December will be better...

Boy! It's been awhile. I can't even think of a satisfactory explanation as to why I have been absent from my blog for so long. The best I can come up with, is that I just lost my motivation. Good news though, IT'S BACK!! I'm determined to make this holiday a joyous one! Whether I like it or not!! 

So let's get to it:

For those just tuning in, I follow a blog at The Idea Room. Amy over there runs a photo challenge every month. Each day of the month she provides a prompt. The idea (no pun intended,) is to take a picture each day with the assigned prompt in mind, then post to Instagram to share your creativity. Here are my submissions since the beginning of this month.

Dec 1st. Warmth.

I decorated my bedroom window for the holiday. It's actually the only window in my home that faces out to the front of the house, so that was one reason, but the bonus is this AWESOME ambiance in my space. I LOVE it!! It just might stay all year!! 


Dec 2nd. Joyous.

Now, I know that it's the season to be joyous. I could have gotten right onto that bandwagon and posted something that was geared toward the holiday, but just LOOK at Ziggy with her bone. If that's not joyous (for her,) I don't know what is. She even stole our other dog's bone. 


Dec 3rd. Stripes.

I'll admit. I was SO NOT creative on this day. I literally just drew a picture and took a photo. 'Nuff said.


Dec 4th. White.

Yes! This is my artwork. I painted it at a fundraiser for an animal shelter in the next town east of mine. It was an event put on by Paint Nite. I usually attend the paintshop with a couple of friends of mine, but they both had other issues, so I attended this one on my own. I highly recommend the company and the events. An EXCELLENT outlet to express your creativity. Two friends sharing a Big WHITE Moon...

...and then I saw this tree and decided it had to be submitted under the "white" prompt too...

...but it could also be submitted under the next prompt...


Dec 5th. Tree.

...see what I mean?

I chose to submit this tree. The location is a nice little organic cafe next door to my grooming shop. Good News Gardening is also an AWESOME garden shop (duh.) The cafe is just an added bonus. They, obviously, just got their Christmas tree shipment in. 

Well, there you have it. I'll do my best to keep up this month. Have a blessed week and I'll catch you on the flip side! 

WAY too many to use in this Header.

I have been VERY neglectful. I can't even say I've been busy. Work is slow. I have been unmotivated. I haven't been very creative when it comes to my photo challenge photos. Maybe that's why I've been slow to post to my blog. I even skipped a day (bad me.) I'm here to make up for lost time now.


"Aftermath." Nov. 1st.

After playing with the makeup for my Halloween post, and all the CRAP I put in my hair, this is what I woke up with the next morning. I couldn't even get a brush through it. Since it was a Sunday though, I still ventured out to IKEA and Costco to do some shopping. My darling daughter assures me I looked "cool." I'm pretty sure I just looked CRAZY!! o_-



"Old." Nov. 2nd.

My mother bought this quilt, second hand, for me YEARS ago. It was well worn then, so I can only imagine how old it is now. My memory fails me as to how long ago my mom gifted it to me, but I'm sure it's either close to my age or older.... Which is OLD!!! :-D


"Painted." Nov. 3rd.

I have a couple of dear friends who have turned me onto an event called Paint Nite. Check out the link if it looks like fun. They are literally ALL OVER the country in a city near you. Anyway, The event is kind of like a painting class. The venue is usually in a bar, so it's for adults only. There is an instructor, music, food, and drink. It's SUPER fun and a good outlet to be creative (even if you think you aren't.) I HIGHLY recommend it for a girls night out or a date with your significant other. 


"Silly." Nov. 4th.

The "other" option to my halloween costume. I knew those goggles would come in handy for SOMETHING!! 


"Favorite Place." Nov. 5th.

I think I've already expressed how much I LOVE my bedroom. It's my safe haven. My place to escape the daily frustrations and just CHILL...

...but that's not all...

"Favorite Place" (part 2.) Nov. 5th.

THIS is another one of my favorite places. My parent's home in California. I can usually be found out in their backyard (taking pictures or just sitting on the deck) at some point during every visit.


"Reflection." Nov. 6th.
I spaced on this day. I guess I figured since I posted two on Nov. 5th... well you get the picture. Actually I guess you don't. o_o


"In the Past." Nov. 7th.

I ADORE this wall in my bedroom. The picture in the center is a self-portrait that my daughter drew in her senior year of High School. That one is not so much in the past, but the other photos are. The photo on the left is my Grandmother and Grandfather from my father's side of the family. The photo on the right is my mother when she was VERY young and the lower, center photo is my Mother's Mother. THEY are ALL treasures to me. I had forgotten I had the one of my Grandmother from my Mom's side of the family, so you can imagine my delight when I found it. Now my wall is complete!! :-)

Well, that does it for this time. I hope this post wasn't too long, and boring. I'll try to be better in the future. 

Blessings to you and yours. Stay tuned!! :3

YAY!! It's a new month!

I just didn't have it in me to come up with a witty Header today. The end of Daylight Savings Time always screws with me. I was up WAY too early, and will likely be dead tired by 7pm. I hate that! Oh well. It is what it is. 

