My "Bow"dacious Beauty...

Okay ... It's Friday.

You guys ready for the weekend?  I bet.  Don't forget today's the last  day to join the

Puppy Love Photo Party & Cats

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New flash to my fans ... or those who just typed in the wrong address

and landed here on my little blog by accident.

I have 3 children.

As it turns out ... after yesterday's post ...

"Back to School ... it seems like Yesterday" 

which ... you can see HERE ... 

(shameless plug)

I have a daughter who feels equal billing is in order.

Evidently I talked a bit too much about her older brothers and ... well ... you guessed it ...

her early "back-to-school" pix were not included.

So ... not to overly belabor the "back-to-school" theme ... I have dedicated today's post to ...

My Bow-dacious Beauty.

On with the "bow"... sorry that was bad.

 Let me start by saying ... Complicated Kai  was born with 

a "head" of hair ...

I'm just sayn' ... which she came by honestly.  

(More on this in another post)

 Ah ... me again ... sorry about that ... but Kai's the one with

the gigantic bow ... okay ... the gigantic

"Blue" bow.

Are you beginning to get the idea?

(Fashion side note ... this was my absolute favorite blue velvet dress. ) 

But ... as per usual ... Kai's outfits were never complete

without a  big ... big ... bow.

 Christmas ... red bows ... of course.

 Bows are even required with snowsuits.

Do you think she knows she's cute?

(I loved this velvet & organza dress too.)

Okay ... to complete the circle ... here are 2 official

back-to-school pix ... so bow-dacious!

Well ... she has her own style now.

 The bows have given way to hats.

 This is my favorite hat so far.

Complicated Kai with her brothers at her  graduation from college ...

San Diego State Universtiy.

As I said before ... the days of being able to pick out Kai's

clothes and influence her style are gone.

They went by in a flash ... a heartbeat ... one minute

she was my baby girl ... and the next minute ...

she's a beautiful young woman.

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Back to School ... Like it was Yesterday

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"Back to School "... 

always takes me back to when my kids were

just starting out.

I'll never forget this day.

Shea was about 7 ... Bryn about 4.   Heritage Christian Academy.

This was Bryn's very first day of Pre-School.

His big brother was so proud.

They looked so sweet as I prepared to drive off to work.

I was sad as I took this picture ... but I wasn't prepared for this.

I will never forget Bryn's face.  

Even as I post this picture today ... tears come to my eyes.  

I still remember the betrayal and abandonment I felt as a mom that day.

How could I leave him?

I also remember the pride I felt as I heard they called his big brother Shea

to come over ... from his 2nd grade classroom ... to stay with his brother for awhile.

Shea stayed with Bryn until the tears subsided.

Needless to say ... the first day drama quickly disappeared ... and they had

many ... many happy days at Heritage together.

Then what seemed like  overnight ... something happened.

They grew up!

Pre-School  ... turned into Elementary School ... then  Jr. High School.

High School  went by in a blur and then 4 years of College.

Now they live within 5 minutes of each other in  Newport Beach.

Their sister lives nearby as well.

They still look out for one another ... 

                     and still are one another's best friend.

I've seen so many of your sweet pictures and back-to-school preparations.

While you are so unbelievably busy with all the things that school days entail ...

remember ...

Enjoy the Moment!

Trust me ... 

it is over in a heartbeat!

I miss these days more than you can imagine ... but they are a wonderful memory.

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Puppy Love Photo Party & Cats # 5

Welcome Fur Balls .....

Hope you guys have had a great summer.

Well ... I'm still under the weather ... and in this ridiculous collar.

(You can check out my humiliation ... HERE)

So ...  instead of posing for a new pic ..

I had mom put together a small ....

"Montage of Me."

(How do ya like that title?)

Shower Time

(Seriously Mom?)

 Santa Barbara Beach Vacation

Aaaah....I could get used to this.

Well this isn't news ... you guys are on Facebook ...
right?

 New Fashion Statement

(Mom's latest concoction)

 Ready for Twilight

Team Jacob all the way!

Ready to Party

Okay my furry friends ... let's get ready to

PARTY!

Here's what cha need to know....

                        1.     Create a post on your blog with one ... or more photos of your pet.

                        2.     Grab a PUPPY PARTY BUTTON for your site... just add your own link back here.

                        3.     Submit the URL for your PET POST in the Linky Tool below.

                 *** please don't enter just your website URL...

       we need the actual pet post URL***

                        4.     Please ... if you would ... follow your host ... oh yeah ... that's me!

                        5.     Finally ...  visit the other submitters and leave them a sweet comment.

  

                     6.    Oh yes ... make sure you put your pet's name in the post.  

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Don't forget .... the giveaway!

One random party goer will have their choice of ...

 Pet Silhouette on Canvas Painting

Personalized Pet Feeding Mat

Good luck all and .... Spread the Word!

The party will be rocking until  Friday at 5:00 P.M.

This weekend we will ... as usual ... feature your fur faces :)

Ok ... time to link up!

