Auto Show Pictures

Sterling had the opportunity to attend the International Auto Show with his buddy on the weekend, and absolutely loved it. As a new driver and a lover of all things cars, he was in his glory.

He saw a ton of amazing cars, and I was lucky enough to get him to agree to help me with this post, so I could show off his photo and photoshop skills!

This picture is dedicated to J and C - it is the Dinoco car from the movie Cars and Sterling took this picture with them in mind

2015 Ford.Mustang

 Sterling's Dream Car! The Aston Martin Vanquish

Craig's Dream Car - Audi R8

Classic Camaro SS - American Muscle at its best!

 Ferrari Track Car

Infiniti/RedBull F1 Car

Lamborghini - it's fast, so would be among the top for Kaedo's dream car - AFTER the Buggatti Veyron

Mazda SkyActive Track Car

The original Sting Ray - Now this is a car I could drive! I would look great in this, don't you think? 

Rolls Royce Wraith (the 'I have money and want to spend' car)

That was only a selection of the 146 pictures he took. These are his favorites. As a special note -  Kelly, if you want to know if he took one of whatever your favorite car is, just send him a message and he'll let you know!

Now That's Cool!

Yesterday in Art class Kaedo had to cut out the middle portion of the above image and pencil in the slash in the middle, including shading, etc. I am really impressed with the work he is doing in this class and he is really loving it.

He has always loved to draw and I have 'oodles of doodles' from when he was little, including one cool drawing I carry in my wallet.

He has enjoyed this class so much he is going to take the next one next year.

I guess he gets it from his dad. I can't even draw a stick figure!

Grover

Thought I'd post a picture of the furry member of our family today. G is such a cutie but such a bugger. He is the most stubborn creature on the planet and when he gets it in his mind to do something, there is no stopping him. He's funny and cute and I could watch him for hours. He has learned to sit and stay and he chases a ball or dolly that has been thrown. He grabs it, lies down with it and then in the case of a ball, nudges it towards you so it rolls and you can throw it again. I'm going to try and get video as it is so charming and sweet.

Anyway, I don't talk too much about him, but thought this pic was too good to pass up.

Kelly - Sterling says he'll send me the auto pic shows tonight so I'll post them tomorrow. Thanks for the reminder.

And Speaking of Hair...

I woke up yesterday morning with the absolute need to make a change. A big one. So I did. Almost 10 inches later and a donation to the Pantene Beautiful Lengths Wig program, and my transformation was complete. At least the beginning of it. It was a weight off my shoulders in more ways than one. 

I kept the grey. Figure I've earned it. Someone else can benefit from the rest.

Thank you Craig for the last shot. My new favorite.

A Guest Post...

On our recent trip to Arizona we were fortunate enough to spend a day in the wonderful border town of Algodones.  I'm sure the name has a meaning but in our family it roughly translates to 'Cheap Dental and Margaritas'.  While sipping the first margarita a lovely woman came by to say she could braid the girlies hair 'a la Bo Derek'.  The girls were on board immediately.  It took about 20 minutes per child, an additional margarita for my mom and a Corona for me and Baba.  The results were wonderful.  It made such a difference for the trip because the girls never had to worry about their hair being in their faces while swimming and I never had to worry about showering them (that's what chlorine is for).  Today I took the braids out.  It was a much longer process than the installation of said braids.  Can you say Carpel Tunnel???

Saturday

Not too much going on here this weekend. Sterling has headed to the big city for the International.Auto.Show. He's gone with C, C's brother and friend and their dad. As I mentioned, he has taken the camera and was all technical with me this morning discussing the type of shots he was thinking about.

Kaedo decided not to play football this morning as his knee is really swollen. He takes gym in school and by the weekend his knee is aching. Actually, by Tuesday. He's going to see his family doc on Monday and the specialist next month. Something has to be done for him.

Craig has headed out to play football in the wind.  The weather is beautiful but the wind is atrocious.

Kaedo's friend Kayden (WTF? there should be no other Kaeden's on the planet - his two best buddies are named Kayden and Caden) is working at the flea market today so he wants to go and see him, so we will do that later.

Might catch a movie tomorrow - Kevin.Costner - swoon - I don't even care if it's any good. lol

That's about it from us.

Will post some Auto Show pictures in the next couple of days.

Have a great weekend!

Artiste Numero Deux

Man, do I love these pictures. Sterling is taking a  prerequisite class for his High Skills Major this semester and one of the components is photography. This kid has an eye. A good camera is in his future. Right now he is using Kaedo's and loving it. He hauls it to school every day (anyone who has seen the case knows it is hauling), and takes these breathtaking photos. I have already put the trees as my desktop background. 

He is heading to the Auto Show in T.O. this weekend and is taking the camera. I can't wait to see what he comes up with.

