Just installed Wordpress on my Blackberry! Pretty slick! Will I keep up to date now? Time will tell!!

Doctors – Autos – Planes … June was full of events focusing on those topics!

The monthstarted pretty tame with my first oil change in the new Corolla.  The car arrived at it’s first mile stone of maintenanceservice with an ODO reading of 5,000 miles.  She is growing up!

Brent’s Hyundai/Sante Fe was rather “sick” this month.  Two new tires, oxygen sensors and a front axle later she is good as new! And a happy camper all the way to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and back.  Which is about a 7 hour drive from our neck of the woods.  But when work says go – he goes!  I would have loved to tag along on that short overnight road trip but had appointments I could not reschedule.

Ironically that Arizona boy hadn’t ever BEEN to the Grand Canyon so he finally got to see it!  The kids, mom and I went up north to the South Rim a few years ago.  Brent said the North rim isn’t as commercial or crowded.

Shane and I both also had a routine “maintenance check” with the dentist for our 6 month cleaning which lead to some of our own “repair work”.  Shane lucked out with a simple cavity needing a filling. I on the other hand was in need of two crowns.  Which thankfully all the work completed and was finalized by the months end …. sensitive teeth, sore jaw and all  

Two of the puppies had medical “maintenance” as well.   Winston the “baby” (now 10 mos) was neutered.  Halle our 6 year “old lady” was FINALLY spayed.  Winston snapped back like a champ (although he did NOT like the cone collar he had to wear to keep him from pickin’ at the incision).  Halle was rather pitiful for a few days and I think she was really milkin’ it for a while!  She would only drink water from my hand – and had to feed her soften dog food a nugget at a time … by hand.  In all fairness, she also had some dental work while “under”.  She was de-tartered and needed a loose tooth removed.  The first day she didn’t want to eat at all – she just laid there and would give out this PITIFUL sigh now and then.  I got her some liquid doggie “meal replacement” to keep her nourishment up.  A week later she was back to her ole self snapping at Winston (as usual) when he got too close

 Zoe was the only Canine of the three that was vet visit free this month!  But she IS due for booster shots….maybe NEXT month!

Chelsea however wins the prize in the field of medical attention. The first part of the month she took a rather rough spill off her moped.  (Yes I said moped! The culprid shown above)  She was riding around in the neighborhood where she lived just for a quick around the block sort of ride.  She doesn’t remember the fall but apparently walked the bike back toward where she lived and collapsed in the street. Neighbors called 911 and she was carted her off to the emergency room.  She had a concussion – small fracture in her hand - sore muscles - and a LOT of road rash!!!  It took a good part of the month for it all to heal. By the months end most was healed up except for a bit of a gash on her hip and a problematic thumb.  But it is coming along and healing well.  Thankfully most of her Moped riding time has been very safe and fun.  Including the huge rally she went to in California where along with 100 or so other moped-ers they road up part of the CA coast.

Brent had the work trip from hell to Iowa.  Car rental issues – delayed flights - and a whole lotta drivin’!  Did you know that some of the new cars will LOCK AUTOMATICALLY if you leave the car running and shut the doors when you get out to say, clean off your windshield!  Thank GOODNESS for AAA!

On the flight home the plane was diverted to Provo because of a severe thunderstorm in Salt Lake.  They sat on the ground for two hours.  Apparently all the flights into Salt Lake were being held because of (as Brent put it) a “little rain’.  He was not happy!  When he finally got into Salt Lake his connecting flight was already gone, of course and guess what, there wasn’t anymore to Phoenix that night! Go figure!  And because it was “an act of nature” and not the airline’s fault, they didn’t pay for a hotel so he found one nearby with a shuttle, on his own expense, of course.  They booked him on the first flight to Phoenix the next morning.

However he had to go to the hotel baggage-less, the baggage was rechecked for the morning flight.  So he had none of his personal items to change or clean up. But they DID give him this darling little “overnight kit”.   Complete with a “night shirt” (actually it was just a T Shirt, but they CALLED it a night shirt).  There was a tooth brush that barely survived one use, a hard plastic folding “brush”, a disposable razor, a little packet of toothpaste the size of a catsup packet from a fast food place. A plastic bag with two q tips and two cotton balls. A mini detergent “sheet” (I guess to wash out your underwear in the sink or something) And an itty bitty “tube” of deodorant.  Oh and all in a neat little nylon zipper case! Guess that just makes up for ALLLLL the inconvenience!

