364/365 CPU fan disassembled

Today I met Jason at a local business to take him a computer fan from his supplies. He needed it in order to fix one of the pc’s he takes care of on the side. The fan ended up not being able to fit, so he disassembled it and made it so he could get the gal’s pc up and running for now.

363/365 Salon Holiday Party

Tonight was our salon holiday party. We met at the Club House, which used to be Driver’s Sports Bar & Grill. This is the same building where I met my husband just about 5 years ago, so I have an affinity for this place. We were missing two of our hair stylists, but those of us who showed up had a pretty good time.

362/365 Yucky Gingerbread Man

Today I read my sister Suzee’s comment from day 350 in regards to not even having any nibbles out of this guy. So I figured that tonight was as good a time as any to have at him. Well, he is not as tasty as his looks would lead you to believe. In fact, he is gross. So I broke his leg off just for the heck of it and turned his smile upside down.

361/365 Pack it up

I know that it’s only 2 days after Christmas, but I took down the tree today. The main reason is that I have a whole house to pack up over the next 3 weeks. We are moving AGAIN. Only this move will put us right between the middle school and the high school. I really am looking forward to it.

360/365 What dust?

As I was vacuuming the upstairs, I happened to notice the dust on the bottom of our banister. Actually, I noticed the footprints IN the dust. 

359/365 Merry Christmas

Olivia was the first kid to wake up. She then went and woke Samantha. After that I woke Jacob & Jared. There was no sleeping in for this bunch.

358/365 Christmas Eve

“The children were nestled all snug in their beds…”

We have all our kids for Christmas morning since Jason gets the first half of Christmas this year (his divorce decree).

357/365 Christmas Angel

This is the Christmas angel that adorns the top of our tree. Only 2 more days until Christmas is here. I can’t believe how fast this year has gone by.

356/365 Jared

The kids are out of school for 2 weeks for their winter break. Tonight I hung out with my boys in Jared’s room and watched “Anchorman” on DVD. This is Jared afterward changing the laces in his new shoes.

355/365 A scrapbook gift

I put together a mini scrapbook for my boys’ Grandma Fletcher. Each page inside features a grandchild. With every scrapbook I work on, I learn new skills with Photoshop.

354/365 Boys get haircuts

I took the boys to the salon with me this morning so they could get haircuts. Renee was kind enough to come in and do it on her day off. While I finished working, the two of them watched a movie on Jason’s laptop.

353/365 Our Family

It’s pretty rare these days to find our whole clan under one roof. This is a picture we had taken at Suzee’s house after our Christmas brunch.

352/365 Farkle Bags

Tomorrow is my family Christmas brunch and Jason wanted to have a gift to give to everyone. He went out and bought a bunch of dice and I sewed up some bags cut from a t-shirt. We put “Farkle”  iron-on transfers along with the scoring on the back. This is such a fun game and we’re glad to be able to give gifts this Christmas.

351/365 Jacob’s JAG Initiation & Installation

Tonight was Jacob’s JAG Initiation & Installation program. JAG stands for Jobs for Arizona Graduates and it’s one of the classes he takes at Compadre High School. He looked very handsome all dressed up in his nice, new clothes.

350/365 Gingerbread Man

This is the cutest gingerbread man I’ve ever seen. He was a gift to me from a client that I worked on for my co-worker who is in Australia. The Wildflower Bread Company sure knows how to make a lovely cookie!

349/365 Keeping the gifts warm

Oh sweet Elvis, you look so cozy under the tree. You must be glad it’s the Christmas season so you can nap under our artificial tree.

348/365 Blurry lights

This is what it looks like when you  take a picture of Christmas lights while driving. There is a great section of road down Chandler Blvd where they have wrapped all the trees and cactus down the center divided lane with white lights. It’s SO pretty (but my camera phone cannot do it justice).

347/365 Is it the shoes?

The boys just got back from a weekend with their dad, and Jared had his new shoes. I was going to take him before he left for the weekend, but ran out of time. I offered to pay his dad back if he would take him over the weekend. He agreed, and here they are!

