It’s seems like forever since I have done any Scrapping, a lack of mo-jo perhaps? This is my son and his beautiful bride to be.

Love Remembers by Craig Morgan

First and foremost, THANK YOU for all the encouraging emails, comments, gift certificates for a lobotomy, flowers, etc….I appreciate and love you all!!!!! (yep, even you!)
A quick update, I have good, bad, great and horrible days, some days I just don’t get out of bed. It is what it is, I just have to deal with it. On a side note, my neighbors moved a few weeks ago….I didn’t like them very much anyways but what’s even better, nobody can hear me yelling at this O.C.D. demon that it’s “not going to get the best of me and to leave me alone.” At least that will buy me some time before the men in white jackets show up!
My aunt is out of I.C.U. but is still in the hospital dealing with some pretty heavy issues. Please pray, pray, pray!!! I love her so much….
Our friends that were in the car accident are recovering but have a l o n g road ahead of them. Two of the babies are now out of the hospital. Their mama not only has a broken back, her leg is also broken and she is missing a couple toes. We thank God they are just all alive. It was a single car accident, the Police believe was caused due to a combination of 70 m.p.h. winds and black ice. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as well!!! XOXO to Brittney, Brianna and babies!!!
I have a secret, but I’m not supposed to get too excited or say too much yet. Don’t tell anyone, but it has to do with my oldest son….a new job and moving back from Phoenix. Shhh, I’ll tell you more later!
Yep, she came out of the closet, my little reptilian girl, Kiwi. Been in there, in a box since October, I wish I was a turtle.

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More excitement, yesterday she peed! This is a good thing….means she’s hydrated and in working order.
So, I’m really trying to learn how to use my camera. It’s easy to use in the “Basic Zone” but it’s time to advance to the, well, “Advanced Operations.” It’s capable of doing so much…I’m just waiting for that ah-ha moment, when it all just clicks!!! (no pun intended!) Yesterday, after a nice visit at the hospital with my aunt it starts snowing as I’m walking to my car, snowing cotton. Huh? Through the flurries falling before me, I manage to find the source it’s coming from. Am I that naive? Never saw anything like this…. (pics are click-able for larger view)

There were also some pretty flowers on the grounds, what better way is there to practice my “Advanced Operations,” so I experimented away…

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———-You do realize I have many more (my apologies…humor me here folks) but I don’t want to whoa you too much in one day! Check back tomorrow… Again, thanks for all the love and support

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I climbed in bed Thursday night with a huge sense of relief. Although I’m still working at getting the whole D.M.V./insurance fiasco straightened out, I had crossed enough T’s, dotted enough i’s, faxed enough paper work and payed enough $$ to finally re-insure my car. Well…that would have been to easy, and easy would just ruin this streak of bad luck.
My insurance agent (who, by the way is an Angel as far as I’m concerned) submitted the final paper work and without skipping a beat, all hell broke lose. DENIED!! Problems, again! Of course, this too can be fixed…in 4-6 weeks. I cried. Like a baby, I cried. My Angel told me not to give up yet, she encouraged me to make a few more calls, and she would do the same. Long story short, by Friday afternoon my car was once again fully insured. I must say, I have never experienced such above and beyond customer service. Thanks Angel!
My youngest son ran me around to get some last minute paper work done. We decided at the last minute to go by his dad and step-moms house so I could see the new hummingbird nest and eggs in their yard. Because we were in a rush when we left, I had no make-up on, my hair was up in a clip and I had clothes on that my son said weren’t “too bad.” To top that off, my eyes are broke out in Eczema again! When we pulled up I was kind of hoping no one would be home and I wouldn’t  be seen. Of course, not only were they there, they had their 2 young grandsons visiting. They introduced me to the little guys, explaining I was Rocky and Ryan’s mom. The youngest one, looking confused looked at me for a minute, then turned to them and said, “you mean their grandma!” Note to self: Never leave home again in a rush!!! LOL!
Other than pictures, I had never seen a hummingbird nest up close before. Picture a shot glass with a few Tic-Tac’s in it. So amazing!!!! There was also a dove’s nest, they are almost flat with just a rim around the edges. Seeing this whole process just tickles me pink!!
While I was there, I couldn’t leave without taking a few pictures. They have put a lot of time and money into their property, creating a Backyard Wildlife Habitat. It’s absolutely beautiful and I could spend hours there! (I am sure they will be thrilled to hear that! LOL) I left (finally) with a bag of freshly picked lemons, grapefruits and my new favorite fruit, kumquats! I do hope to go back for a few pictures once the eggs hatch….sans the grandma look.      (pics are click-able for a larger view)