Both the girls have left on trips. Ironically both in Florida but not together. Aubrey went out for her beau’s college graduation and meet his extended family. Chelsea with her beau to meet his family and celebrate his mother’s birthday. I sure hope THEIR return trip isn’t the night mare Brent’s was!  But being that they will return in July – not June having been full of frustrations - then maybe luck will be on their side!

We did have a little piece of happy in June! (well besides the fact that everyone is healthy, alive and well in the end) I finally got some patio furniture!!! It was my belated Happy Birthday – Happy Mother’s day, you deserve it kinda present! I am excited to finally have a place to hang out in the back yard.  Brent and I broke it in in a rather high tech fashion by sitting outside with our wireless latptops on a rare cool summer Arizona morning.

And I have been busy this summer with another fat suit!  Not for a Santa or a faux pregnant belly this time but for an Actor friend that does a one man Jackie Gleason show – among a bunch of other entertainment related stuff. 

http://www.ganssle.net/

I also attended two baby showers for friends expecting their first baby. Both are having girls.  One friend, Megan, collects frog “stuff” – so I had quite a lot of fun finding cute clothing items for a little girl with frogs on them!  They are also big scuba diving beachy types. I was excited to find a small swimsuit for the baby for next summer so she will be set to head to the beach with mom and dad!

The other friend, Tacy,  was our family baby sitter when the kids were little.  We traded baby sitting for sewing lessons which she later used working in the college costume shop to subliment her income as a college student. Prety spiffy!

So – guess the month wasn’t ALL that bad and frustrating.

With that ends the “highlights” of June and on to July!  With my mother visiting  (yippee!)- and family birthdays including Brent’s 50th!

Okay so it isnt OFFICIALLY Summer yet but “summer” is about 7 or 8 months out of the year here.

Sooooo brace yourself, the Arizona heat is on it’s way.  It has been teasing us a little the end of April with a few days that broke the 100 degree mark but has been pretty tame so far.

At work, the shops have closed May 1st for the summer and all the seasonal people are off contract for the summer….and off payroll THAT is the icky part! But it is the nature of the beast being a seasonal worker in the arts. 

The company I work for canceled their 6th show which would have opened end of April.  Not for profit theatre companies depend on corporate donations for cash flow and the bulk of costs.  Ticket sales alone isn’t sufficient to run a not-for-profit theatre company so canceling the final show, save the company a ton of cash!  But our board of directors and administration was adamant about not cutting the production staff early and kept us on salary through the originally planed for our season to end.  We were all very grateful for that!  Many of our theatre company neighbors in the valley had to take mandatory furloughs to reduce expenses.  Due to our supportive board, such a sacrifice was not asked of us.

http://atphx.org/

So  – support your local arts organizations – whether theatre, symphony, opera or ballet – not-for-profit companies need your patronage and financial donations…..alrighty then – arts support plug over.

Since we had no final show to prepare for in our final few months we set to some MAJOR shop cleaning and stock reduction.  We made Big Brothers and Big Sisters VERY happy with nearly a full truck load of cloths, shoes, hats and accessories from our stock.  Next season it looks like I am gonna be an eBay-ing queen putting our vintage and sellable items up for sale. They aren’t pieces we can really make good use of on stage but can be converted into cash to help with the company cash flow and bring some joy to vintage clothing lovers in eBay land

Mid March Brent and I went to the Arizona Ren-Faire in Gold Canyon a few miles up the road from us. We always enjoy it. I love the art, the shows, the costumes and the fun spirit of the place. We met a co-worker of Brents as well as a co-worker of mine and just hung out shopped, ate and took in a few shows.

http://www.royalfaires.com/arizona/

In March Brent’s dad had hip replacement surgery and was recovering well. We drove up to Camp Verde to their new cute home on the small local airport/air-park with the hanger right next door.  We had a lovely visit and of course great meal compliments of Karen, Brent’s step-mom. Shane was with us but all that adult talk was rather boring for him and he eventually fell asleep on the couch! Dick was still in a bit of pain and the meds of course made him a little foggy headed, but he was doing well and maneuvering well with the walker less then a week since his surgery.

