Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto

Anyone remember that awesome song by STYX? 

No, anyways. 

I wanted to share an anniversary gift that I gave the hubs.  Todd is a Mechanical Engineer, so I tried to think of something "mechanical" for a gift.  The only thing that I could come up with that had anything to do with mechanics was a robot.  I searched around and found
Ben Rollman. 

Ben creates robot portraits using pictures that you send him. 

Here is the picture that I gave to Ben for him to use to make our portrait.

Source

And here is the portrait that he came up with.

I absolutely loved the way our portrait turned out, and Todd enjoyed the uniqueness of the gift.  In fact, I loved it so much I had him do a family portrait, and a picture of Austin.  Lexx liked the portrait so much she had him do one of her and her boyfriend.

I highly recommend him if you are looking for a gift that is little out of the ordinary. 

He is very affordable and will draw anything you want - he's very easy to work with. 

If you are looking for our portraits, we are numbers 141, 143, 144 and 147 on his page. 

 

So what do you think?  Would you ever give a loved one a robot portrait?

Another Dose Of...

Cuteness Explosion!

A Fun Sunday Morning

The weekend flew by.  Weekends never seem long enough, and I never have enough time to get everything done.  Saturday, Todd and I ran all our errands - one day gone!  Sunday morning was awesome.  Todd and I slept in until about 9:30, got up and showered, then went for a walk.  Lexx decided she wanted to join us, so she got out a bike and rode along with us.  We then ate breakfast and lots of it.  It was such a beautiful morning, sunny and brisk.  

Random picture - look the flowers think it's spring.

Our hike up the hill.

A friend we made along the way.

A curious friend we made along the way.

Lexx joining us. 

Look at all the yummy breakfast food.

The afternoon wasn't as exciting, but I can't really complain because at least I wasn't at work.

Minication Ideas - Part Two

The other three mini vacation spots I thought about were the following three. 

Shasta:  Hike around Mt. Shasta, visit Whiskeytown Recreation area, see Sundail Bridge, visit Turtle Bay Exploration Park & McConnell Arboretum & the  Botanical Gardens, hike through Shasta Caverns, go to Burney Falls or maybe do a dinner/brunch cruise on the Sacramento River.

Source

Lake Tahoe:  Go to Emerald Bay, hike Eagle Falls Trail, visit Vikingsholm, take the Gondola at Heavenly Ski Resort, bike Tahoe Rim Trail, tour Thunderbird Lodge, take a Lake Tahoe Cruise, or gamble at one of the Casinos.

Source

June Lake/Mammoth/Mono Lake:  hike around June Mountain, visit June Lake Marina, stay at the Double Eagle Resort, kayak or canoe Mono Lake, do either thePanum Crater Walks,the  South Tufa tours or Stars Over Mono.

Source

That's it, all I can think of.  So do you have any suggestions?

Minication Ideas

Todd told me that he wants to take me on a minication (three days, two nights) in the next couple weeks, so I'm hard at work trying to figure out a place that we would both enjoy. 

I've come up with a few ideas, but to be honest we've done almost all of them and I'm trying to figure out something new to do.  I don't want to drive more than 4 hours from the Sacramento area. 

I'm going to post two or three ideas today and tomorrow.  Take a look and see what I have, but if you have any suggestions.

Bay Area:  We could go to San Francisco and visit Alcatraz, the Exploratorium, Golden Gate Park and the California Academy of Science, take the cable cars to Fisherman's Wharf, watch Beach Blanket Babylon and/or hike Marin Headlands.

Source

Napa:  Napa is known for their vineyards/wineries, so I could go wine tasting and Todd could be the designated driver (Todd doesn't drink at all), we could take the Napa Valley Wine Train (although Todd doesn't drink, he does eat, and they serve food along with wine), visit Di Rosa Gallery, or take a Napa Valley Bike Tour, or maybe a hot air balloon ride.