346/365 THE gun

Jason has been waiting a long time for this moment. He finally bought the gun that he has saved up for. Its the Kimber Crimson Carry II, 1911 .45 pistol. See how happy he is? This is a photo of him out in the river bottom in the desert where we came to shot some beer can targets. I must confess that I have the best time with my husband!

345/365 Christmas ornament

Jason and I let the kids put all the ornaments up this year. This means that there are less on the tree than we are used to having. Tonight I practiced taking close ups with my camera.

344/365 Girls night out

Renee, Adrienne & I got together at Chilis after work for girl’s night out. It was fun to hang out and relax and talk after a busy week of pre-holiday beauty. All the girls at the salon feel very grateful for the Christmas season that has brought us all more business during this recession.

343/365 Is it a present, or what?

If it’s under the tree, then it must be a gift. Elvis seems to love being under our Christmas Tree. Such a sweet present….

342/365 Time for presents

Tis the season for giving gifts. Today at the salon Renee modeled the newest gift given to her by one of her clients. We all agreed that it was totally “her”.

341/365 Wine at Work

Our newest hair stylist, Evani, had an open house at the salon this past weekend. She invited other ladies that have their own businesses to come and network. Monday when I came in to set up my station, I found this bottle of wine and a scented votive candle on my station. She had given one of these to each person at the salon to thank them for the use of their stations. Thanks Evani!

340/365 Samantha’s early Birthday

Tomorrow is Samantha’s 14th birthday. Since she won’t be with us, we celebrated tonight after dinner. These kids are growing up so fast!

339/365 Christmas Tree time

Since all the kids are home this weekend, I set the tree up in hopes of the whole family getting it decorated.

338/365 The Gun Show

Today Jason and I went to the gun show in Phoenix. We couldn’t believe all the people that were in line to get in. Unfortunately they didn’t allow cameras. The only tickets available to buy were for the whole 3 day event and so we got the wrist bands that will allow us to go back on the other days. We bought some ammo for my 9mm, and later this weekend, Jason wants to go get some for the gun he plans to buy.

337/365 Nails and some bling

Today I did a full set of nails on one of my regular clients. Sheena hadn’t been able to get in recently with her busy work schedule. When she finally had time, we had to start all over. Check out that great ring! Having nails makes wearing rings so much nicer.

336/365 The Microwave is FIXED

Our microwave has been broken since early in the year (before Easter). We’ve been using our little back up microwave that sits on the counter. Last week Jason ordered a new control panel. It came in yesterday and tonight he got it installed. I’m so happy to have my counter top back!

335/365 December Desktop

This month’s desktop is from Weeds & Wildflowers. I cannot believe we are already in December. It’s strange to think that I only need 30 more photos to complete my Project 365.

334/365 Cat sleeps ALL day

Elvis has been spending his nights outside. It’s not the safest place for kitties in our neighborhood as we have coyotes and owls that prey on family pets that wander the night, but this animal will not shut up. He will cry VERY loudly until we let him go outside. We like sleep. And luckily Elvis is still alive every morning and is able to spend all the daylight hours sleeping.

333/365 Mouse – gift from our cat

Elvis brought this little guy home and left him to die. I know that cats think of these things as gifts. This gift is actually OK with me. That is because yesterday morning he brought one into the house and let it free on our bed while we were still in it. You’ve never seen people move as fast as we did jumping out of that bed.

332/365 Jason the computer guy

This husband of mine takes such good care of me. One of the many things he does for me is to keep my computer running at it’s best. He rebuilt it for me since I’d mentioned that it wasn’t running like it did when he first put it together for me.

331/365 Rearrange the loft

While Jason was at work today, I spent the day cleaning and rearranging the loft. It’s a small space but we’ve got it filled. Not only does it house the extra couch and TV, it’s also where I have all my scrapbook stuff, my computer, 2 printers, and three other computers for the kids.

330/365 Happy Thanksgiving

I am so thankful for these kids. We got to spend the morning with them before they went to their other parent’s homes for the Thanksgiving meal.

