Happy Solstice!!!

I hope everyone is doing great! I finished all my shopping and am looking forward to relaxing a bit.
My niece E is only 4 and she wants a kitten so badly. She can't have a physical one so I painted her one. I hope she likes it! I even wrote her a little story to go with it.

For E!

Shortly after I finished it my easel broke. Luckily Z is handy and now it's stronger than ever. I think I'm to rough on it. That's the third time it's broken and the second time a leg was ripped off. Cats are great at bowling I guess. Oh well, at least we can fix it.

Frankeneasel's new bottom.

It's new arm!

Just goes to show that even when it looks hopeless it can still be fixed. The legs are from an aluminum easel I got off Amazon. I hated that thing and it never worked right. Good thing I kept the parts!

I've got even more stuff in etsy and I really like that site. The people on there are so nice. I wish I could buy it up.
I've finished another chapter on my novel and I can't wait for it to be done. Then I can move on to another story in my head.
I hope you all have a great day!

It's been fun and hectic. Sorry!

Sorry it's been over a month since my last post, who knew being a full time writer would be this busy. It's been great though. My house is cleaner than it's been in a long time, I'm learning to cook, and my animals all seem happier.
I've gotten 3 chapters done for my first draft and finished a couple of paintings to boot. I get to spend more time than ever with my lovely husband and we went to a couple of small galleries this past weekend. It's been great!
I have lots of new things in my etsy shop and I like it. no sales, but it's like having my own gallery show.
I think I might just link to interesting news stories for the most part, but I'm not sure yet.
Here's a few to start:
Cool krispy kreme story

Special portrait found.

A great catch by moseying player.

A very nice employer.

They saved a life in the ocean!

The eagle is free!

Let me know what you think if you get a minute. I like good news so that would be all I would post up.We have enough bad news smacking us around.
I hope every one had a great Thanksgiving and is looking forward to Yule!

The Zombie Walk was Great!

Z and I went to the zombie walk on Saturday and it was great! We went for the walk and stayed for the downtown Saturday night thing. There were tons of venders and lots of great music. I met a very talented man who makes jewelry out of recycled bicycle spokes and he even has an etsy shop! rickshawjewelry.com You should check it out! I really loved his bracelets that he had.
There were zombies everywhere! There were even a few zombie fighters floating around in the mix.
The belly dancers on the stage by the library were so shiny, I wish I could move like that! If I tried to balance a sword on my head it would cut my head off.
Even the Buddhists had a food cart going. I really wanted to eat there, but the line was huge! We ended up eating at Stolen Recipe Barbecue's truck and it was pretty good.
I had an interesting moment when I made the mistake of talking to the only fortuneteller there. I was curious about what kind of reading she did. I didn't want a reading and that probably got me on her bad side to start with. I said I liked the mat that she used and she was a bit rude and said "All magic must be done in a white circle". The mat was laminated black paper with a big white circle and the letters for the directions in the corners. It was really quite nice if a bit small for me.
 I of course had to respond and said ""Not in every tradition." I should have just walked away but I'm nosy.
She said how she's been doing it that way since she was taught 52 years ago.  My thoughts were "Good for you, I'm glad it works for you". At least I didn't say it.
At that point I was leaving when she said something that made me laugh. (Yes I know it was very rude of me but it just came out, and I covered with a cough.)
She said with full conviction of an evangelist "It's been done that way for 50,000 years!"
Right then all I felt toward her was sadness. All of my animosity dropped away at how she had to be RIGHT. How do you live that long and believe that strongly with out doing at least a tiny bit of research? I hope she did very well that night and wish her the best.
 It was a big reminder of why I don't usually play with other Pagans. I don't understand them and they don't understand me. Yes I know I shouldn't have laughed.

Fallen Angels

Snow White

Cow and Bunny in front

Happy Clown

ZomBee!

Now here's some zombie pictures!

My new office!