Source

Mendocino/Fort Bragg:   Todd and I could take a leisurely drive or hike along the coast, visit Point Cabrillo Lighthouse, hike at Russian Gulch, kayak Big River, stroll through Mendocino Botanical Gardens, or shop Mendocino's boutique stores.

Source

There you have the first three that I have come up with, I will post the next three options tomorrow.

So what do you think?

Children's Wisdom

I'll have to keep this in mind next time I'm not feeling well.

BTW, I don't have a source because my husband sent this to me.  Sorry.

Birthday Hullabaloo

As I mentioned earlier, Austin turned 22. 

Here are a couple of pictures to sum up the birthday celebration.

 Austin playing around with his new electric guitar.

Austin and Alexxa at the party.

Austin's yummy homemade German Chocolate Cake.

I would say it was a hit.

Robb and Anne at the party (Robb was celebrating his birthday also).

I just wanted to include a picture of my handsome hubby and his adorable dimples.

We also had a wonderful dinner. 

Dennis made hamburgers and my mom made potato salad. 

It was awesome.

Cute Idea For Pictures

Source

Look at this cute idea to display pictures.  

I thought that someone that reads the blog may appreciate this idea

if they have an upcoming bridal shower or wedding, or maybe you just need a gift idea. 

Just hit the source link above if you would like directions on how to make this.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Unfortunately, this is all too accurate.

Failure To Launch

Source

My first born turned 22 last week.  He is an awesome kid who has a job and is going to school.  He is still living with us while he goes to school.  We are hoping that by allowing him to do this he will be able to save up enough money and get a place of his own in the near future.. 

Right before his birthday, Todd and I had a convesation about helping our kids out.  Our conversation raised the question, are we helping them or hurting them by allowing them to stay at home?  If you have watched Failure To Launch, this is what I am talking about.  In the movie, parents allow their kids to stay at home, but in their 30's, it seems a little weird/awkward, and seems to stunt them emotionally.

During the hubb's and my conversation, I voiced that I thought we should give our kids until they are 25, and then they need to try and live on their own.  Todd thought that I was being mean.  I can assure you that I am not trying to be mean, but to help build their character and confidence.  I moved out when I was very young and had to struggle.  My parents gave a helping hand when needed (which was quite often by the way), but always allowed me to make mistakes and learn from them.  In the end, I learned that I can survive and succeed.

I believe that being allowed to struggle and fail, then pick myself back up again was a very valuable experience.  I see peers that were handed everything and who still feel that people owe them, that they shouldn't have to go without or struggle.  Fact is, that isn't real life.  Everyone has ups and downs.

Maybe this is part of the problem with society right now.  We don't want to have to struggle, to save, to work hard.  We really haven't had to sacrifice, unlike our parents / grandparents, and we want everything right now:  a big house, a luxury car, the newest technology. 

So what do you think?  Am I being mean?  Should we let the kids stay for as long as they need?  What are your thoughts?

I Could Do This

How cool is this? 

A hanging succulents garden! 

You could make a wreath or frame.

Be sure to click the link below the frames for a how-to-guide from Sunset. 

Source

 Source

So beautiful and colorful, I may want to try this during Spring.

Have Migraine

Must sleep. 

Will post later if I can.

Source

I've Got A Confession

Source

I think I'm addicted to The Voice.  I had never seen it before last night because we don't  have tv.  My coworkers were talking about it, so I went home and streamed it on the computer.  I ended up staying up until past midnight (my bedtime is 10 PM).   I was only able to watch the first three episodes of the second season, the blind audition part, and I am really liking it so far. 

And while I'm confessing to I also have to admit that I used to watch American Idol, but I got sick and tired of all the weird auditions and the judges antics.  The Voice gets right down to business and brings out the most decent contestants first thing.  I also like all the judges:  Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, CeeLo Green and Blake Shelton.  If you haven't watched it before, I think you should.

Have you watched The Voice?  Do you like it?  What is your favorite show on tv right now?

Take Chances

and be yourself.

