"You Use a Flowbee!"

I am not even sure that I can fully explain the comedy behind this picture. All I have to say is "a blast from the past... the flowbee". Its so funny how things come around full circle.

As I mentioned in my previous "The Norm"! posting, it isn't every day that you can laugh about random things that some how tie to your life. Growing up, my Dad had purchased a hair cutting device called the flowbee. You may or may not be aware of what this is, but basically it attaches to your vacuum and has a blade like a razor. You position this end piece on the end of the flowbee which deciphers the length that you want to cut your hair. You turn on the vacuum, it sucks up your hair, and while sucking, cuts any hair that is long enough to reach the blade. Its an at home haircut with no cleanup. The day of "The Norm"! posting, Josh and I were joking around about him needing a hair cut. I mentioned that I used to cut Andy's and could cut his too. He busts out laughing and says "with what, a flowbee?". I know this may not seem all that hilarious to anyone on the outside; however... I literally was in stitches. I laughed and laughed and told Josh how Dad is on his second flowbee (the first one broke, he liked it so much that he bought a second one). We have continued to laugh about that since that day.

The story gets better. Tonight, Grandma and Grandpa are in town so Dad and Rose invited us over for dinner with everyone. As we are sitting at the dinner table, we were discussing how everyone has their quarks. Dad teases us by saying that he can't think of any quarks that he has. Without skipping a beat, Rose says "You use a flowbee!". INSTANTLY Josh and I burst into laughter. (Still chuckling just thinking about it!). We had to bring Dad up to speed on the events that occurred with Josh and I to explain our continual laughing. Just when we thought the laughs were over, Grandma felt the urge to ask what a flowbee was. Dad got up from the table to fully demonstrate the flowbee.

STILL LAUGHING!!!!

First "Real" Bike Ride!

Today was such a BEAUTIFUL day! Finally, after a couple busy weeks, and finally getting all the equipment I needed, I was able to take my new bike on a "real" ride! What a great first ride! I met Dad and Rose down at the River Trail, and we rode 13 miles along the Sacramento River. Located on this trail is not only the gorgeous views of the awesome river, but also my favorite spot in Redding, the Sundial Bridge.

We not only had an amazing time, but I feel in love with my bike and the trail! I will for sure be doing this as often as possible!

AWESOME first "real" bike ride!

The Queen BeeOtch has Returned!

Yes, I said it, The Queen BeeOtch has come for a visit. Boy have I missed Janice. She is one of those people that just make you laugh, no matter what situation you are in. I say the "Queen BeeOtch", because Janice took me under her wing back when I was 19 working at Hallmark in the mall. She has a few more years of life under her belt than I do, and she taught me at a young age many things about myself. I have always been a strong individual, but it is because of the people who surround you that make you the person you are today. Janice taught me a lot about standing up for yourself and the things that you feel strong about. We used to joke about this saying that she was the "Queen BeeOtch" while I was the just the "Junior" in training. Throughout the 6 years of our friendship, the nicknames of Queen BeeOtch aka QB and Junior BeeOtch aka JB have stuck.

This weekend, as I have already posted was Rodeo week, and Saturday night was the night of the Rodeo. What a GREAT time. Boy do I miss that girl. We picked up right where we left off as if she never moved away and as if we talked daily. Lots of laughs as always. GREAT NIGHT!

Pancake Breakfast!

Rodeo week in Redding, CA! Each year, there is a crew of "Asphalt Cowboys" that put on a whole show. They stage a bank robbery, then hide a "loot" that the town searches for all week worth $500, and then do a pancake breakfast on Friday. Today is Friday, and therefore was the pancake breakfast! The Asphalt Cowboys literally close down Market Street (reminds me of 4th of Julys in MS), and serve pancakes to thousands of people. Last year was a record breaking year of 11,000 people. Halfway through this morning they were estimating that we were going to set a new record!

The above picture is of one of the asphalt cowboys, literally, stirring the pancake batter with a paddle because it has to be so long. All the mixed batter is in the 5 gallon paint buckets. LOL! Ahh.... the perks of living in a small, redneck town.

Janice will be here tomorrow for the rodeo. 5th row baby! So excited!

Baby Gus!

Being stuck at work on a beautiful spring day is nothing but the worst. However, when you have a surprise visit from you friend, Leanna and her adorable baby, Gus, it just makes the day SO much better!

Baby Gus is so sweet and adorble! It was so nice to hang out with them today!!

Sleepy Time!

Allergy season has been hitting me hard, especially in the sleep department. For the past two weeks sleeping has been extremely hard. I was so incredibly tired yesterday, that I even had trouble sleeping last night, ironic. Today, I just needed some sleep, and I got it.

I snuggled up on the couch this afternoon and took a long nap. Hopefully I will sleep good tonight, and be as fresh as new tomorrow!

Cowgirl Up!

YeeHaw!! Redding Rodeo is back in town, and I am ready to cowgirl it up! I ordered the tickets a little while back and finally got them in the mail. My good friend, Janice is headed to town and we are going to rock the rodeo like we did in the good ol' days.