I'm excited that a new month has begun. The Holidays are right around the corner. The weather is getting chilly. My sweaters have come out of hiding, and my crochet and other projects have made it back to my lap in an attempt to come up with some lovely homemade holiday gifts. It also means, it's an all new photo challenge month. The Idea Room has come up with a NEW challenge for the month of November that you can find here. It looks like a good one!! Meanwhile I'm here to share the last five days of The October Photo a Day Challenge. So let's get to it!! :D


"In My Home." Oct. 27th.

In August, I moved into a new place. I have two housemates and my daughter is currently living with us while acclimating back to Oregon life. Before I moved into this place, I shared my room with my daughter for many years. It had been a very long time since I had a space that was just mine. When she moved to California to live, I had the chance to move into this place and have my own room. The picture doesn't do it justice, but it is quite literally my haven. Now that Ali is back home, she has the good fortune to have her own space as well. We are truly blessed to have such generous housemates. :-)


"Hidden." Oct. 28th.

So. I mentioned my daughter has moved back from California. Well she brought company. This, my friends, is Raja. She's a leopard gecko that Ali acquired while in California. I'm happy(?) to announce my first grand lizard. :-/
Raja is "hidden" in her (appropriately named) Hide. It's where she cools off, sleeps and eventually sheds.


"Texture." Oct. 29th.

No big mystery. It's the big furry green pillow on my bed. :-P


"Orange." Oct. 30.

Another last minute submission, but who doesn't like Reeses...and it fit the topic...and it's conducive to Halloween,..mostly. :3


"I Wore." Oct. 31st.

Last, but not least, my Halloween costume. Actually, I literally put makeup on to take this picture. My choice of makeup was based on the Celebration of Dia de los Muertos. Creepy, but cultural. Gotta love that!

So that does it for the month of October. I'm stoked to start the new month. It looks like it's going to be REALLY fun. Now, to wake my offspring and have some Sunday fun! I'll be back soon!! ;-D

Photos that are COLORFUL and taken in LOW LIGHT can still bring a BRAND NEW perspective to LIVING and find A PLACE in our hearts.

WOW!!! That was a mouthful of a Header. 

Once again, I have been shirking my responsibilities as a blogger. Life just keeps getting in the way of the things I WANT to do. I'm sure we can all relate. I do, however, MAKE time to post to this blog. I know there may not be many people following, but that isn't really the point (although I love my audience.) The POINT is that I have been trying to get back into journaling, and this blog is a good start "in my search for" a better way to keep track of my life and find new adventures. As I get older, I find this to be of some importance and I am determined to stick to it. One way I have discovered, is to follow a daily photo challenge I found on another blog; The Idea Room.  You can follow the link, or click on the button on this blogs sidebar. 

So, without further ado....


"Colorful." Oct. 22nd.

This photo was taken at one of my favorite places.  Can you guess?  Never mind, I'll tell you.  This was taken at Raven's Eye Body Art in Hood River, OR.  The current owner of the tattoo shop, Kim Lindemyer, is one of my favorite people and has blessed me with many works of art that I get to see and share EVERYDAY!!


"Low Light." Oct. 23rd.

That's my little lantern that I have hung above my headboard, in my bedroom window. It's an LED Candle and runs on batteries, but it's super cute, and I LOVE IT!!


"Brand New." Oct. 24th.

Yup!! That's me, and I was seriously reaching with this photo. The Scarf WAS brand new, but it was literally a last minute photo; taken solely for the purpose of having SOMETHING to submit! :-/


"Living." Oct. 25th.

I have to admit, this is one of my favorite submissions. I could not figure out (for the life of me) what I was going to submit for this VERY WIDE topic.  So I went through all of my photos and compiled the ones that reached out to me and were important to me. Photos that brought good memories and marked certain times in space that were special.

"A Place." Oct. 26th.

Ok!! I don't know about you, but I NEED MY COFFEE in the morning, and this is just ONE of the places I frequent to feed that need. The place is called Good News Gardening. It's a lovely garden shop/cafe that is next door to the grooming shop where I work. They serve breakfast and lunch and they specialize in pastries, pies, and muffins. The best part? Everything they serve is organic and made from scratch! A bit on the spendy side, but WELL worth it!!


Looks like I've given a little tour of a few of my favorite haunts here in The Hood. I've come to LOVE my quaint little town, even though I HATE snow (and we DO get snow!!) Anyway, I think that'll be it for now. Blessings to ALL!! :D

Too many to be "Punny" about....

Oh Boy!! I have been a bad, bad blogger!! I'm not even sure I've been busy. Just preoccupied. My daughter is back home from California. She has spent a great deal of her free time catching up with her friends, who have missed her in her three month absence. I've been catching up on work, since I missed a couple days last week. I'm a dog groomer. Whenever I take a few days off, I come back to a long list of clients who have missed me, terribly, while I've been away. Of course, that means they need my services ASAP! Each and every one of them are a blessing to me. I honestly can say that I LOVE my job, and being busy is FAR better than the alternative. I have, however, been keeping up with The October Photo a Day Challenge from The Idea Room. 

I have a lot to share, so I'll just jump right in.

"Seasonal." Oct. 17th.