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Hey guys ... just a last minute reminder that 

MONDAY ...

yes that's right this coming 

MONDAY ... AUGUST 30th...

is the

Puppy Love Photo Party & Cats.

This month's giveaway ... a choice of ...

Personalized Pet Feeding Mat ... or

Pet Silhouette on Canvas.

Party gets wild and crazy starting Monday morning 12:01 A.M.

Spread the word ... all you have to do is link up to have a chance to win.

See ya there ... seriously ... get busy!

(By the way ... did ya notice the new Espresso/Blue Dog Crate Cover above? ) 

Today's New Etsy Listing!

Check it out   HERE!

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A Day At The Spa ... Aaarg.

I had planned a bit different post today.

I decided to give my friend ... Blake ... here a day at the Spa.

Well ... if the truth be told ... I took him to the groomer to get the works.

I usually cut and groom him myself ... but I think once in awhile it's good to

have a few of the "extras" done ... that I don't ... or can't do ...

like cutting his nails ... and things of a personal nature.

(We won't go into the details) 

And of course ... Blake wanted to look good for the 

Puppy & Cat Photo Party on Monday.

But a couple hours after Blake got finished ... he started to

have an issue with his eye.  Pretty soon ... one eye was completely closed.

After a quick visit to the vet ... and $150 later ... I was told he had a corneal tumor ... 

which when the vet described it ... was something caused by a scratch to the cornea.

So ... unfortunately ... instead of showing off his new haircut ... poor Blake has to

 spend the next few days in this new necklace.

He is looking a bit better ... but he has to have meds twice a day to the eye  ... yucky!

Luckily though ... we caught it in time.  Evidently ... untreated ... it can lead to

loss of the eye.

The vet couldn't tell me for sure how the eye got scratched ... but I can't help

but wonder if it happened during his haircut ... since the symptoms turned up right

after he got home.

Anyway ... I will give the Spa a call and check it out ... but at least we .... or he ...

is on the road to recovery I hope.

  Clearly ... he's not very happy with his new "ascot".     

Managing the doggy door is kinda tricky too.

I have heard some scary stories about groomers ... so I it's really important ...

as much as is possible ... to check out your local groomers ahead of time.

Most of them are really good ... but it helps to check with your vet or other customers.

Blake's one who always races me to the door when I leave ... wanting to go.

But after today ... one trip to the groomer ... and the next trip to the vet ...

he's having second thoughts about riding with me.

It'll pass.

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Don't forget Monday is our

Puppy Love Photo Party & Cats

Get your posts ready!

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Move Over Michelangelo...

Upfront Disclaimer:  I may be just a little bit OCD.

I wonder if  Michelangelo  had trouble sleeping ... thinking about his next new art project?

I blame Pinterest!

No matter how much I've got going ... keeping up with Etsy orders ...  planning the next

Puppy & Cat Photo Party (which is next Monday BTW) ... 

working on a new post ... I just gotta try new things.

Seriously ... contemplating new projects or re-tweaking old ones ... 

keeps me up until the wee hours.  My brain will just not quit.

Here's my latest experiment.

Take One

 I love the "kitschiness" of black art on white pottery.

Here's the happy couple ... and my unknowing accomplices.

This is my son Bryn ... and his girlfriend Erynne.

Okay ... okay ... Michelangelo I am not!

This was my first attempt in this medium ...  

using a  black paint marker  that was recommended to me at Michaels.

I basically just  freehanded  it ... first on paper ... then on the cup.

Since it was Erynne's birthday the next day ... I thought I'd let her be the first 

guinea pig ... er ... beneficiary of my "talent".

I was fairly satisfied with the outcome.  Not bad for my first try.

(Come on ... I'm practicing my drawing skills here.)

When I took it out of the box to show my daughter she said ...

"Well it looks nice ... but you know it's smeared."

So much for Michael's advice ... the pen was not permanent ink ... obviously 

not the right type of marker.

Take Two

Well ... I just washed that puppy off ... and tried it again.  Time was even shorter ...

 so I tried an easier picture.

Yes ... no hair and sunglasses ... should be a snap!

This time ... I just used a good old  Sharpie Permanent Marker.

Let's be practical here ... her birthday party was in 8 hours ... 

and it still had to bake.

Well I went a bit more minimalist in the drawing ... more caricature-like.

I baked the cup in the oven for 30 minutes according to Google ... and ...

no smearing!  Yay!

Time to wrap that puppy up and send it off.

She liked it ... or she was just very polite ... I'm not completely sure.

Epilogue

The next week I got a call from my son ...

"Hey mom ... we washed the cup in the dishwasher ... and the paint kind of came off."

Okay ... okay ... I'm no Michelangelo.

(But I bet he had some failures too)

So ... for all you guys out there that never seem to show your failures ...

here's mine.  But ... I learn from my failures.

(The photography was good though ... right?)

My next purchase ... a  Porcelain Paint Pen.

(Not from Michaels... I'm mad at them)

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