Random Goings On

Our family is in a good rhythm as the winter rolls on.  This is the best time of year for Arizona so we are enjoying the cooler weather.  I just wanted to share a bit of what each of us is up to.


Esteban
He loves Dub Step music, he uses his phone and headset to rock out when he is cleaning or doing laundry.
A few days ago I told him I was craving berries and he brought every berry at the store.  Raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and he included grapes just in case.  He hosted a berry festival for me, so amazing.
Esteban and I love to watch some of the series TV on NetFlix and Hulu.  Right now we are watching Being Human and the last season of Star Trek Voyager.

Sebastian
He is finishing his finals and has been studying a lot.  He took a break to see his High School friends in their production of Beauty and the Beast.  He thought the play was outstanding, especially the young man who played Gaston.  Sebastian misses his Drama and Stage Craft classes, they were his favorite in High School.  When he has time, Sebastian watches episodes of The Walking Dead, he is so hooked.

Isabel
Is reading a lot and watching anime and horror movies with her friend Jamie.  Isabel says she wants to visit Japan when she is older.  She and her friends are trading beaded friendship bracelets.  Isabel has also been putting her hair in a pony tail for several weeks, I asked why and she said she just feels like it.
Preteen girls are fun to be around (most of the time;), I love to hear Isabel laugh.

Frances
I have been doing a bit a embroidery, made a few trees and carved a few stamps.  I seem to have the attention span of a hummingbird.  Crafting keeps my hands and mind busy and makes me feel better.  I can't get enough of Bones and The Amazing Race on Hulu.  I have also been putting whipped cream on my fruit, it is my favorite thing to eat right now.  I caught Isabel shooting the whipped cream into her mouth.  See, most of the time.

Luci
Luci has been living the good life receiving love from each of us.  We had a day of rain and Luci was not sure at all about going out.  She shakes her body like she is soaked every few minutes, so the rain walks are like a mad dash for Esteban and Sebastian.

Fruit and whipped cream, my latest food love.

This tree was a custom order finished yesterday.  It was fun to try fewer stones on a slightly taller version of my Tiny Trees.

I embroidered this fox which was a project in the book Embroider Everything by Diana Rupp.  I made a wire frame and embroidered it to the fox, I like how it turned out.

There we go, a little update.  I hope you are having a great weekend.

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Bald is Beautiful!

We are having a great time as winter is winding down, I just wanted to share a few photos of what we are up to.

Sebastian is wearing his Police Explorers Uniform after a national competition his unit participated in this past weekend (we are asked not to show photos of the patch because it says police).  Sebastian completed a serious obstacle course and a separate mud run, which is a lot for a first year member.  He is so excited to be part of a team and get to learn from and participate with the pros.  He was giving us a blow by blow of his adventures and I caught this great shot.

Luci has perfected the mid day nap after months of intense practice.

A touching father daughter moment.  We all give Luci air kisses as often as possible.

We had a cold snap that lasted for several weeks and we would put this jacket on Luci for her early morning walk when the temperature was just above freezing.  After a few days she would come over and sit by the jacket and wait for me to put it on.  When it got warmer she stopped asking for it.  I made the jacket last year using cozy flannel.  

Esteban wearing his Power Ranger hoodie on one of our walks.  I love it, he is so cool he could really be a power ranger.  The red one of course.

A great tree along our walk that has circular leaves, one of my favorites.

Other beautiful trees along our walk.

I am playing with my carved stamps and having a coffee.  I made that mobile with blue beads.  I like how it turned out and am experimenting with designs for my next one.

I picked up these twigs and rock on our walk and couldn't resist taking some photos with my newest stamps in the light box.  I am getting more confident and trying designs that are a bit more complicated.

I got this bright idea to make handles for my stamps.  I made a few prototypes out of clay and used hot glue to add strong magnets.  I glued metal discs to the back of the stamps.  I tried them out and the handles worked like a charm.  I was afraid the stamps would slip around, but the magnet was strong enough to keep the stamps in place when used.  

My hair is now coming out so we are taking the next step and shaving it.  Here is my last photo of hair.  So long.  I hear bald is beautiful anyway.

Hope your week is off to a great start.

Cold Snap!

Here in Arizona, yesterday was the coldest we have seen so far this fall.  The low was 44 and the high was in the seventies.  I know that is amazing weather, and trust me I am not complaining.  But for us, after a long hot summer, that low is super cold.  My children are so funny, yesterday they put on socks and funny knome hats I made for them as a bit of a joke.  I was not able to capture a photo of us in our funny hats, but the winter has just begun.
Here is Isabel modeling the red knome hat earlier this past summer.

