It is all about the view!

I bought Sam a new post so he can look outside during the day, we try to keep him in as much as possible, but his routine dictates that he be let out at 6:00 am, really, or you will never here the end of it. He is a very vocal cat and when he wants out there is no shutting him up! So at 6:00am he wakes us up, we let him out and then he goes off to scout the hood, then he comes home sits in the front yard until charlie leaves then comes in and has breakfast with me. He then stays in all day napping and playing with his toys. He is a real good cat.

This is the view from Ventanos, a favorite restaurant of ours, we had dinner there on Friday. We just love the shrimp on the stone! It is on Horizon Ridge and Valle Verde in Henderson.

Don't Discriminate!

This is a blog about educating people that whether you have tattoos or don't have tattoos we are all cut from the same cloth, we are all on this earth to help one another get through this thing called life.....read some of the stories, some amazing people have tattoos and you may not even know it!!
I have tattoos.

The Written Word

I am not a writer, or a singer, or songwriter...but I love the written word. (hence, the new tattoo quote on my wrists). I never found my niche in life, I don't think it is too late, just I have not found it yet. I do know I am really a good wife. I have a knack for it. I love to cook and clean and bake for my hubby, I love to make him laugh when he comes home from working hard all day. I am "the good wife". I wake up happy everyday and shower him with kisses and hugs. It makes life so much easier, it takes less effort to love than fight and the results are way more fun!
So, back to the written word, I just finished reading Patti Smith's book "Just Kids", wow, it was one of those books you cannot put down, I devoured it! It is about her younger days spent with Robert Mapplethorpe. Read it today!
I am off to find a new book to read today, I love biographies so I may go for another rock star one!
I love Stephen King, but only the old, old stuff, his new stuff got to funky to follow. He is the one that wrote "Get busy living or get busy dying" It is in his story " The Shawshank Redemption" which is one of my all time favorites they made into a movie!  His other stories became really great movies too, The Green mile, Christine, Misery, so many more.
But this one always stuck with me, and now I know why:

Life is too short...

Life is too short to be unhappy...

Live each day to the fullest, enjoy the time you have on this earth.

Don't waste your life being bitter and resentful, let go of the negativity and anger.

AND...

My new ink!

It will remind me everyday, life is short, make your time here worth it!

More workplace!

Anyone who knows me, knows I hate change. I have my rituals, my routines, my schedules. But, all in all, this transition to the new office has not been too bad. The drive is easy, just about 15-20 minutes. I feel safer here, everyone knows everyone, Joseph is a few buildings away. I love saving money! I love the fact that my husband/boss gets to keep his race shop, he really loves to have his own little playground! Ok, time to get to work!

"The Man"

As big as the last place we were in, but we have a restroom here!

The race shop, Charlie's happy place!

Warehouse, Parts, Restroom!

My workplace!

Contrary to popular belief my days are not filled lounging by the poolside drinking wine and eating bon bons! I do have to work for a living! I work with my husband in our business of estimating cars for various insurance companies. He leaves in the early morning to make a complete route around the city seeing all the cars I made appointments for,  I then have time to clean house, eat, run errands and then go to the office around 11:00...from then on it is work, calling customers, entering files, closing files, etc. When we first arrived 11 years ago we ran the business out of our home, then we moved to a little office 3 miles from the house. Now that Charlie rents a race shop and it came with a little office attached, we made the decision to move into the race shop to cut costs, that move is going to save us 250.00 a month.   Here is my new workspace:

It has a bathroom, a parts room, and then one door leads out into the race shop which is a big warehouse with lots of race cars and tools. I will take more pictures tomorrow. I have been so busy getting everything organized and comfy that I am exhausted and I still need to do a little more tweaking on the space, the window needs tinted and all charlie's pictures need to be hung, oh and if you are wondering what that photo is above my bulletin board, it is Lake Havasu sandbar 1999, that is one giant mass of boats and we are smack dab in the middle of it, I love that photo more then anything, those were some good old days I never want to forget, thanks Joe and Mary! I hope we have 11 more years of work in our tiny little office by the shop!
Stay tuned for more fun in the Las Vegas sun!

The Body is a Canvas...

I love tattoos. I love to see artwork on the body. I think the body is a perfect place to display art. You become a walking exhibit. Tattoos are the ultimate in saying what you want and how you want to say it. You can have quotes, memorials, tributes. You can have your favorite symbol, sign or logo.

I have chosen tattoos that have very personal meanings. My first was a cat, I love cats (even though I am allergic to them) I cannot imagine my home without a cat. My second tattoo was for my son, a smiling monkey with a crown ( a little gesture to 'the king') Elvis music was always a connection I have had with Travis, I am so glad he chose an Elvis song for us to dance to at his wedding! Cool!
That tattoo was an original design drawn up by Shane at Skin Factory.

My third is a clover that says "Lucky" I have always been lucky, but this one is really a shout out to my husband, since I am not allowed to put his name on my body (he is superstitious and thinks it will jinks us)

I chose Lucky because I am so lucky to have a man who loves me unconditionally. He gives me a wonderful life to live and for that I am so lucky to have him to love. Original Design by Jaci (Hart & Huntington Tattoo)

My fourth tattoo will be a little remembrance to my mom and charlies mom. It will be the quote from shawshank redemption, "Get busy living or get busy dying" written across both my wrists. It will make me remember to live life each day to the fullest, not to stop and shut down and give up. I need this tattoo. Our moms could have done so much more with the last part of their lives and they chose to do nothing but hole up in their little mobile homes and wait to die. I cannot let that happen to me...I want to get healthy and stay active, to do more with what I have, there are so many options out there even on limited incomes you can find so many free or low cost things to do, but you have to get out there and find them!!

My fifth tattoo will be a guitar with wings, the guitar will have SRV on it (for Stevie Ray Vaughan) and under it will say "Little Wing" a nickname from a dear friend that I will cherish forever. Although SRV covered the song from another great, "Jimi Hendrix" I just love the way SRV interprets it with his guitar. it is beautiful music!

So there you have it my art from the heart....now, if I can only get my hubby all inked up I would be a real happy girl!

Here is a photo of Christy and Rebecca's new tattoos they got this weekend, pretty nice, Ganesh in an Ohm: They went to Sin City Tattoo (trop and pecos) and Nate worked on them. Nice Guy!

Summer Meals!

Here is another fabulous summer meal, nice and light but so filling!
Crab Cakes with Lemon Dill Sauce and Caesar salad with homemade croutons!

The crab cakes are from Paula Dean off the Foodnetwork site, just go to foodnetwork.com and search crab cakes!
I used a can of crabmeat, BumbleBee Fancy Lump Crab Meat to be exact, You might need a few cans as this only made 4 small or 3 large cakes! Perfect for me as Charlie is racing and I am on my own, we all know I love to cook all the fun and tasty food when he is not home! Poor Guy can't handle a little onion and bell pepper! Good thing I love him anyway!!
The Caesar dressing is one I have posted many times from my friend, Colleen Myler, the bead wizzard, her blog is listed on the right side. She taught me how to make her homemade rye bread croutons, which you can eat by the bowlful!! Just find a crouton recipe but use dark rye bread instead!! You will never buy the boxed stuff ever again!! Oh and make sure you add a little red onion and real Parmesan to your Caesar salad too, makes all the difference!!
So there you have it, a nice summer dinner. I should point out that the lemon dill sauce clashed with the caesar dressing, I was going to make some roasted asparagus but did not want to turn on the oven. I had the croutons left over from another meal, so I just went with the salad, I think the asparagus would have gone great with the crab cakes! Next time!! So tell me what you are cooking this summer and share the love!