A few weeks later he had a massive heart attack and had to be defribulated twice before he was stablilized and taken directly for emergency bypass surgery.  He is recovering well and the doctor owe much to his over all good health.  The hip replacement planned for his other hip has been postponed for a while to allow him to recover from the heart surgery.

Mid March Brent, Shane and I headed to a Air Show at Luke Air Force base on the other side of the valley from us. It was a toasty, loud, fun day.  I am amazed even still today watching the aerobatics the planes are able to do.  I grew up watching the Blue Angels – out here, it is the Thunder-birds from the Air Force.  But the aerobatic helicopter is crazy fun to watch.  We don’t have pictures of our romp at the air-park and our tours in the vintage planes because we were given incorrect information that cameras were not allowed.  We were at the gate when we discovered the misinformation and the car was tooooo far back to worry about it then. We just ventured forth and enjoyed out day.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/glendale/articles/2009/03/16/20090316lukeperformer0314.html?&wired

The first weekend in April, Actors Theatre had it’s anual  “Gourmet Theatre” benefit and all hands are on deck for that one to set up – work through registration – and pack and clean up the location.  It is a rather fun evening for those in attendance.  During the coattail party there are all sorts of fabulous items displayed in our silent auction generously donated by local companies as they munch on hordouvers.  At the close of the event – the auctions close, the winners are posted and dinner information distributed. Then each group heads off to local valley restaurants that have prepared a special chiefs choice meal.  While the patrons head off – we clean and pack up. It is a long day, longer for some then others – I got off easy with only about 10 hours at the event.  Although we weren’t able to dine at any fancy restaurant the company brought in dinner for us and we enjoyed each others company, dined then back to work.

The event was held as a lovely venue – the beautifully remodled Memorial hall built in 1922 located in Steele Indian School Park in Phoenix.

http://phoenix.gov/PARKS/memorial.html

April also held the birthday of my first born son – who is a whopping 29 now! Boy where did the years go!  He is in Virginia, still working with his dad and in is off time composing electronic music.  He still has a magnetic smile and a fabulous sense of humor. He and Bryce have a lot in common in that area.  I miss him.

And finally, we survived the tax season thanks to Turbo tax and breathed a sigh of relief that once again, we didn’t have to pay through the nose!

Ok so maybe our part of Arizona doesnt really “melt” into Spring…it sort of hickups past Spring and right into summer. But the past few weeks have had lovely clear, breezy, cool Spring days.

Mid February Chelsea took an impromptu trip to SanDiego.  She is like her mom and loves the ocean.  She had a fun quick trip.

 February ended with a car shopping trip that nearly ended on a sour note! We went to test drive the Sion and the Toyota Matrix … it took me like 2 seconds to realize the Scion was WAY to small for my 5′9″ frame.  So we then started looking through the lot at the used cars.  Ended up test driving a Toyota Camry Hybrid – nice car – fancy schmancy car.  Would get GREAT gas mileage  – was quiet as all get out – but had no trunk AND was over $23,000 BEFORE taxes and license.  I dont really care to spend THAT much money on a 4 year old car with a ton of miles on it…………….we continued on.

I had a pretty short list of must haves…4 door, big trunk, good gas mileage, comfortable and really wanted that new fandangled iPod connector thingy that plugs your MP3 player right into the sterio system.

We started looking and pricing the Corolla….nice car – liked it lots – had all from my short list. And they cut the price and threw in a sattelite radio.  Hot dang – SEVERAL hours of paper work later, I was driving it home! 

Now here is the almost night mare part……..I drove the car to work ONE day, and by the end of the day my BACK was killing me!  I could barely move, and slept horrid.  I was in a panic – had I just gotten a car I couldnt drive! Ugh!!! There was a brace bar in the back of the seat that continually pressed into my low lower back…so much so it would go nearly numb.