Insurance- Fair
Headaches- Unlimited
Fruit- Free
Things kids will say- Priceless
(p.s. I’m out of kumquats!!)

Heidi Mxx of Upland took this scenic view of Ventura Beach.
"Photographing moments like this allows me to relive the serenity,
peace and calmness the ocean brings me. It's beauty never ceases
to amaze me," Mxx wrote.

Woot-woot! My picture came out in today’s paper. Although cropped from the original, (which was a little disappointing) this is how it appeared….

Don’t I have the cutest nieces?
I took this picture over the week-end,
it’s one of my favorites. Ever.

Chelsea 9
Joey 2

A big congratulations to my son and his beautiful bride-to-be on their engagement! Rocky and Rosie were high school sweethearts but went their separate ways in 2000. After 8 years they reconnected on “facebook” and started dating again, 2 days ago he proposed…and she accepted! I am so excited for them *doing the happy dance* and look forward to having Rosie as part our family! Isn’t that the most romantic story paragraph? Here’s to the future bride and groom living and loving happily ever after!!!

A few days ago I uploaded a few pictures to share on our local newspaper’s website in the “Reader Photos” category. Today I received the following email:
Heidi, (that’s me!!)
We’re featuring photos submitted via our Web site by community members, (just a few thousand!) and we’d like to print your photo (mine!!) in the newspaper. (read by millions?!) In order to do so, we need a little bit of information: (my social security # is 547….)
We need to know the name of the person who submitted the photo (I did, I did!), the city you call home, the names and cities of the people in the photo, a brief description of what’s happening in the photo and what makes this particular photo special to you. (they want me to write an article too?!?!?!)
Please get back to me at xxxxxxx as soon as possible. (because they are dying to print it!!!)
Thanks! xxxxx
I posted the picture on here a few months ago…but now that it’s going to be famous (me too!!) have another look! 

