Feeling sleepy?

If there is one thing in the world that can make me tired it's my dog. Sometimes all I have to do is look at him and I instantly want to curl up and take a nap. Don't believe me? Just have a look.
This is a dog that knows how to get comfortable. He also is a great snuggler. It's a deadly combination and I feel like napping right now just looking at these pictures.

Let's Workout!

Teaching water aerobics classes has really been fantastic. My classes have built up in numbers and each night I can count on my regulars to be there. In a recent class the ladies asked if there was water yoga. I told them there was and that I would look into adding some more moves to our workout. So, I headed to the library and picked up every book on water yoga/pilates. Books like this are very hit or miss. They are either really good or really bad. Typically not many are just middle of the road. It has ALOT to do with the illustrations. There are pictures that baffle you and you are left more confused after looking at it than you were when you started. Let's have a gander, shall we?First, it is important to bring one's dinosaur to class. He will teach you to stand nice and tall, keeping all important joints in a straight line. Oh, and make sure he one of the tall ones...ideally over your height of 6'.Next, um...I guess it's important to have 2 and a half arms so one can always be dangling down in the water. Oh, and please completely shave your body and get everything as round as possible. Seriously? You are publishing a book and you figure the best way to show technique is to show me the moves using a wooden figure model and a bunch of wiggly lines?!It's also important to talk about the equipment you will need. Goggles. Goggles that will remain on your forehead through the entire workout. I mean we wouldn't know we were working out in the water if we didn't have goggles on. Plus, goggles make us happy! If we wear them on our heads we will smile gleefully through the entire workout. Don't believe me on the tie between goggles and happiness?Just look at the stern look on that guys face! Serious because he seriously forgot his goggles at home. Forget your goggles too much and things can take a terrible turn.
You will resort to drowning yourself at home in a bowl full of water. Happy water aerobics and yoga everybody!!

Have I told you?

No, I'm just kidding. My memory isn't THAT bad! I know that I have already told you how much I love the public library. I only recently discovered this thing called a library, but it didn't take long to become smitten. I really think it's due to their online request system which is completely awesome. Yesterday I went to pick up a bunch of water yoga books, that I didn't have to buy on Amazon. While I was there I started checking out a display of what they call Playaway Books. I found one that looked interesting and checked it out.
These Playaways are awesome! All you need are some headphones and you are good to go. They fit in the palm of your hand, are smaller than an iPod and weigh very little. When you turn them over you find all the controllers. One little push of a button and you can listen to your book. How fantastic is that?? If you like recorded books I highly recommend you get to your library to see if they have Playaways.

My memory is shot.

There is a thing about blogging everyday when you don' t have the greatest long term memory. I find myself thinking all the time, "Did I already blog about that?" For all I know I could have the same 25 blog posts that I keep repeating over and over. So, if I occasionally double post I am very sorry. I don't think it has happened yet, but it might happen right now.Have I told you about my new love for Freecycle? Yes? No? You don't remember either? Well, I'll tell you again then. Freecycle is a group on Yahoo and it is a place to find or get rid of stuff for free. The best part...people give away some GREAT stuff! You can also post on there that you are looking for something in particular. I have done this three times and have been successful each time! I have a baby gate that keeps Whisky from blasting out the front door and books that I have been wanting to read. So, if you are looking for something for free or want to give something away..head on over to Yahoo and search for the group Freecycle to see if there is one in your area. Good stuff I promise. Oh, and I promise I won't blog about Freecycle again.

I think I'm a Rockstar.

We've had the guitar hero world tour for a while now, but as of late it hasn't been played very much. Even after we bought the Metallica version it just sat there collecting dust. On Sunday I got the drummer itch and the hubby and I decided it was time to rock the house for a while. Then, we realized there was a new game out, Guitar Hero Smash Hits. It's basically a collaboration of all the popular Guitar Hero songs. Of course, I picked it up at Sam's Club yesterday.