This is my new office. It's in a corner of the bedroom so the animals can't bug me. It may be small but the rent is free and I have everything I need. I'm just glad my desk fits.
That desk is the first furniture purchase I ever made on my own. It's over a hundred years old and I'm the third owner. It even has its original key so it locks. I got it from a nice lady who was moving to Texas and didn't want to take much with her. She wanted to be more mobile.
Yes that's a signed pic of Angela Landsbury above. When I was little I wanted to be Jessica Fletcher. I still do even though my mysteries have a supernatural element.
I'm sad I gave up my salon, but I'm lucky Z is giving me the space to do what I've always wanted. Life is a give and take.

Went to Nightfall!

Went to Nightfall at Old Tucson to celebrate our 8th anniversary and to kick off my new life as a full time writer! It was a blast! There were a lot of scary creatures wandering around and I think I was the loudest screamer there. My favorite was the demented carnival show with its big explosions and fake blood spraying almost into the crowd. I loved the flips they did I'm the death scenes.
In one of the haunted houses I backed right into a stranger woman and we both screamed so loud poor Z must have went deaf. Even my stick got in on the action! It was a great night!

The plus and the minus

On the plus side my landlord called me last night. He has someone to take over my salon. My last working day will be October 6 and I'll be moving out on October 7. That's a good thing, but I'm still sad about it. I really tried to make it work. I spent this morning letting all my clients know what was going on and that I could refer them to another stylist if they want me to. That was hard, but I have to make sure they are taken care of.
On the minus side my landlord forgot to tell his wife about our arrangement and I got charged rent today. Now my account is overdrawn and he says there is nothing he can do to fix it. Looks like I get to sell more things to support my salon after all. It sucks, but I can't change it so I'll just have to deal. He swears he won't charge me rent for my final week. If he does what's one more overdraft fee? I'm sure I can get it fixed by next week if I hustle my butt off. It's just funny how things are working out. I'm almost free and then I can work on paying down this new debt along with any others I have incurred. It just means I can't go to the 2 craft shows I was going to sign up for next month. Oh well, I'll get one in November.
I get to go be stuck by my sister-in-law this afternoon. She's studying to be a medical assistant and needs a victim. She pays in cookies so that is definitely a plus. I would let her do it for free, but she doesn't need to know that. Afterwards I get to walk around with some impressive bruises and eat cookies for lunch. Not a bad deal.
All in all it's another day on the roller coaster. Up, down, Up. Cookies are a great way to end it though. Then I'll go home and watch Murder, She Wrote and create more jewelry for my Etsy shop. That will be a great way to end the day. I can't wait!

Nothing much going on here

Sorry I haven't written, there hasn't been anything going on. I'm still searching for someone to take over my studio so I can stop paying rent. Until then it's still a heavy weight on me. I haven't made any Etsy sales yet, but I'm sure I will soon. I do have a custom order to complete though. A client wants a hematite and garnet y necklace. I'm looking forward to that, in my head it looks amazing. My writing has been a bit stalled lately. I feel so pressured from everything else that the blank page is actually kind of soothing and I find myself staring at it in a strange sort of relief. I kind of just stare at the white and feel like I'm floating. It's not normal, but I think my brain needs the rest. The story is still clamoring to get out though so I need to get on with it.
Got to go to Concert Under the Stars on Saturday and that was great. A lady sat next to us with her dogs and the sheltie kept snuggling up to me. It was nice to stare up at the stars with the music washing over me and the furry dog demanding to be petted. Z spent most of the time talking to his friend D. She's nice enough, but I kind of wish I had gone alone. I can't wait until next year when it happens again. It had been a long time since I just watched the sky.
This week I only have 2 clients scheduled so I'll be hitting the parking lot to go fishing. I really hate fishing. It feels a bit like begging or soliciting. Maybe I should wear something a bit more revealing to get more in the mood. That would really bring the people in! Just kidding, I'll just hook them with my big green umbrella and drag them back to my lair. At least I run a catch and release program, they just look better for it. Sorry, I really want seafood right now.
This Sunday Z has some models coming in to shoot. It was going to be to promote my salon, but he still wants to do it. It will be interesting to see how it goes. I've never worked with models before, I get to style their hair. Excited about that.
Life is chugging along and looking up. I just need to work on my perception of it is all.