Janice and I used to hit the Redbluff, Redding, and Yreka rodeos annually until Janice moved away to Klamath Falls. This year, we are going to play it up and make up for all the rodeos missed. This rodeo is on Saturday night. So excited!

The Love of a Mother and Daughter!

Another great day! Mom and I drove around Riverside a little bit to check it out, and then decided to head to Ontario where we hit the Ontario Mills Mall. There are many many things I miss about not living minutes away from my Mom, but for some reason, shopping is high on the list. So, to be able to walk through the mall, chatting about everything, and shop all at the same time with her... it was a blast.

We found the Fossil store (So exciting!) where Mom bought us both ADORABLE new purses, and we bought the boys new wallets. We ran to JC Penny to buy matching wallets and then had to head back to the airport for me to fly back to reality. :-(

All in all, the day was amazing. Can't wait to do it again!

Lady in Red!

On Saturday Mom and I had a BLAST. The day started with a great breakfast at the hotel, and then shopping the little shops and street fairs of downtown Riverside. We found the most awesome antique shop. It was clean, smelled nothing of a "normal antique shop", had nice items, and 4 stories high! We stumbled upon the perfect tea set display that I will use for Grandma's tea set that Mom gave me at my wedding shower, a tea cup for her personal collection as well as a "Mother" hankie. We saw these crazy hats, and I couldn't help myself but snap this picture of Mom being Lady in Red.

After we did all our shopping, we headed back to the hotel where we lounged by the pool for a few hours, vodka-cran in hands, and then off to our 80 minute massages! We first sat in the Eucalyptus steam room (I still can't decided if I liked that or not; however, my skin loved it!), and then were escorted to our personal villa were we, i do believe were in Heaven. The massage was absolutely amazing, we didn't want to leave. But... they kicked us out. So, we headed for the jacuzzi, shared a bottle of wine and chatted for hours.

SUCH AN AMAZING DAY!

Finally Arrived!

After weeks of anticipation I finally arrived at the Ontario airport where Mom picked me up for our spa weekend! We arrived at the Riverside Inn late Friday night. We unpacked our bags and chatted til wee hours in the morning. SO much fun!

We also instituted a couple new traditions. Annually we will be planning a girls getaway weekend. As you can see the in the above picture, Mom purchased a blow fish wine cork. Each year, we will be getting a new wine cork to symbolize that year's trip.

Not often enough do I get mommy time. So excited that we were able to make this trip happen!

Packed and Ready to Go!

I feel like a kid at a candy shop! Bouncing off the walls, I am so excited!

Tomorrow I fly out of Sacramento to Riverside for a spa weekend with my Momma!! I have a feeling that sleeping tonight might be a little on the tough side. My bag is packed, waiting on my makeup and bathroom accessories, and I am ready to go!

YAH!!!!!

Cinco de Tequila, anyone?

As you can see, this white girl is definitely not of Mexican decent. Therefore, I can not say that I can celebrate my Mexican heritage or pride. This holiday commemorates the Mexican's unlikely defeat over French forces at the battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. The celebrations are mostly limited to the state of Puebla, where the victory represents a symbol of Mexican unity and patriotism.

So the question is; what are we celebrating here in the United States as caucasians living in America? Unity of the Mexicans? Well, since I am not Mexican I can't truly "celebrate" the army's victory, or the unity of a race that I am not a part of. I can however, completely appreciate and partake in the perfected liquor of the Mexican culture. So today, i say Cinco de Tequila, anyone?!?

H - HO - HOR - HORS - HORSE!

Can you say HORSE?!

I sure can say it, spell it, and shoot it. Today was another beautiful Spring day, so this evening Josh and I headed to the school down the street from our house to shoot some hoops.

2 out of 3 games, Josh kicked my butt. (Little does he know I was going easy on him ;-) But... that will just be our little secret; let him have his dignity of not losing to a girl!

All in all, I am extremely rusty! My good ol' 3 point shot is a bit... well... off. Guess I am just going to have to practice more!

Refreshing Spring!

A day late and a dollar short. Sometimes, that is the way it goes.

Yesterday (yes, yesterday) was such a beautiful day that I couldn't help but get a drop of sunshine after work. I called up Lorie and we headed out the the McConnell Foundation for a walk. 3 1/4 miles felt AMAZING. So refreshing! After sitting all day long at work, it feels so great to get the blood flowing, especially on a beautiful day, chatting with a great friend.

I wish Spring was year round and we could avoid the rain and the summer heat. I guess I truly am a spring baby!

Looking Good!

When you look good, you feel good!

Today I had a really nice day with Josh and his family. We had a wonderful day, and a great dinner; good food, good company. Its always nice to get your husband's family members better. I got to spend a little more time today getting to know Josh's aunt and uncle, Ron and Paula, and grandmother, Dale, and mom, Cindy.

It's so nice to be able to go to dinner and have all sorts of conversations all while getting to know family better.

Snikerdoodles!

What a GREAT Saturday! Breakfast with my hubby, a ride around the neighborhood on my new bike, a new outfit from Ross, a visit with my friend, Lorie, a couple movies cuddled on the couch with Josh, and a huge batch of Snikerdoodles!

What else to say other than, my life is awesome!