Today was a crummy day and I wanted to do nothing more than bang on something with sticks so as soon I got home we opened the game and played...for almost two hours! I even have a blister to prove it. It was so much fun and now I just want to be at home drumming away. As my girlfriend Melissa said, my theme song is definitely....

"I don't wanna work...I wanna bang on the drum all day."

Another gem!

I also went to a thrift store this weekend just to round out my recycled shopping. It wasn't a hugely successful trip and I found myself picking items up and then abandoning them as I was walking towards the door. Yep, I'm one of THOSE people.

Then I found an item that I kind of fell in love with. The whole time I was carrying it to the register I was asking myself, was I really going to do this? Where the heck was I going to put this? Is this one of those things that I'm going to regret later because it is ugly? I decided it was worth the risk and handed over $5. Now that it is in my house I am happy to say I love it! It's a small quilt/throw made entirely out of vintage polyester fabric. How ugly and fantastic is that?! I threw it on the spare bed and totally love the pop of color. So for now, I am happy with my polyester find!

Take a peek!

Today I started the day early and headed to the Denio's Market and Auction in Roseville. I haven't been here in ages and wanted to go and check out what they had to offer. For those that haven't been, Denio's has a combination of farmers market, Made in China world and garage sale type finds. I was interested in the garage sale finds because I just wasn't in the market for a 50 pack of $5 tube socks...although I did find some sexy pink hot shorts which I might still be regretting that I didn't purchase!

The first find of the day was this cute little coloring book...It was gnomes so I had to get it AND it was only $1. Then I bought the hubby a diecast car with E.T. on it because E.T. is cute in a wrinkly alien way. Finally...I bought a couch. Well, it's more of a love seat really. We wanted a new chair for the living room that was bigger and might allow two people to sit on it. I saw this gem tucked behind an ugly chair and it was in FANTASTIC almost like new condition. It is loving it's new place in the living room.

Overall, a fantastic day of thrifting around!

The giving tree....

One thing I love about living in our neighborhood is the trees. Each house has a big tree in front that shades the entire street. It makes for very nice shade on the 100+ days. The other night I was sitting in the house, alone, at about 10:30pm when I noticed a camera flash outside the window. I got a little freaked, but when I looked out I realized that the people across the street were taking pictures. The girl was in the V of the tree and her boyfriend/husband/whatever was taking pictures of her. This wasn't the oddest thing I've seen at that house so I just shrugged it off and shut the blinds.

When I got home yesterday I realized why there was a tree photo session going on. They cut down the tree! I don't know what the story is, heard something about a crack but that was from drunk neighbor who cannot be trusted often. I really hope there was something wrong with the tree and it wasn't just sent for slaughter. It really changes the dynamic of the street as we now have this big gaping hole.

I have fond memories of the Indian kids who used to live there, Fast Running Elk and High Flying Raven, playing in that tree and trying to squirt each other out with the hose. If you think I am kidding with those names....I definitely am not!

A cute little fella!

I know, I know...I said no more garden, but this is only kind of garden related. There are quite a few praying mantis to be found out in the garden. They are by far one of my most favorite insects. Look how incredibly tiny our little friends are!

It's bottled up!

We are happy to say that we think the beer made it! It was super fun brewing up and watching it ferment and go through all its stages. This weekend the hubby and I got it all bottled up and stored away. Very soon we will be able to crack open a bottle. We'll let you know if we are alive after wards!

Are you sick of gardening yet?

I know I have probably overwhelmed you with gardening photos, so I promise to make this my last post. It was just so exciting having our own garden this year that I couldn't contain myself. Well if you think I am a green thumb then you haven't met my hubby's sister and her hubby yet. Out at their house in Davis they produce the most wonderful produce you have ever seen. They pretty much don't have to go shopping for fruit or vegetables at all in the summer. You have everything from winter squash, green beans, carrots, melons, spinach and more tomatoes than you can shake a dry spaghetti noodle at! I went out last week and took some pictures of this amazing yard and you can see them all on Flickr. Bill and I have three things going out there this year, pumpkin, cantaloupe and wild horseradish. We did horseradish last year and a bunch more came back this year. Check it out!