I saw the shuttle!

It was so neat to see the shuttle fly over. I think it was attached to something else but still really cool. My pics aren't the best as it was moving fast. I'm glad I got to see it though. It made me all tingly.

A good walk for thinking.

Today I spent my walk thinking about all the decisions I have to make. It was productive and I feel better. I also met a dog that wasn't as friendly as he seemed and saw some beautiful flowers. All in all a good walk. What happens happens and the worst that can happen is I ruin my credit a bit. No big loss in the grand scheme of things.

It's all over but the searching

The meeting with my landlord went better than expected. All I have to do is find someone else to rent my studio and I'll be free. He's even helping by offering the other stylists in the building 2 weeks free to anyone who finds someone to take place. Also I can pay off any rent I accrue by cleaning the building in my off hours. He's being way more kind than I thought he would. I feel really lucky.
So far every client I've told is willing to follow me anywhere I go so I'm really grateful there too. Now I just have to find someone. I hope to do that by the 29th so I can move out on the 30th.

My Etsy shop now has 25 items in it and I'm sure I'll get a sale soon. I'm really enjoying the jewelry making and can't wait to get more things up. I'm pacing myself so I don't owe them a lot before I even sell any thing.

On my walk this morning 2 hawks were screaming after a dove and they were loud! It happened so fast I didn't get a pic but the dove flew past me and the hawks just gave up. They all moved so fast it was over before I could react. It was really neat to see wild hawks that close, but I'm glad the dove got away. I did get a good pic of a spider though. They don't move as fast.

I just want it done already!

Today hasn't been good. If I could I would just take my stick and walk away from it all. A half hour in the morning isn't enough and I always end up back where I started.
My only client for the day didn't show so now I'm short $50 for the rent this week and I'll have to sell more personal things to make it up.
My landlord for the salon will meet me on Monday to discuss me getting out of my lease and I'm worried he's going to be difficult about it. I really hope he won't be. I have nothing left to sell but my car and my desk. Those will barely bring enough for one more month and I'm not doing it.
I've learned a lot from this experience,. I'm just done. It wasn't all bad I did meet a lot of interesting people.
Wish me luck on Monday. It will all work out somehow.

Some beautiful clouds

I killed my shredder

Last night while disposing of old checks to an account I closed I killed my shredder. It made the most horrible noise, a cross between bad brakes and a lion roar and wouldn't go any more. That shredder had been with me for over two years. It faithfully ate everything I fed it and happily growled for more. I killed it by over feeding it.
Now it sits in the trash can to be recycled. It was a good and faithful friend who destroyed my mistakes and obliterated my junk mail.
It will be missed.

Saw a cool idea for a roof

I saw a great roofing idea on my walk today. I wonder if Z will do it.

My husband's a sweetie

Z is taking pics of all the jewelry I've put on Etsy so far because my photos suck. He's so nice about it, he only laughed at mine a little bit. He also showed me how to adjust my photos so I can hopefully do it myself. They still won't be as good as his though.
I'm lucky I have a photographer for a husband.
Tomorrow I will add more items and update the ones he's shot. I've had a lot of lookers and this will turn them into buyers. (fingers crossed)
The salon is still super slow and Z is making noises about me staying he to write. He's even offering to help set up a mini salon for my regulars here. It's so tempting, but I don't want to be a failure. It's a lot to think about.
He has a point, but it's weird to have people in my house. It would save a lot of money though and I'm a bit sick of rice and potatoes.
It's been 6 months and I'm still not turning a profit so I don't know.
Don't you hate it when someone is offering you a dream when your working on a goal.

Slivers Salon is 6 months old!

Today is my 6 month anniversary of opening my salon. It's a big milestone for me and I am very happy I haven't gone under yet. It's been rough, but worth it. I have big hopes for the future, it can only go up from here.
Now that I have made it this long I have a new goal. To make it to the nine month mark. I hope I can do it and will keep trying my hardest. Hopefully etsy will be a big help with that. 3 months from now I want to be self sufficient and able to help pay the bills at home. Failure is not an option!