This kid has got some major skills. And I'm not just sayin' that because I'm his mom. OK, maybe a little. 

No, he's got it. Definitely got it. Just Sayin'.

Just thought you'd want to know.....

Our dog is now officially in the terrible twos. lol. His favorite things are unrolling the toilet paper and dragging it through the house, looking at magazines with his teeth and chasing pop bottles all over the main floor. He's gorgeous and awesome and I am much more lenient with him than I was with the boys when they were unrolling toilet paper and dragging it through the house. ha!

Sterling passed his driver's training course with a 96%! Can I get a woot woot! Way to go! It is a well known fact around here that he is easily bribed to do any job if the payoff is the opportunity to go driving. We're not taking advantage of that. Much.

Kaedo had his first day in the kitchen at school yesterday and spent 50 minutes washing lettuce. Boo. He says he knows more about lettuce that he ever wanted to. Also he's never eating lettuce again.

Craig and I made a deal this week that it just fabulous. I will iron his dress shirts for him (gasp - you don't do that already?) and he will clean our bathroom and the main floor bathroom. I totally won that deal. He must really hate ironing shirts. Or really wants the bathrooms cleaned.

Since the only chores the boys do around the house are recycling/garbages and putting their clothes away, they have now been hired as schleppers and will be working trade shows with dear old mom. I even made them their very own three month calendar so they know when they are working and can plan accordingly. Can I pay them in tea and Tupper.ware?

The newest additions to our record collection are Rick Astley and Cindy Lauper. Can you say 80s? Love them both. What a cheap and fun hobby. Plus it means I can sing along and not listen to the boy's music where half of it is bleeped out. Old much?

Sterling recently helped me dye a strip of my hair teal. What that boy won't do for his mom. See above under driving opportunities.

Until tomorrow!

Artiste

This picture does not do his drawing justice. The fault of that is all mine. Kaedo is taking a drawing class in school and is loving it. This was something he did at home on 'perspective drawing'. I love it. He added so many cool additions - a doll house on the shelf in the garage, a TV, a rock in the front with the house number, a pigeon stopper on the chimney. He doesn't love the teacher but loves the class and really, that's what matters.

Maybe he'll illustrate his cookbooks.

Steeped Tea - A Shameless Promotion

Many of you know that I have been a Tupper.ware Consultant for quite some time and enjoy it, but I was looking for a new adventure. I'm not giving up the old one, just adding some more fun.

I am thrilled to let you all know I have added another fantastic opportunity to my arsenal and am now a Steeped.Tea Consultant.

Any of you that are unfamiliar with the company, will have to take my word that it is an incredible CANADIAN organization and I am so happy to be a part of it. Steeped.Tea sells custom blended AMAZING loose tea and accessories and they are just a true Canadian success story.

I would love it if you would check us out on my personal website:

mysteepedtea.com/sTEApendous

good play on word, right? a bit cheesy but awesome!

If you see anything that looks good to you, let me know. 

Up and Running

Welcome to the new and improved blog, courtesy of the fan-freakin'-tastic Sterling of Visually Artistic Designs. He created the blog design and header for me and I am loving it.

So, some things you may notice. The big one is the gnome. The boys have decided that after 4+ years they are 'so done with it'. So that's the end of that. We had a good run though, didn't we?

I really couldn't decide if I was going to come back to this or not, but as I read through posts and thought of how far we are from our families, I thought 'what the hell, lets give it another go'. So much good is happening right now I just want to share it with you guys. Hope you like what I've got to say.

Lots of interesting things to talk about over the next little while, so stay tuned.

MISSING

Height: 18 inches tall

Weight: 7lbs

Last seen wearing Blue Jeans, Green Shirt and Red Hat

Distinguishing marks: Pointy Ears

If found, please email: gnomiecomehome@kmail.com

$5 REWARD!

Stardate -308909.58904109587

I am in a cold and desolate place. It is peaceful here. I have not seen another being since arriving. The days are cold and the nights are colder. As I sit here watching the Northern lights, thinking of the family I miss, I hope I can recover from this traumatic experience.

It all started when that damn dog decided to take my car for a spin. He didn't even give me the option to get off before he started pedaling. The streets whizzed by in a blur and all of the sudden I was toque down in a 4 ft snowdrift.

Soon after I heard  a big roar. It was a large truck with a shovel on the end ... and it was coming right at me. Next thing I knew I was joyriding down the street, snow and wind, blowing through my hair, and I had no idea where I was.

We raced down the streets in a cloud of snow and ice, until finally we stopped. I felt vibrations running through my resin, when suddenly, I was hoisted into the air. Before I would jump to safety, I was ass over tea kettle covered in dirty, grimy snow and slush. As I took my last breath before passing out, all I could see was ... yellow snow.

Gnome