Coool breeeeeze....

It's hot right now in Sacramento. I think it's been over 100 degrees for almost a week. This weekend it was closer to 105. I don't like the heat. I think I swam growing up because it was the only way to escape the heat. For water aerobics purposes I do love it when it is warm out. For living purposes I do not. So, this weekend to escape the hubby and I took a trip to Berkeley. We packed up the dog, hung out at the marina and then just had a relaxing day/evening at the condo watching movies and reading a book. It was soo wonderful and I think was the first time we have gotten away together solo since the honeymoon!

Someone has gotten big!

Yesterday Whisky had to go to the vet to get his shots up to date and get a yearly physical. Everything checked out and he didn't make a peep during the three shots! Before the appointment the hubby and I placed bets on how much he was going to scale in at. I went with 67lbs and the hubby went with 72lbs. Low and behold our little puppy is......79.8lbs! Holy moly, he is enormous. No wonder it feels like an earthquake when he free falls onto the bed each night!

An Eight Pack!

Remember back when I started tomatoes in the house and I had over 30 plants and I was really trying to figure out what I was going to do with all the tomatoes? Well, the answer was kill them. After things got transplanted into the garden all but one plant died. That one plant sat there for what seemed like 6 months and didn't grow and inch. I kept telling the hubby we should just pull it and he was determined it would come around. Oh heavens has it come around! It now stands almost 5 feet tall and just started sprouting cherry tomatoes. They look COMPLETELY different than the cherry tomatoes from the Home Depot plant. For one they are bright green. Secondly, the grow in eight packs! You don't see sporadic placement, instead they are all clustered together in little eight packs (ok, maybe 9 packs since I just counted the tomatoes in the picture). It's adorable...I can't wait for them to turn red!!!

Happy Mail Round Two

I had so much fun with happy mail the first time that I had to sign up for the next round. This round is going two months and you send mail at least 4 times. I have to send items to Finland this time!! I'm both excited and nervous.

I got my first package in the mail this week filled with fun goodies!

Whisky wanted to eat the tiny baby chic something fierce and I can't wait to use the Voodoo paper...all in fun of course. Thanks Teske for my fun happy mail!

To dream...

I've had a dream that one day I would open my very own shop. I've had this dream for about 9 years now always tucked away in the back of my brain. It's something I can daydream and fantasize about. I want it to be a place that you would come and lounge around, so instantly you have to throw some coffee shop aspect in there. The other part is I really want to serve super delicious cakes by the slice and....peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I imagined that I would have a big chalkboard wall where I would write the menu. There were be all sorts of options for your PB&J. I'd have a contest where customers could submit sandwiches and if they win they get free meals for the month that their sandwich is featured. I would have an assortment of cozy seating and diner seating. I also want a book shelf that would be a give and take. You could bring in old books and put them on the shelf and take a book with you to read. Of course, the shop would also have some crafting aspect. Classes, events, local crafters items for sale. My shop would be called P & B's Js.

Yesterday Design Sponge did a feature on a place in New York called Moomah. The moment I saw the pictures it was as if someone took my idea and put it to paper. It is absolutely magical and dreamy. I want to buy a plane ticket for New York right now and go spend time there so I can feel like I'm sitting in the middle of my dream...well, minus the PB&J sandwiches. Even their website is magical.

This little piggy went to market....

This big piggy came to California! As a writer of a blog and a lover of others blogs I find myself finding new blogs all the time. I don't even know where I find them most of the time! Sometimes I get bored and read comments and look at those blogs, sometimes someone mentions a blog, sometimes it's Bossy's featured blogger. There are many places to find a new blog to check out. For me reading blogs is like reading the morning paper, only it's filled with items that interest me!