So I call – is there a seat upgrade? – no – is there ANYTHING that can be done?  They said for me to come in and see the sales manager and talk with her.  I felt like Goldylocks once I got there – sitting in this car – in that car – seeing how the seats felt – and all the while was in quite a bit of discomfort from the day before. I felt so cornered and Brent was finally able to meet me there from work and help me through the process.  We set all the seats to the same place – all the way back – with the seat back in the same angle.  Went into Goldylocks mode again….as I sat in one of the cars (the one that felt the most comfortable of which they swore were no different then the other cars except the fabric) Brent said.. “Honey straighten out your legs”…I did and he said “do you touch the back” .. “If I point my toes I touch the back”….he said “I think these seats are further back”

Sure enough!  The seats in THAT particular Corolla were about 4 inches further back! They believed it to be a fluke! Thank goodness for me!!! And that apparently made all the difference in the world on my back!  Soooo……several hours later after MORE paper work, I drove away with my NEW new car.  And it had all my wish list ! Even stuff I wanted but decided not get to keep costs down.  They did cut me a bit of a deal which helped a little. Ironically I had less buyers remorse with the second car, even though it costs a bit more because it had all the goodies I was wanting!  LOVE my bluetooth!  AND I have airconditioning again whooohooo!!! I told Brent “I think we just bought my grandma-mobile” since we will be paying for it for quite a while.

February came and went like lightening with it’s many events and activities.

Two of the kids celebrated birthdays. Aubrey celebrated her 24th on the 7th and Shane his 17th on the 18th. And several of my friends had birthdays this month…seems quite a popular month for birthdays!

Shane had his annual sleepin’ over, pizza chomping, video game playing sort of gathering with three of his friends. He has known them for several years and they all get along quite well.  Other then lack of sleep – the evening was fun for all.  We set up mattresses everywhere and had the main TV and another TV in the adjacent “game room” set up with the game systems linked.  Two were on one TV and the other two on the second…but all four playing the same game together. Ahhhh technology!

Aubrey’s work schedule often interferes with scheduling things together. We got her a ticket to see the comedy Triple Espresso where I work and she had some time out with friends.  We have STILL to have a family birthday gathering!  Our kids work schedules are allllll over the place but then again Brent and my schedule isnt that much better.

Valentines was a quiet day.  Brent and I just hung out together at home after having a home cooked dinner together. We were just pooped and were looking forward to just doing nothin’!  But spending time together.

 At work we were busy in production of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2007, Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire.  It is a lovely though sad script about a family dealing with the loss of a 4 year old boy.  His parents, aunt and grandmother make up the cast along with a few scenes of the young man who accidently hit the child when he ran into the street after his dog.  He does a great job weeding through the emotions brought on by such an event by the family, yet peppers the show with humorous familial interactions from the Aunt and Grandmother which would have been a far more painful show without.

o  

In the second act the character of Izzy (the sister) is begining to show her pregancy.  So yet another padding suit was needed! This was far more simple then the Santa suit completed last year.  Although I have another fat suit to make for the actor playing Howie in this production of Rabbit Hole. I have worked with him on and off for several years and the first fat suit I ever worked on was made for him when he played Falstaff in Southwest Shakespeare’s production of Merry Wives of Windsor in 2002.  He has a Jackie Gleason show he does and wanted a custom made suit for him. I made the bus driver jacket for him a few years ago.

With the final show at Actors Theatre opened for this season…..things slow down at the shop and we busy ourself with some major spring cleaning in the costume storage, props storage, shops space … and life is general is a little less frenzied. 

The month has flown by – and held a lot of adventures for us all.

I celebrated my 54th MLK day of course) I was able to take the day off!  Brent was in Tucson working so we had a big full day on Saturday the day before my birthday.  We went to a movie and dinner with friends – Karen and Mike Frontera, it was HIS birthday.  Then after dinner we went into Phoenix for opening night of Triple Espresso for Actors Theatre.  It was a hilarious show and lovely after show party with cast, fellow theatre friends and coworkers.  The day was quite lovely and full!