329/365 Making Caramel Sauce

Today I boiled a can of sweetened condensed milk to make Caramel Sauce. I boiled it for 2.5 hours in hopes it would be thin enough to pour. I just missed it, but it was perfect for dipping apples into. If you make this, make sure to check the water level every 30 minutes or so because you always want that can covered with water. When it’s cooled, open the can and add a tsp of vanilla extract and store in a container with a lid in the fridge.

328/365 Shoot ‘em up

Today Jason went to the shooting range while I was at work. I am thankful for our right to bear arms in this country. I am also thankful that we were in a position to be able to buy our gun.

327/365 Cologne a la Jason

I am thankful for a husband that smells SO good. This is his stash of wonderful smells. He knows which one of these is my favorite and he’ll often wear it when we have a day to spend together.

326/365 My Cameral

As we head into the week of Thanksgiving, one of the things I am thankful for is the camera that Jason picked out and bought for me. Not only does it record our family memories, but it is another reminder of my wonderful husband and all the great things he does for me.

325/365 Jacob’s Pots

While Jason and I were watching the Montana Grizzlies spank the Montana State Bobcats in football, Jacob was at school for his ceramics class open studio. He was able to bring home all the projects that he’s completed. I’m waiting for him to share a pot or two with me, but he’s hording them all in his room. Maybe he’s waiting for Christmas?

324/365 Springfield Armory XD 9mm

Meet my new hand gun. The Springfield Armory XD 9mm pistol. Jason took me to Caswells shooting range in Mesa today where I got to fire my very first handgun. I was so nervous my hands were shaking. I got over that soon enough, and before I knew it I was hooked! We’ve been wanting to buy one for quite some time and we’ve finally done it.

323/365 Jared goes to camp

Jared has his bag and sleeping bag stowed under the bus and is ready to leave. The class will only be staying over one night, and should be home around 8 or 9 p.m. tomorrow. At the parent meeting last week, we got a rundown of the itinerary and they are going to be BUSY. Have fun Jared!

322/365 Packed for Humanities Camp

Tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. Jared will be dropped off at school for his 8th grade Humanities Camp in Prescott, Arizona. He’s all packed and ready to go.

321/365 Elvis…once again

I sat on the floor with Elvis enjoying the cool air this morning before work. I love it when it cools off, but don’t enjoy it when it gets too cold (Remember, I’m an Arizona girl so cold means anything in the very  low 60’s)

320/365 Starbucks stuff

 

During a break between clients at the salon, I went down to Starbucks to grab a green tea. While I was waiting for my order, I noticed these great plastic drinking glasses. They are double walled so your drink won’t get all sweaty on the outside of the cup. If I weren’t so cheap cost conscience, I would have spent the $14.99 for one of the big glasses.

319/365 My boys home from dad’s

Tonight when my boys got home from their weekend at their dad’s house, they had on the new T-shirts their Grandma Fletcher had bought them. They also got new hoodie sweatshirts. You can see that Jacob was not happy about having to pose for this photo. You can also see that the shirt he got is not appropriate for wearing to school.

318/365 Starbucks Scrapbook

Today I finished my Starbucks Scrapbook. It was on Ali Edwards' blog for her Tuesday Tutorial. I fell in love with it when I saw it there, and had to do my own. Follow the link to find the download for the PDF that has the pages and the how-to info.

317/365 Downtown

This isn't the best quality image. I snapped this with my camera phone tonight when I went downtown to visit my hubby at work. It's Friday the 13th and all seems to be pretty quiet out tonight.

316/365 What's for dinner?

I'm going to throw some stuff into the Crock Pot for tonight's dinner. I'm making the Chili Chicken Corn Chowder. I plan to get this cookbook out more often.

315/365 Jared needs a Chiropractor

Jared has a terrible pain in his back behind one of his shoulder blades. This is him just before we went inside the Chiropractor's office so he could get adjusted. See how sad he looks. By the time we left, he felt much better.