A while back I started reading the Gary Rith Pottery Blog. I love pottery and have always wanted to take some classes so I was absolutely smitten by the fun pottery that he makes. Whenever I put on craft fairs I always try to find people that make pottery to come and sell and it's amazing what a lack of pottery makers there are, at least in this neck of the woods. Around the same time I started reading this blog I also started to have ideas about a piece that I would like.

If you've read the blog for awhile you will know that a while back I started keeping change. I try to never use change and just put it all in a jar. I separate the pennies out though and keep them in a ceramic pig. The pig is something I got from my mom. For as far back as I can remember this pig has been in the kitchen and when my mom moved to Florida I wanted to put the pig in my kitchen. Now the pig is FULL of pennies and I thought it would be nice to have a big pig, but I wanted it to be similar in style. Most importantly I wanted it to have a cork snout. I love the cork snout.

So, I sat in the background of Gary's blog for a while and didn't make a peep. I was waiting for the perfect time I guess to ask him if he would want to make a big pig bank. Then, as fate would have it, he did a blog post with a piggy bank! It looked like the one I had in the kitchen and that was all it took. I emailed right away that I'd love to have a pig just like this only bigger! Lucky for me Gary is just as nice in emails as he comes across in his blog posts and was happy to make something for me.

Yesterday he posted the above pic of the pig on his blog and I cannot tell you the happy dance I did at my desk! It's going in the mail soon and will make its way to California where it will live a happy full life....filled with lots of pennies!

Thanks so much Gary! For all you pottery lovers out there..you must check out his blog and Etsy shop...fantastic. Don't be surprised my friends if you get some pottery for Christmas as I plan on shopping all handmade again this year.

Mushroom Wars!

I've always hated mushrooms. I hated them even more as a kid, and can tolerate them as an adult if they are cooked and mixed in with other things. The smell of them sauteing makes me want to gag. I really don't like mushrooms.

When Whisky was just a pup we were told by his breeder that one of his litter mates had died recently. The dog lived in the Sacramento area and had eaten a mushroom in the backyard that made him sick and ultimately killed him. Like a mother with a newborn I went into a frantic searching the backyard high and low for mushrooms. I'd never seen mushrooms back there before, but I do see them growing in the neighborhood so I had to take caution. Over the next few months the mushrooms came. It is a never ending battle, I pick them and then after watering I go out the next morning and there they all are again. Taunting me with their delicate white tops threatening to kill my dog. I can't figure out if they have always grown back there or if they are suddenly there on a mission to mess with my head.

Either way, I hate mushrooms even more! Anyone know how to kill mushrooms??

Celebrate!!

CONGRATS TO MELISSA KAYE..YOU ARE THE WINNER OF THE CONTEST! EMAIL ME YOUR ADDRESS AND I WILL GET A PACKAGE IN THE MAIL TO YOU!! THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR CELEBRATING WITH ME! I'M DONE TYPE YELLING NOW.

Today is a big deal. I didn't realize it when I woke up. I figured it was just another Monday. Then I went online to post a blog post for Sunday. Yes, I was cheating. I figured I'd get something put up there for Sunday and then would figure out what to post for Monday later. Then I started posting and I realized...oh my goodness, today is a big day!

Today marks 1000 posts on this silly site! I can't believe it myself. There were so many times when I was going to toss this site aside, because who was really reading it anyway. Then all of a sudden there were readers. I just couldn't leave you all hanging so I kept going, and many of you stayed with me. Many of you comment, many of you stay quiet as can be...but I know you are there and that is what matters.

Thanks so much for reading with me. It's been so fun having you all around sharing the ridiculousness of my life with me (including the ridiculous picture on this posting.)

To celebrate...we need to have a contest! What better way to say thank you than to give something away for free. Leave me a comment by the end of the day today and a random person will win a box of summer fun!

Thanks for reading, I love you all!!