On Monday the 19th, the day of my birthday my fabulous friend Renae and her daughter took me to a movie and dinner.  We saw Australia and I don’t care WHAT the critics say, I thought it was fabulous!  It had action, adventure, romance with a touch of storybook. Loved it.  And it was a place and time rarely seen in entertainment – Australia in the late 1930’s.  And historical movies and costumes will always catch my attention!

The focus of the month was more about weddings then anything else!  I made a wedding dress for a theatre friend for her wedding of the 10th. She had found a picture of a dress she really liked but it was pricy we were able to make it for a bargain! It had an elegant simplicity about it and perfect for her.  

I was not able to make it to the reception due to attending the shower for my good friend Maryann’s daughter Jessica and a few of us had an impromptu brainstorm session with her about the decorations for the reception after the shower.  Gina Ray took the bull by the horns and helped Maryann locate several lovely things for the decorations to help make Jessica and Braxton’s evening wonderful.

Jessica’s wedding was on the 24th.  I did the alterations to her wedding dress and found some sweet shoes for our Cinderella of the day.  Brent and I had a blast at the reception dancing our hearts out!  Jessica’s brother said Brent had more energy then he did and he is 19 and was ready to go home to bed! We so rarely get to go dancing so that was a real treat.  Chelsea and her friend Michael were also there and we saw several friends we had not seen in years.

We helped a little with set up  – but more with the clean up.  The groom’s mom gave us a tray of mini cheesecakes she had made, yum!  My coworkers are lovin’ me for bringing them to work! HAD to get them out of the house they were just too yummy and I needed some help eating them so I wouldn’t eat them all. Brent and Shane aren’t cheesecake eaters.

Aubrey had an adventure on the weekend of the 24th.  She drove to San Jose, CA – by herself!  We were a little worried with her traveling alone and never having even driven the few hours away to Tucson or Sedona.  So an 11 hour trip seemed daunting!  She got a book on CD to listen too and drove during the night – which is the time frame she is used to being awake working nights.  Also she figured traffic through LA wouldn’t be as heavy.  During her drive she drove through fog – through ice – and snow! To appease her slightly nervous mom, she called at each stop to let me know where she was and so I would know she was okay….I tried really hard not to hover from a distance.

Her trip to San Jose was for an Anime convention.  She met several friends there and of course had a fabulous time.

Brent Spiner in the movie "Independance Day"

That same weekend Brent went to a local Comicon convention – for SciFi and Comics.  Several celebrities were there including Brent Spiner – aka Data  of Star Trek Next Generation.  Several people have said over the years that Brent (my Brent) looks like Brent Spiner (the Data Brent)….but when the actor played the slightly wacky scientist in the movie Independence Day.

While at the convention  a gentleman approached Brent (my Brent) with a growing expression of recognition then excitement.  Put out his hand to shake Brent’s saying “I am so excited to meet you!”  Brent said, “Who do you think I am?” The gentlemen replied “Brent Spiner!”.  Brent (my Brent) had to then dash his hopes and deflate his excitement by informing the gentlemen he was not Brent Spiner.  The fella was totally embarrassed!  But he gave us a good chuckle!

But Brent is FAR better looking then the wacky professor/scientist of the “Independance day” movie!

On the 24th Chelsea had a photo shoot that produced some FABULOUS images of her. She is quite photogenic and has a pixie face that can morph into a classic look.

My big boy Bryce and his slightly daredevil self found himself in the urgent care this month with an injured hand.  The x rays revealed a few brakes, tendon damage and a dislocated knuckle. He visited an orthopedic surgeon a few days later and left the doctor’s office in a cast! Luckily no surgery should be needed just some time in a cast, we hope!

Shane still works at Frys – his hours were reduced after Christmas but 10 hours a week for him is still dandy fine!  He has some work time which he loves. And some spending money which I think he loves more!  He is saving for a Wii but still able to buy games or go with friends to the movies or munchies.

We had two other birthdays this month in our extended family. Brent’s step mom Karen on the 20th and his sister Juli on the 30th.  I had several theatre friends have birthday this month too – so I have lots of January baby buddies!  Some of us lunched together to celebrate two of them – which is always lovely visitng with my fellow costumers.