For Part 1 of my mini vaca scroll down!
Lets put it this way, my friend Laurie, from whom I hitched a ride home with is not privy to driving a stick. The first hour drive home I was white as a ghost, glistening with beads of sweat, it was all I could do to keep my lunch down. I think it was at the point my head spun a 180 she decided to let someone else drive. There is a God…I was fine for the rest of the drive! I got home at about 9:15 p.m., it was after 11 before I had settled in and climbed in bed. Thursday- I spent the day doing laundry, cleaning and packing for my drive to Phoenix. It’s amazing how far behind one can get when they unexpectedly leave town for 4 days.
Friday- I woke up thinking I was good to go, only to find a million more loose ends that needed to be tied up. You play…you pay, I’m learning. I finally got on the road at 4:00 p.m., which now meant it would be 10:00 Arizona time before I’d arrive. I’ve done the drive so many times, it’s not that big of a deal except when you are still “recovering” from a mini-vaca in Paradise. About 3 hours in to the trip my excitement level peaked, the sign ahead of me read “Watch for Ducks” well, if you have followed my blog for any sort of time, you know it is no secret I have a Duck problem. As I got a little closer, I realized it read, “Watch for Rocks” rocks, ducks, what the hell is the difference out in the middle of the toolies? I safely made it at my estimated time, unloaded my car and quickly snatched up the glass of Viognier wine my son had poured me. After visiting with my grandpuppy’s, my son and his “girlfriend” for about an hour, we called it a night and went to bed! Saturday- Tonight was a big night. One of the reasons for my visit was to take my son and his “girlfriend” to see a good friend of mine, Phil Perry perform at a benefit concert. We all still had a few last minute things to do, so they went their way, and I mine. I had strict orders to be back by 3:00 to be ready by 5:30….I always run late. (always!) I thought I was doing really well until I realized the clock in my car was still set to California time, 2:30 suddenly turned into 3:30. Ooops. I got back to my son’s house and made a b-line for the shower.  We all finished getting ready about the same time, and with time to kill before the event started, we decided to head to downtown Scottsdale for a drink and appetizers. Before we even made it in to the ‘swanky’ wine bar, my feet were killing me, I knew this was going to be a long night! Enter “Upstairs” a cool little wine bar with an incredible aviance and beautiful view. We thumbed through the menu, deciding against sharing the $5,000.00 bottle of wine we opted for Martinis and Champagne! I took this oppurtunity to limp down the street and see what Scottsdale had to offer this fabulous December evening. The streets were stunning as was the feeling in the air. For the first time this year, I felt festive! I hobbled (the shoe thing) back to the bar and finished my drink….every last drop. Because my son was so worried about missing dinner at the event we were going to, we started our (painful) journey back to the car. Not even two women can come between a man and his food! As we left we noticed a horse and carriage, $30.00 didn’t seem too steep until we realized it was 30 bucks for 10 minutes! Looking at the blisters on my feet now…probably would have been well worth it! We arrive at the Hyatt Regency, inform them we are guests of Phil Perry and are shown to our table. Just as we sat down, our salads, then dinner were served. Chicken, salmon, (yuck) potatoes, veggies and rolls. Dessert was just as good, Dolce de leche, whipped cream, white chocolate, raspberries and Pecan Pie. In between there somewhere we sipped on wine and martinis. A man who was also at our table had struck up a conversation with us, he was a Phoenix Fireman, donated to the cause, yadda yadda….asked if the three of us were friends. Now he has my attention, *blushing* “Who us? No, this is my son and his ‘girlfriend’.” “I would have never guessed” he replied. *blushing* Now I’m not that gullible but it was a nice gesture! When the conversation ended, I turned to my son and his “girlfriend” and asked if I had introduced them appropriately, it was clear by their reaction that they too were undecided what their status was.
Here’s the totally cool part. These past two years my son has battled cancer and endured a divorce, I can’t recall the last time I had seen him genuinely happy. Then “she” walks into his life, his high school sweetheart. They had not been in contact since 2001 and reconnected via the internet a few months ago. Although it’s apparent they are quite happy together, they had yet to make their relationship official. After dinner, we joined Phil Perry and his wife, Lillian up in their hotel room as Phil prepared for the show, by now my shoes are off! Before we knew it, there was a knock on the door with a “you’re on” message. Had I not been in a dress I would have gotten a piggy back ride back down, my feet hurt that bad! As we made our way to our seats, Phil entered through the back door and made his way to the stage. I could listen to this man all night, watching him perform live is always such a treat!! After the show we hung out for a bit, mingling, taking pictures, etc…just us three “friends.” *wink* On our way home, my son’s “girlfriend” “friend” suggested we go out dancing. Did I have to remind her the feet I had left were barely intact as it was? Hello? I told her if we could find somewhere open that I could pick up a quick pair of shoes, I was game. I mean, this was the end of my week long adventure, what’s a foot…or two? My son (who was driving) headed home assuring us next time we could go dancing. We arrived home around 1:00 a.m. and I am quite sure I was asleep by 1:10. Sunday- I woke up to an empty house as the “kids” had left already to run some errands. It was time again to pack up and head back to California. I decided I was in no hurry and went back to sleep for awhile, I needed it. The “kids” came home with Del Taco just as I finished up packing. We sat and ate, we talked about the night before, about when their high school years, old friends, etc…my son abruptly interrupted and announced “she” had something to tell me. All eyes on “her” she informed me as of that morning, they were official, a couple, boyfriend and girlfriend. I am thrilled for both of them! On that note, I gave them both a hug and climbed in my car for my journey home. After 2 brief rainstorms and an owl sighting (not duck) at a rest stop I arrived home around 10:30 p.m.
It was a long and busy week, but I enjoyed my mini adventure