Get Into The Groove

Water aerobics has been going fantastic. I typically have at least 5 ladies in each class and on hot days much much more. I have learned how to push myself hard to get the best workout and feel it the next day. I try to vary up the workout and add new ideas and moves as I come up with them. The knee is doing wonderful and I can now go up and down stairs. I should have got in the pool three days a week a year ago!

What I need now is some good music. I have created four different playlists that I rotate through, but they are getting boring. I need more. So, I'm calling all my Pillsplace readers. Please, if you wouldn't mind, could you share with me one song that makes you want to move and groove! Variety is the spice of life so all styles are welcome. Help a sista out!!

Garden - Round Three!

The garden is BOOMING. We've picked a bunch of yellow squash and looks like we have a bunch more coming...if the bees help us out that is! The tomatoes are a plenty and two of them are finally starting to turn red. I can't wait to pick them and eat them, but I'm going to wait patiently until they are perfect. We have one pickle so far, which is a bit early. Hopefully the rest will come all at once and then we can make some pickles again this year. I can't tell you how much I'm loving having a garden in the backyard.

Wreck this journal!

I've been pretty good about playing around with my Wreck this Journal. What I've been doing is just flipping to a page at random and trying to do it. Some pages are a work in progress as you constantly add to them. Some I have to pass too because I don't have the supplies required....or I'm not about to shower. Yes, at some point I will be taking the book into the shower. I might have to save that one till the end! My favorite page this week was the envelope doodle page. I did this page the night before I had to go get my mammogram so I was stressed out about the lump and was just trying to remind myself that there would be a rainbow again!You can see pictures of all the pages on Flickr!

Stop buggin me!

The other night while sitting on the couch I started to hear what sounded like a large bird slamming himself into my screen door and porch walls. I got up to check it out and for a while I could see nothing, then suddenly there appeared a very large bug that was violently throwing himself into the porch. It was like he was in his own private mosh pit.

The next morning when I went to leave for work I noticed that he was sitting in the corner of the screen (outside thankfully) and just seemed to be hanging out there. Today, he is still there so apparently he has found a new home. The hubby thinks he might be molting. He may just be suffering from some serious head trauma after all the banging around he did.

I must admit I find him fascinating and horrifying all at the same time. If you weren't paying attention before....he is VERY LARGE!I'll be fine as long as he stays on the outside of the screen. The inside of the house has no vacancy for visitors right now.

My very own button!

To make my blog complete, I had Amy create a Pillsplace Blog Button. I'm absolutely ecstatic with how adorable it is. If you have a blog and want to add it, just copy and past the code below!

<a href="http://pillsplace.blogspot.com"><img src="http://www.indiesacramento.com/pillworm/pillworm_tile.gif" /></a>

A girl walks into the Dr.

I try to keep this blog light hearted and fun, but this really is a daily journal of things that are important to me so sometimes we have to keep it real. It's just not always knitting adventures and bake offs.

Last week I felt a lump in my breast. I don't do self exams as often as I should, but when I did it was scary. Dread is the first feeling. Although I was certain it was there, I tried telling myself that maybe I was feeling nothing. I had the hubby and some friends do a little poking around only to confirm what I was feeling....a lump.

Yesterday, I called the Dr. He did an exam and felt right away what I, and all the others I let feel me up, had been feeling. I was given a referral for a mammogram. That happened today. I am so happy to be reporting that there is nothing wrong. Not sure exactly what caused it, but there is absolutely nothing to worry about. It's a relief.

At the same time it is sad. Sad because I just sat in a breast center waiting room FULL of women. Many were over 40 and may have just been having their regular exam....but many were young. I got very lucky today, but someone in that waiting room may not have been so lucky. It is hard not to think of that. My heart and breasts will be heavy today thinking of those that don't find out it's nothing.

I hope what you take away from this is...do self exams! Thanks for reading through this post. I know it's not a typical Pillsplace post, but it was important to get out there!

Mashed potatoes anyone?