I was going to do something for Halloween, but then I was walking through Joann's and saw this sweet little Santa. So he stole a place in my iPhone camera and came home with me; just so I could share him with you. :)

"A Game I Enjoy." Oct. 18th.

I don't know about you, but my mother and I have always enjoyed this game. It was a draw between this and Scrabble. We're actually quite competitive about both.

"Perspective." Oct. 19th.

I guess watching my new favorite show, Elementary, through the mirror in my room could be called a different perspective. 

"Upside Down." Oct, 20th.

No deep meaning for this photo! Red is one of my favorite colors and the Fire Drill Box was pretty, so I turned the photo upside down and submitted it. Surprisingly, it's one of my most "liked" photos on Instagram. GO figure.

"Delicate." Oct. 21st.

I LOVE everything Japanese. From the culture, to anime, to the kawai (cute) goodies, and the food. Japanese fans are just one of my favorite things. So pretty and, well, delicate.

That does it for me this time.  I'll keep taking photos and posting them on this blog. It would be lovely if all of you could join me. 

Sweet Dreams! Tah!!

The "NUMBERS" on the calendar show that soon the days will become "DARK," and possibly, "MESSY!"

The days are getting shorter.  I really noticed yesterday when I was driving my daughter, her four boxes of worldly possessions, her best friend, and her newly acquired gecko from California, back home, to Oregon.  We left my parents house in Sacramento at 5:45am and arrived at my house in Hood River around 5:45pm.  It was a long drive, but we made pretty good time considering we made a few stops, and had lunch with a friend in Bend, OR. Anyway, I definitely noticed that we left in the dark (and drove in it for at least an hour) and when we arrived home, it was still light but, the sun had already disappeared over the horizon.  Fall is officially here!  To boot...it rained today. The word in the Farmers Almanac says we might be in for a pretty messy winter. Since I'm not much of a snowbunny, I'm not really looking forward to that, but I DO admit that it was nice to wear jeans and my favorite sweatshirt today.  It looks like I'll be able to pull my boots out of the back of the closet soon.  That always makes me happy. :)

The October Photo a Day Challenge has definitely been helping to show me how the season is changing. You can find it here. So what are we waiting for? Time to share!


"Numbers." Oct. 14th.

I know. I know. The photo is a little boring.  You'll have to forgive me.  That was the day I had driven from Oregon to California. After 11 1/2 hours I was beat and determined to just make a submission. Yep! That's my Mom's calendar. :-/


"Dark!" Oct. 15th.

I did a little better with this topic. The fabric of my daughter's dress.

The Bird House in my Parent's backyard.

The solar lights and the evening view. Again, from my Parent's backyard. I guess I felt the need to make up for the previous day. What do you think? :D


"Messy." Oct. 16th.

Let me see a show of hands. Who likes moving? I have recently moved into a new house and have a couple of housemates. I have very few belongings, so it didn't take much for me to get my stuff unpacked and put or stowed away. However, my housemates moved from a larger house and are still in the process of sorting through what will go into the new house, and what will be discarded. This is my garage right now!! :-/

So, that's it for the last three days.  I'll be back to share in a few more. 

Blessings to you and yours. See ya on the flip side!! :3

Is it "A TALENT" to constantly have "FUN" "ON YOUR MIND?"

Hidee Ho!! Me again!! I'm getting ready for a road trip to California tomorrow. I'm moving my girl back home. OH BOY!!! I get to get up at the butt-crack of dawn and drive 11 hours!! I'm SO EXCITED (heavy sarcasm!) I know I'm complaining about it right now, but the truth is, I LOVE road trips. I'm taking a less traveled route too, which will take us through the smaller towns in southern Oregon before we have to get on the Main Interstate.  I'm taking my camera. Maybe I'll see some cool sites. 

Speaking of photos... It's time to share my last three submissions to The October Photo a Day Challenge. If you're curious about the challenge, you can find it here. I've got a lot going on right now, so I'll make it short and sweet.

"A Talent." Oct.11th.

This is the ONLY photo that I've submitted that I did NOT take myself. However, I felt the need to share a sample of the cool greeting cards my Mom makes. She uses pretty stamps and colorful papers. She'd never admit it, but she's incredibly talented and has created some REALLY awesome cards. My daughter and I can't WAIT for holidays to see what her imagination comes up with next. I'm SUPER PROUD of her. It's something that brings her, and the people she shares them with, joy!! That, in itself, is good enough for me. :D


"Fun!" Oct. 12th.

 Yep!! My little red tomato is SOOPER FUN to drive.  I don't think I've ever loved a car like I love this one.  She's not a young'un, and she's got a few bumps and bruises, but she makes me incredibly happy!!


"On My Mind." Oct.13th.

I mentioned I'd be taking a road trip tomorrow to move my daughter back home to Oregon. This is an old photo, but there she is. I LOVE this picture. It was taken right around her 16th birthday (I believe.) The nose piercing was brand new and I absolutely adored that yellow shirt she's wearing.  I think I may be holding onto the past. That look on her face is my favorite!! ❤️

There you have it! The latest in the ever evolving photo challenge and blog!! Thanks for tuning in...

Ciao!