The 28th was a sad and somber day.  A theatre friend from years back, Matt Hill, lost his battle with testicular cancer on the 24th.  He only discovered it around Christmas, last month.  He was 35, and was married just a year.  The chapel was filled with family and friends, many whom I have worked with at Southwest Shakespeare.  He was one of the “oldies” there, the original group working with Southwest Shakespeare.  The talks were uplifting and a celebration of his life.  I was moved to tears when four actor friends stood and read from Hamlet.  They all performed together with Matt in the production of Hamlet for Southwest Shakespeare in the fall of 1997.  It was the second design show I had done, and my trial by fire learning moment.  They were all my “boys” – I had costumed them all for that show and many others after.  I was transported back a decade in memories, and knew I would miss “BigRedCat’s” smile. 

Now cracks a noble heart. Good night sweet prince: And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!   (from Shakespeare’s Hamlet)

The month of December carries with it the gifts of several joyous celebrations and the task of closing a year. As this year approaches its completion, I reflect on the highlights and events of our lives this year of 2008. 

January began delightfully having quietly celebrated the New Year with friends and with my mother still here with us visiting for the holidays. It was so fun to have mom here for a few weeks just hanging out and visiting. We watched a BUNCH of movies, we had a lot DVDs she hadn’t seen. With mother’s visit completed and heading back home to Virginia , Shane started back to school and I was back to work knee deep in the first show of the year. 

  The week before my birthday, Brent and I had a wonderful opportunity to visit Las Vegas for near a week. It was both a pleasure and a working trip and we had a marvelous time.  I had not ever been there before and Brent had not been in quite a number of years.  It is quite a visual feast on the main strip and each Casino is like a visit to wonderland. 

We had a wonderful dinner atop the Stratosphere where the restaurant turns as you dine completing one revolution each hour.  And after we went out onto the observation deck to pear out over the lit landscape of the city of Las Vegas . It was like an entire city of Christmas Lights from up there!  And quite windy and cold.  

  Before we left the Las Vegas area we just HAD to visit Star Trek the Experience in the Hilton Hotel – we are big Star Trek and SciFi fans.  We had lunch in Quarks Bar and Restaurant, tooled around in the gift shop and wandered around the displays and models.  There are costumed Star Trek characters that wander around and play the part much like the street players in a Renaissance Festival.  The entire facility was Star Trek themed everywhere! 

  January also brought with it my 53^rd birthday. And in February Aubrey and Shane both celebrated birthdays.  Aubrey completed her 23^rd year and Shane his 16^th.

   In March, Bryce started full time work in a call center on the Nike team and it was quite impressive to hear what he learned about textiles and shoe manufacturing.  He did very well on the phones which is no surprise – he is quite a social friendly chatty kinda fella.  He works a perfect shift for him 11am – 7pm which would drive me bonkers. He loves it because he doesn’t have to get up early….not a morning person J

  His big bomb of a car died shortly after he began working there but thankfully he had a friend that worked RIGHT across the street so was able to get rides till he could afford a “new” car.  Which he got in June a few months later – a Suzuki manual transmission and he loves it!

  Adam celebrated his 28^th birthday in April. He still works for his dad in Virginia, composes his unique style of electronic music and dates a lovely gal who shares his interest in music.  He is a talented, happy, lively, friendly young man…..he and Bryce are a lot alike in that way.

   In May the school year ended – the shops at work closed for the summer and our summer break began.

  The summer months are hot and nearly unbearable here in the Phoenix area.  But we had a wonderful chance to get away and Camp in Strawberry, AZ (Where it is cooler and greener) with about 20 other friends.  Gregg, Brent’s brother was also with us. He brought his guitar and sang for us (he is very talented does a lot of “open mike” performances in the valley and writes quite wonderful and thought filled lyrics).  One of our friends has a family camp site – rugged, but all the things we needed were there.  An armada, picnic tables, fire place, well for water, and latrine for “necessary” moments.  We went hiking one of the days to the Tonto Natural Bridge in Payson.  It is quite a steep descent and I wasn’t able to make it all the way down with my knee. It wasn’t quite up to par yet so I stopped when I knew I could go no further and STILL make it back up and just sat and looked out over the lovely Arizona landscape till the other hikers returned back up the trail. Shane thought he would be bored on the camping trip but he ended up having a great time and took lots of pictures.