It was shocking to wake up in the cold.  Luci let me know right away that she wanted to stay in bed instead of following me into the kitchen like she usually does.  She let me know by thumping her tail and burying her face under her blanket.  Yes, Luci has a cozy blanket and loves to be covered before she goes to bed.  She is too big to sleep with the two of us, but she prefers her bed in our room to sleeping anywhere else.  We have a nightly ritual where Luci is asked to come down from our bed and get into her bed that we pull out from under the bed.  Sometimes she is reluctant.  It always makes me laugh.  It is as though Luci thinks that she can sleep hard in our bed and we might forget and leave her up there for the night.  Not likely when she sprawls across the bed sideways.

Here Luci is in my bed.  She always lays across and sleeps hard.

Here she is in her bed.  That is her beloved fuzzy blanket in the upper left corner.

The cold felt like one of the first signs that the holiday season is on it's way.  Thanksgiving here we come!

The kids have been helping me make some holiday ornaments, we will share them in the next few days.

Have a great Tuesday!

Friday Family Fun

This weekend we are just goofing around and getting ready for Halloween.  Sebastian is not sure if he is dressing up.  Isabel thinks maybe one of the characters from Frankenweenie, but she has a few back up ideas.  Esteban wants to participate in a costume contest at work, so we are going to work on that.

I got this great shot of Isabel working on her computer.  She put her pillow down for Luci and covered her with a jacket.  Luci is like our giant furry baby.

This is Luci wearing Isabel's winter Owl hat.  So funny.  Luci is not sure if she likes it.

Maybe a nap will make it better.  Naps make everything better.

Have a great weekend.

Saturday Luci Love

We all love Luci very much.  She has a new doggy friend named Chuy.  I watched out of the window and could see that she is in love.  She turns in circles and does a little hop in front of Chuy and when he does a freeze she sniffs his face and neck and gives him a kiss.  Chuy is just over a year old and he is about four or five inches shorter than luci, but he makes up for it in charm.  I am not sure what breed he is, he resembles Luci, but is a bit smaller. Chuy is white with a brown spot on his tail and he always looks like he is smiling.  He lives nearby so I will see if Esteban or Sebastian, the Luci walkers, can get a picture of them together.

Here is Luci this morning giving Love.

I think she has the majestic look of a lioness.  She has such a calm and loving demeanor, we all greet her and give her pats in the morning.

Sending Luci Love out to you.

Have a great weekend.

Just Another Manic Monday

I have a few things going on, so my post today will be short.  Here is a peek at the love of a boy and his dog.

Have a nice evening.

Pinterest, Revolution and Luci

Pinterest:
I am super late in finding Pinterest, I have seen mention of it all over the web.  When I first heard about it a few months ago, I had enough going on and wasn't really interested.  It sounded like just another thing I had to sign into and spend my valuable crafting time on.  I had the impression that it was just a bunch of photos being posted.

Well, they are not just photos, that's for sure.  You can pin a website or a tutorial or just about any web content.  I am at the stage where I am looking at other people's boards and following those with great pins.  WOW!!  There are folks out there with AMAZING collections of information and photos on just about any topic.  You can collect ideas for Christmas, which is my next step for Pinterest.  I want to make a few things for fun and a few things as gifts and the boards are a great way to collect ideas.

I suggest you at least stop by the website to take a look at what all the fuss is about.
I am following some animal lovers so I get to see all of the super cute animal photos, they really get into it.  You can choose different topics so you can see the pins that you are interested in or you can see all pins.

Here is the link:




As soon as I figure it out (that means Isabel will help;) I will post a link on the side of the blog so you can follow me on Pinterest if you like.

I also just started a My Laughing Lion facebook page.  I am going to finish setting it up and then put the link on the side of the blog.  But you can take a peek here:



Revolution:
In a previous post I discussed the upcoming fall TV line up.  I mentioned that I thought the new show Revolution was no good after seeing the pilot.  Well, my husband insisted we keep watching and the show has really grown on me.  It's not Grimm or anything, but I plan to keep watching.  I just wanted to set the record straight.

Luci:
So here is an Ariel photo of my Luci.  She sleeps with such gusto, like she does everything.  I just realized that I take a lot of photos of Luci sleeping.  It is not easy getting a good shot when she is awake.  And she is so angelic when she sleeps.  Sometimes she does a stifled bark and moves her paws like she is running.  She is running in her dream.
My husband likes to whisper to her that she is a good girl and everything is ok, just in case she is in distress.  Sebastian talks to Luci in a soft voice and tells her encouraging things like how smart she is when he pats her.  Isabel likes to hug her around the neck like a girlfriend and kiss her on the side of the nose.  Luci loves every minute of it and looks like she understands how much we all love her.  I love collecting these sweet family moments, they are like precious jewels.

Have a Grimmtastic Friday.