Life is Funny!

I went to the salon today so I could post what I made to etsy in peace. The cats hate the computer or love it. So I'm taking photos and people keep coming in to see what I'm doing which is fine, but so far only 2 things have gone up. What's funny though is I've had my creations here for a while but as soon as they know I'm posting them for sale they want to buy.
So far I've sold a necklace and a pair of earrings. I also have 3 things to hold until Friday. That's 5 things in one day! Usually I'm lucky to sell that many here in a week and I have to spend my day off running around town selling it for way less.
I may not have made an etsy sale yet but it sure is helping already!
Cloudy this morning too so another great walk! This day is great!

No clients so I'm taking the day for Etsy

I have no clients scheduled at the salon so I'm taking the day to work on my etsy shop SliversofMagick . My goal is to have at least 15 items posted by the end of the day.
I figure if I pick one day a week where I have no one coming in to take off then I can make enough items to post for that week. It's funny how a hobby that I do to stay awake watching TV may end up saving my salon. I have to keep aiming high.
My plan is to make enough on etsy to not have to go out in the parking lot and fish. That would free up at least 2 hours a day more to write. Which in turn would lead to faster publication (fingers numb from crossing!) and me making money doing what I love.
It's a solid plan and since I didn't have anyone scheduled I can start it today. Maybe soon I can take 2 days off and use one to clean house. =)
I figured out how to link to the shop on my sidebar. I added a page that goes straight to it. This is so cool! It only took me how many days?
Life is great!!!

It's a beautiful cloudy day

I have a client in at 8 this morning so stick and I went walking in my work neighborhood. It's so nice out that I didn't want to come back. The clouds are big gray piles in the sky and I really hope it rains today.
All the dogs I saw were on leashes and I even got to pet one named Sophie. I forgot to get her owners name. Oops! She was such a sweet dog, a Rhodesian ridgeback. She is huge but so gentle. She has a lump to be removed tomorrow and they were out enjoying a walk before she's out of commission for a week. I gave the owner my card and hope she'll call and let me know how it goes.
There were a lot of other walkers out and they all waved and smiled. I wish my home neighborhood was this friendly. I'm going to have to schedule early clients more often.
The roads here are hillier than I'm used to and stick came in handy there. I really like its longer length. There's no more hunching to go down hill and I get to enjoy the scenery more. I saw a neat eucalyptus tree that looks like it's been through a few storms and is ready for more. All in all it was a great way to start my day.
I hope yours goes great too!

Michael Clarke Duncan R.I.P.

I just found out that one of my favorite actors has died. He had a heart attack back in July and they think that played a part. He was only 54.
He will be missed!

Happy Labor Day!

I hope everyone has fun today! For me it's a day to take stock of how far I've come in my life and to be grateful to all those who've helped me.
It's also a great day for a BBQ!
If you have to work enjoy the fact that you have a job and if you're off enjoy the time of rest. Have a great day!

A good walk this morn.

I had a good walk this morning down to a little park then home. The stick moves better in the real world than in the store. We will be happy together.

My etsy is open!

I have 2 things in my etsy shop and I figure every day or so I'll add a couple more. I got them in yesterday but still can't figure out how to link it here. I'll keep trying.
Thanks again for the help picking out the name!
I think you can go to:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SliversofMagick
To see it. That's how I get there. This is so cool! I hated selling on eBay and this will be way better!

I got my stick!

I swear I start trying to make money in other ways and my shop just explodes. I had enough people today I covered rent for the week and was able to get my stick!
I'm still going to put things on etsy after dinner but without further ado
isn't it beautiful!