  Aubrey’s boyfriend, Jorge, traveled from Florida to visit in June.  So we finally had a chance to really meet and get to know him a little. He is in his final year at DeVry and when he finds full-time work after graduation, we may have a wedding to plan.  He is studying video-game programming – he and Aubrey both love video games!  He is kind, considerate and respectful of Aubrey.  They have known each other since they were in their teens, were friends for many years before it blossomed into a romance.   

Aubrey still works for Godaddy.combut changed departments early in the year to the email tech support department which is a little lower stress but is a graveyard shift. She acclimated to her sleep schedule fairly well but it does make schedule family things difficult at times with all or our schedules all over the place!  She still draws ALLLLLLLLL the time and makes natural stone/beaded jewelry and other crafty things.  She takes Aikido classes and keeps busy with work, friends, reading, and computer stuff and of course, drawing or graphics work. 

  July was a busy month!  Brent celebrated his 49^th birthday on the 27^th – ONE more year and he can’t tease me anymore about being over 50 because he will be too!  He looks very young still but has a long mane of silver white hair that always seems to attract attention especially with those blue eyes!

   Shane had an exciting event in July. He went on a trip with his NJROTC group to Coronado Base in California.  It was his first trip away from home, alone and he was a little nervous.  He had a fabulous time and it was a lovely learning experience for him as well as rather empowering to be on his own.  They learned a lot about military life in those few days and participated in damage control exercises on a ship.

  I had a busy few months during the summer with some private commission sewing projects.    I engineered and created a mermaid costume that was “swimmable” for a gal that does children’s parties and wanted to add pool parties to her services.  It turned out really great and she says it works perfectly!  I also relined a favorite jacket for someone when the original lining was totally on its last leg.  And created a fat suit for a gentleman that does a lot of Santa Clause character appearances and performances.

 A milestone moment of 2007 was when the “sewing room” moved from the garage back into the house shortly before Christmas of 2007.  Aubrey and Chelsea had moved out in 2007 – Chelsea returned home for a few months after she had been quite ill with a very stubborn kidney infection in 2007, but by Spring she was back on her own  So with both girls out on their own,– that freed up a room for my sewing equipment and supplies!  It was lovely to sew INSIDE the summer of 2008 rather then battle with the summer heat trying to keep cool with a portable evaporative cooler in the garage.

   In August, I went to LA with two other woman to shop in the LA garment district.  It is shop after shop after shop of fabrics, trims, notions, craft supplies – and all sorts of things you may not be able to find elsewhere.  And GREAT prices!  Many of the places will even barter with you which is something most of us Americans aren’t used to doing.  I have shopped there three times before and love going there – we power shop for two or three days and find great bargains.  It is more of an adventure then a simple shopping trip.  I was shopping for a Shakespeare show that opened in September – As You Like It.

  In August Shane was back to school – I started back to work and Chelsea celebrated her 21^st birthday.

  Chelsea worked two part time jobs for the first half of the year.  Apple store and Brunswick bowling alley.  We went bowling on Fathers day as a family and had a blast.  And joined her for Karoke in September.  She has a lovely voice and loves to sing, just like Brent. J She started working full time for the Apple store in November so will have health benefits and better pay.  She moved into her own apartment in September – has just what she needs to get by so her place is pretty empty at the moment.  But she has the basics and will acquire the things she needs as she can afford them and create her own first place. Her health has been good but that stubborn kidney infection did sneak up on her again earlier in the year but thankfully responded well to medication this time.

   She still loves photography and writing and has a great fashion sense.  She always has interesting ideas for a photo shoot and loves to find weather worn places to photograph. She cut her hair SHORT this year – twiggy like.  And has her natural blond color back. The cut is so cute on her and she has a pixie high fashion look with that hair and her stark blue eyes.