Week-End Peek-In Photo

I hope your weekend is going as well as Luci's is.

Luci Love

Today is a busy day for us.  To get us all past the week into the week end I want to share some Luci Love.

Sleepy baby.  The bars are the footboard part of our bedframe, funny how the bed looks like a crib in this picture.  So Esteban finally broke down and let me have Luci in our bed during the day if I put a special blanket down to keep her hairs from getting into our blankets.  The white blanket was my bright idea.  But it is working.  Luci has the big comfy bed to lay on, no scratchy hairs on Esteban and I get to give her pats from a much more comfortable place.  Winners all.  Further evidence that life is about compromise;).

Here we are again, but I swear she is watching TV.

But TV makes Luci sleepy.  She is so funny and sweet.  Her jawls just kill me.

She really does smile.  I am so glad I was able to capture it.

There you go.  Friday Luci Love.

Have a super Friday.


I will be joining professional photographer Madge Bloom's weekly photo hop on her blog theviewfromrighthere.

Happy Labor Day?!?

I wasn't sure if you wish someone a Happy Labor Day, but some people are off work today, I bet for them it is happy.  So yeah, Happy Labor Day!
We are working on a feature about Isabel that explains her bracelets, discusses her mermaid like hair and breaks down her feelings about Middle School.   We are working on it together and will have it up tomorrow.  Then Sebastian on Friday.  I have done posts on them before, but I want to get to the fascinating details in their own words.  I am excited to see what they come up with.

For today, I have two rare treasures.  Ok, they are pictures of Luci, not so rare, but definitely treasures.  The first one is a college of Luci standing and then sitting at the door, listening.  She often stands at the door and moves her head back and forth to hear what is going on outside.  I was trying to get some photos of her doing that when she turned around on me.  She speaks with her looks and the last photo is clear.  Her ears are back, that means she is unhappy and she is telling me to stop taking pictures, Mom.  Just like Isabel and Sebastian.  Luci is now officially my furry child.

This second treat is a college of Luci with a branch.  She was going so fast in the last photo I almost didn't catch it.  Luci loves finding sticks and branches, she usually drags around the big ones.  This one was small enough she was able to run.

We are sharing our Luci picture on Madge Bloom's great blog The View From Right Here.

We wish you a relaxing Labor Day!

Busy Weekend

Howdy!  We are having a fun but busy weekend.  Isabel goes to camp next week and I am helping her get organized and pack.  She is so excited I think she might just jump out of her skin.  This is her first time to camp and one of the few times she has been away from home.  I will share some "getting ready" photos in the next few days.

I want to share a great college of our sleeping beauty, Luci.  I know, another college.  I've been pretty good, moderation is key, right?

My favorite picture is Luci sleeping on the couch with the tip of her tongue out, priceless.  Luci has also given her bed Isabel and I made for her a big seal of approval.  

Have a spectacular weekend!

First Post!

I am so excited to get started.  We are going to use this blog to share family photos (my family is so cute, it is practically an emergency), to chronicle our adventures and even just share what we are making/eating/doing right now.  I think this writing will be helpful to me and while I know no one may show up, I welcome each and every visitor that does happen by.  This will not be a cancer blog.  Please do not misunderstand, I am very grateful. That does not mean that cancer will never come up, it just means that my content will be about other things. While I am fighting with every cell (I picture tiny cells with boxing gloves:), I need a place to get away from it all and I am asking for you to join me.
I love to make things. I LOVE it.  Sewing, jewelry, embroidery, paper mache, glass etching, crochet, you name it and I want to try it out. I was a Brownie and Girl Scout as a child and back then I liked to make things. But as an adult, because I was always working, I did not know what amazing things people are doing out there with arts and crafts. WOW!  I started following sewing blogs about a year ago and will share some of my creations, including what Isabel calls "The ugliest dress I have ever seen." Hey at least I know she will tell me how she really feels. The dress is only the beginning, we will share crafts large and small as well as share about each of us and what we are up to. 
I mentioned Isabel, she is my daughter and just turned 13.  I will profile her and her brother Sebastian, 19 and my husband Esteban.  Esteban is an amazing artist, he works with digital images to create the unexpected. They are a family to be proud of and very funny.
One main character I forgot to mention, and she may be THE main character, is Luci.  Luci is, we were told, is a lab and boxer mix.  While that sounds possible, she also resembles a smallish great dane or Scooby Doo's girlfriend. We got her at a place in Tucson that rescues puppies from puppy mills. She was three months old when we got her and she was the cutest giant puppy we had ever seen. You will see, she is special and a very important part of our family.
Isabel and I are working on updates this week so stay tuned.

Luci the giant puppy at 3 months old.

Luci still thinks she is little and wants to sit in my lap. Luci is now 3 years old.