicks brother, terry, who comes over to see what we're up to throughout the day and talk about football with mike. he is a fun guy and we love having him around. the boys on the forklift being wild. the shop is full of fun things to mess around with, climb on and fight with. they love to battle eachother with the cardboard tubes that the material comes rolled on. we have hundreds of them and they make great swords, castles telescopes..... the possibilities are endless.

how many dogs can you find in this picture. it is like a highlights magazine question. awnser: 4.

pocket war

2008-11-05T16:32:00.000-08:00

yesterday i was in las vegas for a neurology appointment with ian . pockets prevented the boys from installing a few peices on the carrera we are currently working on so mike took the reigns and decided to make a pocket. thank god i was on the phone with him while he was doing this and told him to stop and i would make them today. now, he is proud of his pocket, and for not knowing what he was doing, it turned out great (in all fairness)....... however, it is not the main stitch quality our customers have come to expect. so, my pocket is on the top, and mikes is the one on the bottom. keep in mind these examples are uninstalled. funny times around here. i think we would make an awsome tv show. it would simply be call "the upholsterers" and would make people laugh. sometimes i am amazed at what we do and somedays i shake my head at the craziness and am amazed that we are able to do what we do despite ourselves.

7 years old and thrilled.

2008-11-03T17:17:00.000-08:00

our neighbor josh, he is a funny kid too.

christopher the great. he is 2 and such a riot. he is excited about life every day.

o-dogs happy about partying for jule.

mario and heather at jules party. they are christophers parents.

he got little ninjas with the tickets he won.

jule douglas blowing out his candles on his apple cake. i make peanut butter filled chocloate cookies to go around it. looks more festive that way.

got the radio station tuned in and ready to rock out.

jule bug and mama. notice the missing tooth in front. he was so excited to loose it for his birthday. the tooth fairy left him 5$ he insists that it is because his teeth are so shiny and well cared for that they are worth more to be stars and i think it was because he lost it for his birthday. it will be a mystery forever i am sure. he he

built this cover last week, it is for an advantage x-flight. they are really cool boats and i enjoyed making this cover.

out

keep going

2008-11-01T15:19:00.000-07:00

just because you're winning don't mean you're the lucky one

2008-10-27T18:07:00.000-07:00

i am in a "kick your ass or anyone elses" mood today. i am listening to the the and guns n roses and love both so much. also thrown into the mix, edie brikell and al stewart. love "time passages" . i can sing this at the top of my lungs and feel great afterwards. so, in the mood to listen to some great stuff, get out the mind bomb cd and listen to kingdom of rain or armageddon days are here again. then, get out some gnr and rock your mind to breakdown. gets me happy everytime with some coors light bottles. a little white trash goes a long way. and also, the garden is such a great song. get on your boom boxes and rock people.

just like a hooker she said "nothing for free" i tried to see it your way............

2008-10-27T18:00:00.000-07:00

yep, another one.

sophie chicken and i hard at work, or something close to it.

kick and terry and dicks son rick. i LOVE this pic. totally rocks.

our vago motercycle. did the seats awhile back and now the cane holder is added on back. yep, pretty cool.

sea snail exchange

2008-10-23T08:24:00.000-07:00

when we went to phoenix to pick up the boys from eric, we had to do a sea snail exchange. we went to see robin and aaron to get their aquarium fully stocked with the critters and the boys are so happy.

ette looking pretty as always.

in front of their tiny little apartment. it is so small that is is easier to sit outside.

dylan the great

2008-10-11T15:04:00.000-07:00

i have a customer named dylan who is 4 years old. his uncle works at shimmer marine and i have known for a few years now. dylan won a back pack in a bike a thon at preschool awhile back and the strap was broken the first time he used it. dylans uncle brought me the back pack and i fixed it and returned it. dylan came in with the most wonderful thank you card and it is still on my wall. well, the backpack broke again in another spot so in he came with it himself this time. i fixed it and he was thrilled. so he came in a few minutes ago with brownies, a ghost he made from his foot and some googly eyes for halloween and a card he made himself. he is such a thankful and wonderful boy. it is nice to see parents teaching their kids to say thankyou. that is my feel good story of the day.

a nip in the air

2008-10-11T14:14:00.001-07:00

i am a bit chilly today. i have on an overshirt but am still chilly. i do have shorts on though. the first feel of fall has arrived. it is nice inside with the doors open and the plants are perking up a bit. my roses are happier. i go to get the boys tomorrow in phoenix and will see ette also. she wants us to come pick up an aquarium. i am not sure which one. i am ready for the boys to come back home, i miss them peeking their heads around corners to see where i am and waking up to jule douglas hogging the bed. he comes in at some point of the night. i tuck him in in his bed and he wakes up in mine more often than not. between the dogs and kids it is amazing that i fit in bed still. sometimes i don't. mike and i went out to dinner with dad and patti last night and are going out with terry (dick's brother) tonight. everyone wants to see us when we are a crowd of 2 rather than 5-7. i had better get back to my gazebo i am working on. hope you are all having a wonderful saturday afternoon.

lazy doggies and cool chairs

2008-10-08T16:50:00.000-07:00

mike upholstered these a few days ago. i sewed the seat cushions he did the rest himself. he made double welt and all. he did a beautiful job. mike loves to do furniture.
we are changing out the centers and welt on these seats (for obvious reasons) and the doggies are in love with them. the lepard print is fuzzy so it is like a cozy bed.