I'm excited about my etsy store

I'm really looking forward to opening up the shop. It's going to be a grand new adventure and I'm sure it will do well. I figure if I list a few items a day it will keep the cost down and I'll have a great selection in no time. I will also finally get a good price for my jewelry and paintings. Selling them in town to re-sellers doesn't get you much. A few times I was so insulted I just walked out. Once I get settled I'll even add ogham sets, wands, and other magical accompaniments. I really love creating things with my hands.
   If I'm lucky this shop will take some of the financial pressure off and I will be able to breathe easier. Then I can spend less time in the parking lot fishing for clients and even more time writing. It's a win-win. I hope when it's up you guys and gals will come check it out and let me know what you think.
   Does anyone know how to add a link to my shop in the side bar of my blog? I haven't been able to add any custom links over there yet.
    Thanks for your patience as I whined and cried these last few days. Life is looking up and the clouds are moving in.

Today would have been Moms birthday.

Today would have been her 61st birthday if she was still alive. I miss her and still want to punch her at the same time. Instead I'm using the baubles and beads she left behind to make my rent and trying not to let my anger cause me to do something bad.
She was a complicated woman who would give a friend all her money and then ask her kids to pay her bills. She wanted so badly to make and design jewelry; and she was really good at it; but she never had the follow through to make a name for herself. She had more important things to buy.
She always tried to make you accept gifts but never wanted to just be with you even when she cried she was lonely and no one loved her. I loved my mom even if I didn't always like her.
She had a rebellious streak and she lived to pull one over on anyone she could. That is probably what killed her.
You could never trust her words, but you could always trust her heart. She was a kind, violent soul. She usually had the best intentions, at least when it came to best for her but she never hurt anyone she thought needed help. She would open her home to druggies and homeless then cry because they stole from her.
She was finally responding to therapy for her throat cancer and when I saw her two days before she died she was jabbering on about how good her eggs and toast had been for breakfast and how she really loved the egg salad sandwich she had for lunch but wished she could have chips with it. She even looked better than I'd seen her for months. When I left the final words were "I love you, see you on Easter."
She didn't make it. On April 6, 2012 at 7:55pm her heart stopped. Twelve minutes before that I had given the order to pull the plug. She had been non responsive for over an hour after she had been found at the nursing home with no pulse.
She had managed to flip me, cancer, my siblings, and her brother off in one fell swoop.
Mom didn't die of cancer. She overdosed on meth. She went out thumbing her nose at the world, but I don't think she meant to die. She just wanted to have fun.
I miss her, but at least I have her cat. Zelda hates me. Mom's probably laughing at that right now as she eats more eggs. She really liked eggs.
Like I said Mom was complicated.

Help coming up with a store name please.

I've decided to open an etsy store to supplement my income and I need help with the name if you please. So far the options are:
Wild Betty's Witchy Wares

Wicked Betty's Things

Betty's Witchy Wares

Slivers of Magick

I had the best dream!

Last night I had the greatest dream ever. In it I had the stick I'm saving up for and we went everywhere. I was walking through forests thick with giant trees and fording a stream. Then I was hiking up a rocky desert trail while little lizards ran across in front of me. Next I was in a big city crossing a street filled with people. Then I was in an orchard knocking apples down so I could eat them and the grass was waiving in the field behind me and I could hear the bees. I could walk forever. It made me feel so good. I can't wait to go to sleep again!
 So far I've got $11 saved up. Soon he will be mine and we can go on real adventures together! With the husband sometimes too. ;)

Another day at Slivers Salon...

(Warning: Shameless Whining and Self Promotion Ahead)

      Today is another slow day at the salon. I'm grateful to have the time to write until my hand cramps and my thumb falls asleep, but I need more clients to come in. On the plus side I'm way ahead of schedule on the first draft and need to figure out how to install word on a computer with no disk drive. I wonder if any place rents them. I love writing long hand, but I'll be glad when I can start typing it up and changing things a bit.

  I'm such a whiner. I'm living the life of my dreams and acting like a full-time writer. It's exactly what I asked for when I told my husband I wanted to quit my job at the hospital and stay home to write. He said no so I went to cosmetology school. The only job I could get after school was part-time at CC and I was grateful until the corporate crap chased me off. Now I'm living the dream I've always had and I'm still not satisfied . Of course in my version there was no $237 a week rent to wrangle up.

   

My desk rocks!

All I need is five clients a day and I will be set. So if you know anyone in Tucson who needs a cut, color, or facial wax send them my way and I promise to be nice. 

www.styleseat.com/sliverssalon

Now I need a butt in my chair please!