 With two shows opening in September that month was a near blur.  Shane began piano lessons and is having a ball. She works well with him and loves his eagerness.  She lives nearby so he can bike over which makes life easier of Brent and I!

 In October I gave myself permission to hide from Halloween! Brent was out of town – Shane at a friend’s house for a party and no one else here at home. I shut off all the lights – and relaxed in my bedroom! I figured I had been a good Halloween kinda mom for years, I could bow out for one year!

  A show at work opened on the 25^th but on the 24^th I went to a Tina Turner concert with a good friend and we had a blast!  We ended up getting our seats upgraded because they needed seat fillers in a higher priced section. We got dead center tickets! Nice!

  Brent traveled a lot in October and November.  He still works as a Private Investigator and loves his job!  He does great work in his field and there are a few insurance companies that request him on their claims cases. He travels a lot which can be difficult for us both at times. But the stays are usually short and he does love to travel! He has had opportunity to visit old Tucson,  Nauvoo, Illinois, seen miles and miles of sunflowers in bloom in Colorado,  seen the country side of New Mexico, Texas, Idaho, Utah, Kentucky, Illinois and of course Arizona……a state side traveling man!

   Thanksgiving isn’t the only celebration we had in November, although having friends and family altogether is a fabulous one!  All the kids were able to be off at some part of the day and we were all together for a few hours which is wonderful with everyone having different schedules and lives of their own.  We were even joined by our good dear friend Renae and her daughter, Claire…as well as Brent’s brother Gregg.  It was a lovely afternoon.

   Brent and I also celebrated our 25^thwedding anniversary on November 29th. What a wonderful thing it is to spend life with your best friend!  Just he and I alone – out to dinner – a nice evening just he and I away from TV, work and computers.  We went for Chinese food at our favorite Chinese restaurant.  Chinese food has sort of become a tradition for us being that on our wedding day we got Chinese take out for me, and take out Pizza for him.  He had not yet discovered the yumminess of Chinese food J  It was our silver wedding anniversary and he got me a lovely silver Celtic medallion necklace and earrings set.  We got for him a new wedding band of silver, his gold one didn’t fit right anymore on his finger or with his personality. That silver grey hair just needed a silver ring!

 On Veterans Day, Shane marched with his NJROTC class from school.  The last event he would have with them having completed two years at the end of the semester in Dec 2008, he was ready to move on to other elective activities and classes. It has been a wonderful learning opportunity for him. He has grown and matured quite a lot through the program.

 He was also quite eager to get a job and earn his own money.  He had already a list of things he wanted to do or get including shopping for Christmas for his family.  He began working at the Fry’s grocery store a mile or so from our house and is close enough to ride his bike to.  He loves the independence his bike gives him for work, piano lessons and to friends.  It’s pretty good exercise as well!  They said he is doing a great job – always with a smile excited to get to work.  He loves gathering the carts!  Which is usually what the customer service clerks DON’T like doing so I told him his coworkers probably LOVE him!

   November was the climax of a rather interesting and historical election, it will be interesting to see what the next year brings and as always I hope for positive productive governmental choices….with skepticism that such will happen.

   Closing out the year gives us two causes for gathering and celebration. Bryce celebrated his 19^th birthday on the 19^thand of course Christmas!  We will all be together again Christmas Day for our big breakfast and just being together.  The same wonderful family and friends that were with us on Thanksgiving, will be here with the added addition of Jorge visiting again from Florida. Though we are sad we are not celebrating with more of our precious friends and family.  Christmas, and holidays in general, are always bitter sweet for me with my family in Virginia soooo far away.  However I know Brent and I have a beautiful family with creative, lively, active, individual, opinionated kids!  Life is good – we are healthy, are able to support ourselves, and have the blessing of a great group of friends and extended family, though far away.

  We all hope that your holiday season is a treasured and joyfilled time, whatever holiday you celebrate. And that the New Year brings with it strength, courage and joy.

Brent, Lois, Aubrey, Chelsea, Bryce and Shane

(written by Lois Myers)

With hugs and kisses from the Myers Posse of Arizona