The Venus Project

Italian artist, Anna Utopia Giordano, created the Venus Project.  She photoshops the goddess of love and makes her more "attractive" or acceptable by today's standards:  slimmer hips, flatter stomach, bigger chest.  Personally, I prefer the curvacious artwork to the modified ones.  

Check it out and see what you think.

 Boticelli - La Nascita di Venere

Anna Utopia Giordano

Pretty interesting concept don't you think?  Jump on over to her site to see the other artwork

(there are several, but mostly nudes, so I didn't want to post them on a family blog just in case).

Falling In Love

And we can't round up this little party without including the King of Rock and Roll.

 

Elvis - I Can't Help Falling In Love With You

Happy Valentine's Day

 Enjoy the day with the one(s) you love.

 Source

A Day Off - Organizing Office/School Supplies

I had the day off.  It was raining, so I decided to start a fire, make coffee and watch a movie. 

Rainy day

Started a fire.

Made coffee.

Watched a movie.  10 pts. if you can tell me which one.

I started to get bored because I was the only one home, so I decided to continue organizing. 

I tried to get the clutter out of the "junk drawer". 

I found this black and white organizer through Open Sky and thought it would work perfectly. 

I also like the fact that it allows you to see what you have so you are not buying unnecessary items. 

 I don't have it completely finished, but I thought I would show you anyways.

It hangs off the back of the door.

You can label it however you like.

That's all I have accomplished for now. 

 I think I will relax the rest of the day. 

This is the life.

Love Song

Tesla - Love Song

Can you believe Jeff Keith (the lead singer) played at Todd's and my 8th grade graduation.  Of course, he wasn't part of Tesla, he was in the band City Kid and his sister, Joey, attended our school.  In fact, Todd dated Joey for about a week in middle school

(if you can call it dating - you know middle school romance). 

He's a totally nice guy.  He plays around our area all the time, so I will have to get us some tickets and go see him at the Ace of Spades one of these days.

Organizing The Closet

Because I have done so poorly on my Things To Accomplish in 2012 list, I figured I better get on the ball a little bit.  I have tackled a couple of drawers and organized them (I would show you pictures, but showing you my unders is just weird.  Nobody wants to see that). 

I figured I better move on to bigger and better things, so I started researching organizational tools and I found a couple cool little things. 

All my organizational tools minus a grey and black tub. 

I think I may have a color combo going on, and not even on purpose. 

What a happy coincidence.

The first thing I found was a gift wrap organizational thingy-ma-bober. I forgot to take pictures, but my closet is storing clothes, shoes, gift wrap stuff, work related junk and my little suitcase along with all Todd's stuff on the opposite side.

The closet is tiny, just like our house, so there isn't a ton of room for junk.

Messy, messy, messy.

I'm amazed I can find anything in there.

 I gathered up all the wrapping garbage and put it in to the hanging organizer.  I also found an over the door something holder in Target's $2 bin.  I didn't want the holder to go over my door because I'm putting something else there, so I had Todd remove the hook part and then I drilled some holes in the wall and hung it from some screws. 

Target's $2 deal.  SCORE!

I may or may not like the color purple.

Lastly, I picked up all the shoes and just reorganized my clothes so they weren't piled everywhere.

Shoes in their rightful place.

Gift wrap organizer.  It's two sided, so the other side holds the paper, bows and ribbon.

I refolded my clothes.  Yay me.

It's looking much better.  It definitely isn't my dream closet, but then again it is only temporary.  If you remember, we have plans to redo our bathroom/closet, but can't agree how to remodel it yet...

yep, we are still working on it.

Telling Someone You Love Them

Rod Stewart - Have I Told You Lately?

Valentines Day Cuteness Explosion

Awwwww!

Needing Love

The Righteous Brothers - Unchained Melody

Guess What I Did

I went and got my hairs cut.  It feels and looks much better.

2 inch roots, wet and unstyled.

Hair weaved, cut and styled
(What kind of face am I making?  What a goober).