Back from the crop

So I am officially back on the crafting wagon!  Work has been wearing me down lately but I finally got a weekend to just do my thing.  The last time I got a weekend?  January.  I know people.  These little snippets of craft time just aren't enough for me.

I thoroughly enjoyed my three days without responsibilities or being 'mom'.  No dishes.  I stayed up late.  Slept in.  Wore my pajama pants around the hotel.  Laughed so hard my ribs hurt.  Watched a hockey game in the hotel bar with friends.

I grabbed a few pictures with my phone but totally forgot to take out the good camera all weekend.

Thanks to my friend Rachel and her awesome retreat group for a great weekend.  Looking forward to doing it all again in the fall.

A must have.  It was 2 doors down from the hotel so I walked there every afternoon for 'Happy Hour'.

I'm pretty proud of all the cards I finished, the two Studio Calico kits I killed (from 2011!!) and the many layouts I completed.

Here is just one:

A little Glossy Accents on the lollipop makes it 'pop'.

I'm in love with these sticker letters and I might just want to buy 5 more sheets to keep around.

Mid-Life Crisis

Today I turn 35.  I don't know it is but the older I get the harder the birthdays are to accept.  25 was hard because I was *almost* 30.  And really, after 25, what is there to look forward too?

16 - drivers license
18 - you can vote, join the military and play the lotto
21 - you're an adult, you can drink and gamble
25 - good driver discount

After that, you might as well sign up for AARP.   I know, its a bad way of thinking but really, its what went through my mind.

And then I hit 30.  That was hard.  30.  I mean, now what?  Then I slowly crept into my 30's.  Life wasn't horrible but I had made a list of things I wanted to accomplish before I turned 30 and I hadn't crossed many off the list.

Then I started breaking up my 30's into sections.  The early 30's.  I made a few things happen.  So far the 30's weren't too bad but man, those *mid* thirties were creeping up.

34.  Wow.  34 years old.  I'm getting up there.

And now 35.  Officially in my *MID* thirties.  Thats halfway to 40 you know.  That 40 is just hanging around the corner, creeping up on me.

So where is all of this going?  A teeny tiny mid-life crisis is where it went.  I didn't do anything too drastic but I did *do* something.  I got a tattoo.  Not my finest moment but it was one of the last things on my list to cross off.  There is only one thing left and sadly, life throws you curveballs and I can't say that I'll ever get to cross it off my list now but the older I get, the easier it is to accept it.

So, this tattoo thing.  I have no idea where it came from but I was 16 when I first said it.  I was a total wimp and thought I would never do it.  My hockey team was in the finals and if they won, I said I would get a tattoo as soon as I turned 18.  They lost.  My friend made the same pact with himself.  And here we are, 19 years later finally getting tattoos.

It coincided with my 35 things to do before I turn 35 list.  I made this list with my original list in mind and added a few things.  Getting a tattoo was one of them regardless of where my team ended up this season.  They ended up dead last in the seeding AND had the lowest goal total for the year along with a poopy special teams.  Yeah, they weren't winning the Cup.  We'd be lucky to get out of the first round alive.

So they won.  It just so happens that it all happened within a week of my birthday.  Pretty nice present right?

I want to thank my friend Cori who didn't let me back out of this, who wouldn't let me be the baby I am and not get this.  And for my husband who went along and laughed at me as I wiggled in the chair.

If you made it this far, yay!  Now I reward you with really awesome blackmail pictures!

 breakfast at Schooner or Later in Long Beach.

 Welcome to Venice Beach.  My first time too!

 These Jamaican tumblers were on fire!  Fun to watch 

and they told some funny jokes.  None appropriate to post 

here but the crowd was laughing!

 Everyone is on the Kings bandwagon.

 Dude, thats HAIR!

 Sorry, couldn't resist!

 And then these guys!  Wow!  Break dancing.  There were groups 

of performers all along the walk.

 More off color jokes from these guys too.

 Time to face the music!

 The shop owner is a HUGE Kings fan.  He was

offering free tattoos if you went with a specific

design OR 50% off any other Kings design.  I

wanted my own design so I took the 50% off deal.

 I won't lie, it hurt but it was more annoying than pain

(does that make sense?)

Halfway through.....

 Blackmail picture......

 I can't believe I actually went through with it!

 Closeup......

 So after a little mid-life crisis I'm ready to face 35!

Just hanging out......

Waiting for the end.  It has to come eventually right?  I thought it would be Game 4 but no.  Game 5 in Jersey?  Nope.  Game 6 for sure....

An amazing friend spreading the word about his amazing son Tanner.

Can't tell you but this Kings fan is hoping they close this up Monday night (I'll come back and update before I publish this.)

In the mean time, lets recap the last week.

On Wednesday, I made my husband drive up to LA with me for Game 4.  IF it was going to be a Kings win, I wanted to be in the middle of everything.  Tickets are outrageous and I'm not going to second mortgage myself to get one.  I love them, but $10,000 for a seat in the nosebleeds?  Its not the Superbowl people.  Heck, the LA Media can't even get our logo right on the nightly news!

Note: that is NOT our logo.  Not even close.  Thats the BASKETBALL team from Sacramento.

THIS is our logo:

Anyway, I made him go up there on the off chance that destiny awaited.  Silly New Jersey thought they could rain on our parade.

It was just a drizzle really.  Even though they lost, we had a blast!  Made some new friends, met some people we'd been friends with online only.....

So it wasn't all bad.  Oh and we got a 'date night' out of it.  ;)

 Bob Miller and Jim Fox on the radio.

 The 'Sandley' Cup.  Made out of sand.

 Inside the yard House - our game viewing spot.

 Best waitress ever!  Kept the drinks and food flowing the entire night and earned herself a mega-tip at the end of the night.  We ended up have 3 other couples sitting with us (Seating was at a premium).  So we all ordered food and drinks earning her some awesome cash.

 We had our very own Tannerhead.

 YUM!

They lost.

On to Game 5 in New Jersey.  They lost that one too.  There are a lot of Kings fans praying and wishing for a Game 6 victory on Monday night to end a 19 year curse and 45 years of 0 championships.

Sunday, we celebrated a life and the Kings success at a photo shoot.  Someone donated his time to this and its such a great project.

If you're on my Christmas card list - go ahead and skip ahead.  Christmas Card spoiler alert!

 Kings cupcakes donated by someone.  There were trays of cupcakes from various people.  

 N getting his picture taken.  He wanted his hockey stick and then he saw the Stanley Cup.

 Proofs.  (Let me just interrupt here and say my kid is the doppleganger for the Kings Captain Dustin Brown.  See?)

Proofs.

After the shoot, we met up with some of our friends (also Kings fans and also there for the photo shoot) and drove down to Huntington Beach for lunch.

 Huntington Pier

 This guy was dancing.  Just full on dancing.  I have a couple of videos because it was hilarious.  We were all trying to figure out the song based on his moves.  I know one song was Thriller.

 Such a serious face for a 5 year old.....

 Chasing bubbles.....

 So glad I wasn't in the middle of all that.  THAT is one of the reasons I don't like the beach.  All of you out-of-towners might think I'm nuts but I *hate* living here.  I am not a beach person.

And now.....we wait for Game 6.......

Game 6 Update - just finished a bottle of Korbel Champagne while celebrating......

THIS!

Whats that?  Oh nothing really.  Just THE hardest trophy in all sports to win.  And MY team won it.  tonight.

I love every single one of these hairy men and the effort they put into it tonight (and all season).  They broke some records this season too.

The victory parade is scheduled for Thursday and I'm doing my best to be there in person!  Because after taking 44 years to win this, I can honestly say this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity!