200!

We saw #200 in the license plate game...only 799 to go!

Forks, WA

Chloe went with my Mom and my sister Lisa to Forks, WA today. They went to have a nice drive, and to see the landscape in the Twilight series. Chloe has read 3 of the books, and was not too impressed, but liked the time with her Grandma and her Aunt.

She took the above pictures. One is of the table reserved for Bella and Edward at the cafe that they had lunch at. The other is from the sign from the local motel.

My Mom got a couple of cute T-shirts, and it seems like they had a nice time, so all was not lost. :)

G-Force

We went to see the movie G-Force last night (Friday). It was a really cute movie. I wasn't going into it expecting much, but I love guinea pigs, so I think I enjoyed it more than a lot of people would.

We saw the 3-D version, and I found myself wanting to reach up and pet them at times. Chloe, of course, thought that was hilarious.

The story revolves around an elite force of guinea pigs, a mole, and a fly that were trained as special agents. The new commander in charge of their unit thinks they're an embarrassment, so he wants to close them down. They decide to show them that they're worth keeping by cracking a large case that the FBI has been working on for years.

The voices in the movie were pretty funny - Nicholas Cage, Penelope Cruz, Jon Favreau, Sam Rockwell, and Tracy Morgan as the mole and guinea pigs, Steve Buscemi as the crazy hamster. Nice job on the casting for that!

One thing I really liked about the movie, was that they had references to other action movies. "Yippie-ki-yay coffeemaker!" was one of my favorites. (Die Hard is one of my favorite movies, and my favorite Christmas movie. Ever.)

It was a nice night - we went to The Rock for pizza, then the movie. Fun night out for the family.

HOT!

It was freakin' hot yesterday. It's still hot today (96 degrees outside as I post this), but yesterday was amazingly hot (108 at my parent's house at one point). Four local libraries had to close because it was too hot. Our Comcast cable/internet went out. Fire broke out on a median of I-5 because some stupid idiot flicked a cigarette butt out of their car. Several other fires were reported. Many brown-outs and blackouts because of the heat. "Cooling Centers" were set up around the area at local air-conditioned facilities for people to come in and beat the heat. And today, we had the first heat-related death.

Now, before you go on bashing us wimpy Seattle-ites because we're so delicate...are you in an air-conditioned place at this time? If so, then consider that only 13% of Seattle-area houses have central air, and only 30% of Seattle Metro buses have a/c (can you imagine getting stuck in a traffic jam at Safeco field on your way home in the non-air-conditioned bus because of the Mariner's game, in 103 degree weather?)!

It was pretty miserable all around, yesterday. We've never had temps that high, and our records go back to 1891.

Strange weather here...snow in April, and 100+ degree heat in July!

Movies...

Ray, Ray's friend Randy, Chloe, and I went to see Star Trek today. Ray and I had seen it, but Randy and Chloe had not. I really wanted to see it again. It was a great movie, I really enjoyed it both times. I saw things on the second viewing that I did not on the first - such as the Tribbles in the cage, cooing, when you first meet Scotty, and little bits of dialogue that were lost on first viewing.

Chloe said she enjoyed it, too, even though she only recognized two names: Spock and Captain Kirk. We may need to rent some episodes of classic Star Trek for her to catch up!

I was impressed with the lobby displays, too. When I worked at the movie theater (many years ago..) the displays were mostly just cutout standups of the characters. The Transformers lobby display was probably 10 feet tall, and really intricate. I would have hated to put that one together!

Oh, and I saw a movie that I will probably want to see. I just love guinea pigs. I hope it's as cute as it looks. Probably only Chloe and I will see this one!

Awwww

Wedding Shindig

Early on the day of our shindig, we stopped at the Pike Place Market to pick up the flowers for the centerpieces. 11 huge bunches later, we were on our way! All of the arrangements had lilacs in them, along with other flowers.

Above is a picture of the bunches in our bathtub, waiting to go to the venue.


Around 7 pm: people were just starting to show up. The Hollywood Schoolhouse, where we held the shindig, was so beautiful. We loved the antique bar! We had coke, sprite, rootbeer, etc., along with Widmer Hef on tap, and various wines.

The happy couple - it was such a fun night!

My ex-husband, his wife and baby, and his Mom and Dad also came. Above is a cute picture of Chloe holding her little sister. I was happy to have so much family attend. My parents, many of my siblings, their spouses, and Ray's Mom and Aunt (my new MIL and Aunt-in-Law now!) were all also able to attend.

My sister Lisa took some incredible pictures. Thanks, Lisa! I am so glad to have such a great record of the night.

After dinner, we screened the 7 1/2 minute dvd of the Las Vegas wedding, officiated by Elvis. It was a hoot! Everyone seemed to enjoy it. One of my friends emailed me the next day to say that now they could check "see an Elvis wedding" off their life list!


Later on in the night, there was dancing - even an impromptu conga line after a group picture. The band, Streamliner, did a great job, and everyone seemed to enjoy them. Streamliner is made up of members of the band 'The Blues Orbiters', which is one of our favorite bands. They're the same band that we went to see in Anacortes last year.

It was such a magical night...everything I could have dreamed of and more! I really appreciated everyone that came and made it such a success!

New York, New York, Las Vegas

I remember years ago, my friend Lori went with her family to Las Vegas. I never knew that families could stay in Las Vegas! I always thought of Las Vegas and the Rat Pack (from old movies).

Lori and her family stayed at Circus Circus, and she sent me a postcard. From that time, I've always thought of Las Vegas as a fun place to go, but I had never been there, until Ray took me in February to propose.

Once Ray proposed, I thought it would be fun to go back to Las Vegas, take Chloe with us, and get married by Elvis. I always thought that if I ever got married again, I would love to have an Elvis wedding. Luckily, Ray was on board with the idea, and that's what we did.

We stayed at the New York, New York Hotel and Casino this time around. It was not as pretty as the Bellagio (which we stayed at in February), but there was so much more to do! We didn't even discover parts of the hotel until it was about time to leave. Ray's already talking about going next year for our anniversary.

Below are some of the pics I took of the New York, New York hotel. From the street, it looks like a New York skyline, with a rollercoaster!


There's a mini Statue of Liberty:


and a Brooklyn Bridge:


Inside the hotel, there is a section that is decorated like New York streets. Several streets with seating, and little shops. There's also a couple of restaurants, and bars.


I thought this one (below) was funny with the flamingos on the fire escape!

And one of the last places we discovered: the Pour 24 bar, with 24 beers on tap, open 24 hours.


ps - both times that I've been to Las Vegas, I saw the Circus Circus hotel, and thought of Lori and her family. :)

Wedding!

I'll post more later, but wanted to check in after our weekend in Las Vegas.

Ray and I got married on Sunday, May 17, by Elvis at the Graceland Chapel. I always thought that if I ever got married again, that is what I would want, and it was perfect! The Elvis we had was amazing, and very funny. It's great to be married to Ray, and I'm so glad that my daughter and my good friend Carrie and her daughter were able to make it, too.

Above is a picture that Carrie took after the wedding. We were goofing around in the gazebo, and started doing a conga line. Chloe was not sure at first about that, but soon joined in. Carrie captured a pretty funny moment, and one that reflected the mood of the day.

Bridal Luncheon

Yesterday, a few of my girlfriends at work took me out to lunch to celebrate my wedding. They took me to my favorite place, McCormick's. I had a great time!

Above, are the slippers I received, in case I get cold feet. :)

Below, is my friend Jessica, one of my girlfriends that took me out for lunch. We had a really cute picture of her posing, but it didn't turn out. Ah well...she's still cute as a button.

Below is the dessert that McCormick's brought out to me. They also had a personalized menu that said "Congratulations, Janette". Really sweet!

Hello!

Sometimes...kitties just need a little attention! LOL, BL likes to sit on my legs while I do updates on my blog...

In other news...4 days to go!! I got a few things crossed off my to-do list, in preparation for the wedding & trip. I'm taking Friday off, so I can do get some more done.

Work has been so busy, with trying to get things updated before I leave on my short vacation. I've had a difficult time focusing lately, too, so it's been a challenge! Looking forward to a day off to get all of the little items taken care of.

Wednesday...

Above is a picture of a little notebook that I am making. I wanted to do something creative, and with the flower pictures that I've taken with my new camera.

I made the covers from pieces cut from boxes in our recycle bin, then covered them with patterned paper. I then cut inside pages from patterned paper, glued the pages together, and bound everything with a little binder that I have. Now I'm on the decorating the pages part, and adding the pictures.

On the wedding front...4 more days until the big day! Lots to do, but I'm so excited! I've been watching the Las Vegas weather...it will be 101 on Sunday, and probably at least 77 at the time we're heading off to the chapel. As here, it is rainy and in the 50's and 60's, it will be a nice change (although still a little hotter than I would like!)

Chloe is a Big Sister!

On Sunday, my ex-husband and his wife came over to visit before a family gathering. They brought their new baby, who is Chloe's little sister. She's so tiny! I got to hold her and give her a bottle. It's neat to see the resemblances to Chloe - she hiccups a lot, has dimples, and it looks like she has the same chin.

Chloe has not been so excited to have a little sister, but I definitely think she's warming up to the idea. She finally admitted that she thinks the baby is cute! I love the below picture, it looks like Chloe is really enjoying holding her (but, perhaps...is wondering why I need to take so many pictures...!)

Pike Place Market

Last week, my friend and I went to the Pike Place Market at lunch to get flowers and take some pictures. Above are some double tulips that I ended up purchasing, and below is the "Hammering Man" art installation at the Seattle Art Museum.

Ha - Camera Shy Already

Sign that I'm taking too many pictures? LOL!

My Favorite Picture from Today

I think this is my favorite picture from today. It was difficult to pick a favorite. Between Ray and I, we took about 250 pictures! LOL! It was a nice walk on the Cedar River Trail, and the weather was sunny and warm.

This picture is from one of the trees by the Renton Community Center, and taken with my new camera.

And another comparison...

This final comparison shows how the new camera blurs the backgrounds. Very cool effect. On the top is the picture from my old camera, and the bottom is from my new camera. My old camera seems to have more vibrant colors, but the new camera has more detail and more focus on the objects.

You can click on the pictures to see bigger pictures.

More Pictures...

Above is more pictures from today's shoot. The top, again, is from my old point and shoot, and the bottom is from the new camera. On this one, the top seems like a better picture...the dandelion is so white, and it's composed better. I did use the macro settings on both shots. I think the pictures were taken from slightly different angles, too.

You can click on the pictures to get a bigger view.

New Camera

I got a new camera, it arrived on Friday. Ray and I went out today to take some pictures, I thought I would take a few pictures with the new camera, and try to take the same with my old camera for comparison.

Above, the first picture is from my old point and shoot camera, and the below is from my new camera. Quite a difference in the picture quality.

You can click on the pictures to get a bigger view.

Weekend

We got some good weather this weekend. Ray grilled (buffalo steaks, beef steaks, asparagus), and we let the kitties out for a supervised run. I took a long-ish walk around the neighborhood. It felt great to get out in the sun!

Pic above is of BL loving up to the side of the wall. It appears she's peeking out at me.

Happy Easter!

Easter Domos - found at Target.

Birthday Morning Means Donuts!

Chuck's Donut shop, up in the Renton Highlands, has been around for many years. I remember going there when I was still living at home, and one of my sisters worked there in high school. They always had the best donuts, and they still do (in my opinion!) My favorite is the maple bar, which has wonderful frosting.

When I was working 4-10 hour days, I would have Fridays off. Chloe and I would get donuts before I took her to school on Friday. It was a nice little tradition that had to come to an end when I went back to work 5 days a week. Nowadays, we like to go to Chuck's when we can (which isn't often). It's been relegated to a special treat.

So for Chloe's birthday breakfast, she wanted to go to Chuck's. I got my maple bar, and she got her chocolate bar and sprinkle donut. Ray got two chocolate twisty ones. I really miss going every week!

Chloe's Birthday

We celebrated Chloe's birthday last Friday night (the 3rd). We took a few family members to Red Robin for dinner, and then to a movie - Monsters vs. Aliens 3D. Dinner was fun, it was nice to see everyone enjoying themselves. Chloe opened some presents, and the waiters sang to her and gave her a sundae. I got to have my favorite RR dinner - Cajun Clucks and Fries, and shared them with Ray (you can see his fingers in the pic above - hee).

After dinner, I gave everyone their 3D glasses, and we had a good time trying them on. Below is Chloe with her auntie at the movie theater. It was a pretty funny movie, we all liked it. The glasses were just a bonus. LOL!

Testing it out

My sister told me about an iPhone app (Blogpress) that makes it easy to post from your phone. So I'm testing it out. So far, I think maybe uploading pics may be a little tricky, but just posting seems to be easy.


-- Post From My iPhone

April Fool's Day

It wasn't an April Fool's Day joke, we really had snow in April. I could see it coming down pretty thick from my office on the 43rd floor. Amazing...

I didn't have really any tricks played on me yesterday, but one of the Facebook apps tried to fool me. Little do they know that I really AM related to Barack Obama... ha ha!!

License Plate Game Help

Ray's Dad sent us the old plate off their car, and just in time! We're on #148 right now. Thanks, Jeff!!

Lolcats

I haven't had much time for cruising the lolcats site lately, I've had some other things going on...but I checked today and love when they have guinea pigs featured. Some days, I really miss the little guys!

And yet...MORE snow!

We woke up to more snow today. Can you believe it? It just doesn't snow like this around here very often! It also snowed on and off all day. First pic above is from a window in my office building. I could see this view from where I sit at my desk. Notice that the snow was not sticking downtown!

The second pic is some trees near my parent's house. The snow was definitely sticking there, they had about 2 inches, I think. Driving down the road this morning was just magical - the trees were all snowy and lacy and white. Very pretty.

Tomorrow is supposed to be lovely ice in the morning, as the temps are getting down in the 20's. That should be great for the morning commute!

Baby Shower

Today, Chloe and I went to a baby shower for Chloe's Step-Mom, Tina. She's due with her first baby on April 30. It will be a girl, and Chloe will be a big sister! Chloe's not too sure about the big sister thing. She's not sure about all of the mess of spit up and poop and stuff. I think she'll get used to it soon, and will fall in love with her sibling. At least I hope so!

The shower was a lot of fun. We got to see Russ's (my ex-husband and Chloe's Dad) aunts, cousin-in-law, and sister-in-law. I haven't seen them for a couple of years, and it was great to see them again. It was snowing most of the time we were there (at times, BIG flakes!), but luckily, it melted into rain by the end of the shower.

We played a couple of funny games, too. One of them involved numbered diapers, and various candy bars had been microwaved inside the diapers. We had to guess which candy bar had been melted in which diaper. It was hilarious, to see everyone take a little diaper, gingerly open it up, and sniff to see if they could tell which candy bar it was. LOL!

Chloe and I went shopping the other day for some cute baby stuff. Now Chloe was born in April, too, and she spent the first summer clothed in little onesies and socks. So that's what we got for Tina, along with some receiving blankets and bibs. Chloe also made a baby card too, to go along with her present. She did a great job!

First pic above is of Sophie, the kitty, who went to sleep, curled up cutely, next to Chloe and Tina's Mom. Second pic is of Tina and Chloe.

Yay! Survivor Night!

Well, it's Thursday once again. Where did the time go?!

Friday night, we all went to see Twisted Flicks. The flick this time was called "Devil Bat" (1940) with Bela Lugosi. It was one of the best ones yet. One of the high points for us was that they took both my and Ray's suggestions for characters.

I suggested "4-H", and one of the characters (Bela Lugosi's, as the evil scientist that made the devil bat) was in 4-H, complete with him talking about how he was getting ready for the big 4-H show. Ray's suggestion was "sweet", and the main girl character was acting sweet.

They really did a good job this time, and it was a lot of fun. We enjoy talking about the show on the way home, about what was our favorite part, etc.

And then I had Monday off, it was wonderful. I had needed a mental health day for awhile. Work has been crazy busy, and I had been grouchy. So I stayed home, slept in a little, did a lot of scrapbooking (10 layouts!), and generally rested up. This week has been busy so far too, but at least I had a nice day off.

Ray and I decided that we will be married on May 17. We booked a flight to Las Vegas because I really want to have an Elvis wedding. I've always thought it would be a lot of fun to have an Elvis wedding, and it looks like this will be my last chance! If anyone is interested in attending, let me know!

When we come back from Vegas, we'll throw a party to celebrate. It's looking like it may be the weekend after we come back, but not sure on the time frame yet. Chloe has a Bike Club ride the last weekend of May, but we weren't sure we wanted to have the party on Memorial Day weekend. I've been looking into spaces to rent, invites, food, etc.

I also welcome suggestions for party spaces to look into, as there are probably a lot of places out there that I wouldn't think to ask if they host parties.

Anyhoo...off to fix pizza (Survivor night fare) for dinner!

Just looking...

During lunch today, I went to Macy's and a local kitchen shop downtown to look at cookware. Ray and I have been wanting to replace and to buy some new cookware. The stuff I have is very old, I'm sure my pots and pans are older than Chloe. Ray has a few nice pieces, though. We're mainly looking for a dutch oven and pressure cooker.

With that in mind, I did some browsing. I found some really cute stuff (of course that I don't need, so I just took pics) from Martha Stewart at Macy's! I haven't been shopping there for awhile, and didn't realize she had a line there. I liked the displays of them. That robins-egg blue color is really pretty, and comes in appliances, too! (It's actually a bit lighter blue than the pics.)

I have a cobalt blue kitchen. I think kitchens should be blue. I have a cobalt blue Kitchenaid mixer that I like to have out on the counter, and Ray painted a toaster cobalt blue to match, when my old blue toaster died. But now I'm considering a change...! LOL

Oh, and Chloe and I got to go baby-gift shopping, which is always fun. I love looking at the little toys and clothes. Chloe's Step-Mom is going to have a little girl, so Chloe and I were getting some gifts for the baby shower that's coming up. I don't think Chloe's really excited about having a little sister, but I'm hoping she'll come around after she's born. I bet it's hard to be the only child and then have a new baby come into the family. Not that *I* would know! ;)