When I was Younger...

I wanted to be many things when I was younger. A writer, a police officer, a wrestler, a pastor and so on. There was always something that stopped all those dreams from being to small (wrestler) to not being Christian. All of them but one. I am a writer. I have never been published...yet, but it's what I AM. I spend any downtime at the salon writing or researching. I've also become something of a confessor to my clients. My salon only holds me and the client so they are really opening up. I'm starting to think about going to a seminary school. Now if I can find one that's cheap, online, and nondenominational. I feel that if I'm passing out advice on everything from sex, to cheating (don't), to what to eat for dinner I should get educated.
   When my mom was diagnosed with cancer I got my online minister license so I could speak for her at her funeral, but this is different. I feel the urge to actually help some of these people instead of just smile and nodding at them. I'm doing the best I can, but I want to do more.
   Maybe this was touched off by that video I watched, but learning never hurt.

My prayer beads make me happy.

Over a year ago I made a set of prayer beads based on the mala crossed with the paidirean of the Céile Dé. It has 108 wood beads split into 3 sections by tigereye and with a drop of garnet and tigereye beads. It ends with a small stone goddess. I strung it on steel beading wire to make it last. As the wire stretches with use I close the slack with tiny silver crimp covers.
There's something soothing about slowly working the beads through my fingers as I breathe. It's a great way to start and end the day. It helps me to recharge my batteries. It's also my favorite act of devotion to Goddess.
Do you have any practices that work well for you?

What have I done lately?

To cheer up I decided to watch a documentary on Netflix. My husband was out of town and I was feeling a bit blah about things. The one I chose was "The Saint of 9/11". All I wanted was an uplifting story to  cheer me up a bit. I got more than I bargained for.
   Goddess must have been guiding me even as She laughed because usually I would pick a horror movie but something about the cover picture made me stop and watch it.
  It's a good movie, if a bit sad. It's a homage to Fr. Mychal Judge who was the first official registered death of the twin towers. It's a story of a man who served his firefighters and his community literally to the end. The people who knew him told stories about him such as the friend who gave him a coat only to have him give it to a homeless person on his way home. One of the parts that touched me the most was when they showed the clip of the sermon he gave the day before he died. That really hit home.
   So now I'm wondering if I personally do enough to help others. Am I staying true to the entire purpose of starting my own salon? I left CC because they wouldn't let me help others the way I felt I should. I wanted to do in shelter free cuts and things like that and they wouldn't do it.
Slivers Salon is founded on the fact that people need a sliver of hope in order to keep going. Now I ask if I am doing enough. I haven't done a free cut in over two weeks and that is sad, I haven't had anyone come in who needed one and I've been to busy trying to get people in that pay to go out and get them.
   Maybe I was guided to that movie to wake up and realize that I may be straying a bit off center and I need to get back on track. So the questions I ask now is who have I touched today? How have I made the world a better place? What can I do next?
   I'm glad I found that movie.

Sad About my Magic Stick.

On Sunday my husband and I took a quick trip to Summit Hut to look at the hiking sticks.
A little background. For my birthday I got myself a beautiful yet flawed walking stick because I have a knee and an ankle that bother me occasionally. I only paid $7 for it so the fact that it was quite C-shaped didn't bother me. i figured I could steam it straight. After several attempts to steam it; including catching it on fire; I went to an expert. He looked at my beautiful stick and told me that he could get it straight but there was no guarantee that it wouldn't break or that it would stay straight. It was an old stick and wood goes how wood wants. The nice man told me how to do it myself and so I traipsed home and did it.
    I soaked it  in hot water for 8 hours, adding more every 30 minutes or so. Then I padded it with a towel and clamped it flat between 2 boards. I left it that way for 3 days in the backroom. When I opened it up my beautiful stick was nice and straight.  I was so happy with it I used it everyday.
   It's been about a month and slowly my stick is going back to the way it was. It's already about halfway back to the original shape, so now I'm looking for a new stick.

It's melting!