Quite some time ago the hubby got into building potato guns. He made his first one in Washington and boy did that thing get fired off a plenty. Then he made one here which we frequently take to Donner Lake with us so we can fire potatoes out into the lake. There have been many a funny incidents with the potato gun.

The potato gun has only be used TWICE at our house. We are in a small quiet East Sac neighborhood and it's just not very potato gun friendly. The first time it was used a perfect hole was shot into the rodent guard on the wires in the backyard. It made it look like PacMan and was one of the funniest things I'd ever seen in my life.

On the 4th the gun came out. It seemed like the perfect occasion to fire off a tater or two. The first fire went straight up and then disappeared into thin air. The second fire the potato exploded and we imagined mashed potatoes flying everywhere. Just as we were laughing about mashed potatoes were hear something to the effect of...

"We're getting hit by potatoes over here!"

Needless to say, the potato gun was quickly put into the garage and will not be shot in the quiet East Sac neighborhood anymore.

The first batch!

Last year for Christmas my mom got the hubby a beer brewing book. That's when it all started! Shortly after we did a beer brewing bday party at a local brewery, which left the hubby wanting more! We did some Craigslist shopping and finally got everything together to whip up the first home brew batch. Overall it was a super fun experience and took way longer than anticipated. Now it has to do it's action and then we will move onto the next step. You can see all the photos on Flickr!

Happy Fourth of July!

After having so much fun with the fireworks photos at the River Cats game, I had to play around with the camera! It was fun adjusting the settings and getting some great shots. I still have no idea what I'm doing...but I'm getting there. Here is an example of a standard picture with a flash.And here is a pic when you adjust the settings. I wish I could tell you what I'm doing, but I know I'm turning the flash off and maybe turning the shutter speed down?? Aren't I a camera genius.

Gotta have it!

It's just not the 4th of July without some barbecue, beer and fireworks. Well, honestly, I could give or take on setting off the fireworks but I do like watching them. The hubby and I went to pick some out from the TNT booth and hopefully got some goodies. I plan on playing with the fancy camera tomorrow night!

We also dropped by the store for one piece that was missing...beer. The hubby really likes Full Sail and there on the end cap there was a Limited Edition brew. I was in awe and had it in my mitts in moments. Not because I love the beer, in fact I haven't had a drink in a month if you can believe it! I was drawn into the packaging. Full Sail has their stuff together when it comes to packaging. The combination of the baby blue and the wood grain had me sold and carrying a 6 pack up to the counter.

Who knew a 6 pack of beer could be so inspiring?!

Oh my heavens!

I've been following a blog called Chubby Craft for a bit now. Recently blogger Ruthie posted these adorable robot bookmarks that she made. I've been seeing alot of cute robot stuff, and these book marks were the first thing I thought I'd actually use. So, I asked Ruthie if she would be selling them online anywhere. Instead of selling, she suggested that we do a craft swap. I was all for that! Yesterday the package came and not only did she send me a bookmark...she sent me all three! Oh my heavens I figured I'd just be getting one but now I have three adorable bookmarks. Even the hubby took one for his book. Thanks so much Ruthie..your package will be arriving soon!

Wreck this journal!

I used to journal quite a bit. I'd write nightly and wrote poetry a lot. If you've read Pillsplace for a while you might remember sonnet Sundays. I now always think that I don't journal much, but then again I write in Pillsplace everyday so that has to count for something!

I recently saw a journal called "Wreck This Journal." The concept is simple, follow the directions on each page. I thought this would be a fun project so I picked one up and am trying to do a page each day. I figured once a week I would post about a favorite page. Journal about a journal, is that even allowed?!

So far I have only done one page so that is what you get to see.I poked my holes, which reminded me of something. When I was a young girl I once poked a bunch of holes in the back of a bus seat and had to pay to have it repaired. That translates into, sorry Mom that you had to pay for my destructiveness. Stay tuned for more Wreck This Journal updates!