I will be the first to admit I'm picky and I didn't think I would find anything, after all it had been a bad week and I wasn't buying anyway. This was for therapy only. 

   So of course I found the perfect stick at an insane price. It's the Brazos Safari with ebony stripes. A solid shaft of strong hickory accented with exotic wood stripes. I want it!

It is $80. It's so worth it, but it's going to be a while before I can even hope to get it. The top feels weighted, and it swung with my stride in such a way as to make me stand up straighter. It had a great swing. It felt so perfect in my hand that I spent so long playing with it the clerk probably thought I was going to steal it. Sadly, I have morals so all I took with me is the memory of it's perfection in my hand. 

   I will definitely be scrimping all the pennies I can spare to get it. Until then I can go visit it.

Last Week Was HARD!

I haven't blogged because I've been trying to get my weekly rent for my salon studio together. For the first time since I opened I have failed. I failed by a lousy $20. I had to ask my landlord to postpone my rent and charge me double the next week. He said he would and I'll know if he did tomorrow. If he forgot and charged me I will have the joy of an overdraft, not going to be sleeping much tonight.
   My week started falling apart on Thursday, most of my scheduled clients needed to reschedule and no one I called could come in. The train wreck kept up through Sunday. My only client on that day, the one that would have given me what I needed didn't even bother to show up. So I did what I could and took a day off. On the flip side next week will be busy, so that's a plus. I never want this to happen again, it's a horrible feeling.  So I did what I could and took the day off.  
   This will be a better week!

A Sad Fact of Life Today.

I saw a story today on yahoo about a woman named Angela Prattis may be fined $600 a day next year if she continues to feed underprivileged children. Here are a couple of articles I've found about it:
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/trending-now/woman-could-fined-600-giving-children-free-lunches-192644564.html?_esi=1

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/08/14/philadelphia-woman-faces-600-day-fine-for-feeding-needy-neighborhood-kids/?cmpid=cmty_twitter_fn

 I know she's not paying for the food herself, but she's still getting it out there where it's needed and she's donating her personal time to do this. I personally feel that she should be given money to help with her goal and not charged, but maybe I'm crazy in my belief that we should all look out for each other.
  What kind of good deeds can we do to get threatened for I wonder?

I finished "Blackout" by Mira Grant

I think I read this one the slowest of all three because I didn't want it to end. It had even more twists to the plot than the others and curiosity kept me going even when I was cringing from the words. It even has a zombie bear to keep it interesting.
    I liked the twist of bring in a character from the first book, but some of the story got lost in searching because of it. A lot of the book seemed trapped in character angst, but it worked for the story and there was still enough action to keep me going.
   The end of the story was really action packed with a jarring twist that almost made me cry. The very finally chapter was a bit of a let down though. Every thing was tied up to neatly for my tastes, but at least it got tied up.
    All in all I think it was a very good series and I hope she comes out with more set in that world. I definitely think everyone should check it out.
 

Our Trip to Agua Caliente Park

Yesterday my darling Z took me to his new favorite place to take pictures. I was a little skeptical seeing how it was 108 outside, but I'm game for any new adventure so off we went.
It's a really beautiful park with its own pond and a mini mesquite forest. The information/museum building was closed for the weekend which was too bad. I wanted to learn more about the place.
  There were a ton of butterflies and ducks everywhere I looked. Z even saw a crane. I got a cool picture of some butterflies mating though so that even things out. I really wanted to go poking around off the paths, but Z pointed out the signs and wouldn't let me. next time I'm going when it's cooler and he has a model to keep him busy. I would go by myself, but I fell asleep on the way and have no idea where it is.
    It was to hot to stay long even with the water we were carrying, so we are going back when it's cooler and the buildings are actually open.
 

It's almost like a tropical paradise!

This turtle ignored us while its friend fled.

Butterflies doing what comes naturally.

Keep out signs are the bane of my existence. 

The pond is one of the largest I've ever seen.

Maybe it's just what I've been reading lately, but CREEPY!

It's too hot for the ducks to run from me? Nope.

I almost made it off the path!