My Journey To AZ - Part 2

Ok.. lets see if I can post pictures. I hate to post without pictures. It's makes me feel like I've forgotten something! So, lets see... I took a trip to the botanical gardens. We were able to see the butterfly exhibit too (which was actually more colorful than the cacti ). A butterfly even landed on my mom's hand! :)

We were able to once again catch up with my Aunt and Uncle for dinner. I got to see my cousin who I have not seen since I was 10 years old.. he has his own little girl now who is 9 and she is absolutely adorable!

We then took a day to chillax.. I think I had tired my dad out. LOL. He hates to drive.. and well.. to sightsee it requres driving. We did go to Sun City AZ to visit my GREAT Aunts and Uncles. This was a treat. These relatives I had not seen again since I was maybe 10.. My Aunt Clara is 96 and my Uncle Walter is 104.. soon to be 105 in April. They live in a posh little home.. nothing like i had expected.. this place was super cool and if I live to be this old.. I want to be able to get around like they do.. they walk yet.. and I want to be able to dance and be hip like they are! I got to watch my uncle who is 104 play the organ. It was truly amazing. Here are a few pictures...Here is their dining room.. how fancy!

 This is my Aunt Clara and Uncle Walter's place... I think she has the same furniture she has back when.

 My aunt has always collected tea cups.. what a pretty display.

 This is my aunt Clara who is 96 yrs old.. and her saying was.. "gee I just forgot what I was saying, but my doctor says.. that is what you get for living this long.."

 This is my dad, my uncle joe, my aunt clara and my mom...

 This is my uncle walter playing us polka's !! I was totally amazed at how active he is .. awesome!

 This is my uncle joe, my mom, my dad, uncle walter, my aunt clara and my aunt Kathy.. and btw, my uncle water re married at age 99.. what a stud muffin!

After Sun City.. I got to see my Arizona girlfriends !!! I met up with Debbie who owns Frenzy Stamper in Scottsdale AZ.. check out her store if you are ever around cuz its awesome!!! Here is what it looks like inside. We also went to dinner at a fabulous place called the Herb Box.. OMG.. it was.. foodgasmic..!

 

 We had a great time at the Herb Box.. and blackberry mojitos rock, just say'n!!! Sharon was an awesome hostess. I got to stay at her home. It is so beautiful. Sharon, thank you so much for letting me stay with you. It was so good to see you!!! She took me shopping and we met up with Roxanne (another club scrapper gal) and we hit the antique store, SAS a fabric store.. and we ate at this cool place called Two Hippies. Great burgers and flavored lemonade. It was cool.. had this big weenie on the rooftop! LOL. We then went to sprinkles and headed home and looked thru Sharon's amazing scrapbooks. She is so talented. She inspires me. Her artwork is all over the house.. its so super cool! One thing I messed up on.. was getting a picture of her and I together.. I didnt get any.. I'm so bummed. How could this possibly happen?? :-( Anywho, this was my little vacation.. and it was a lot of fun.. I really dig Arizona - I certainly love the weather! Ooh and this store.. (below).. how could I forget THIS store.. the French Bee.. OMG.. drooling just looking at these pictures again!! I loved this store!! Needless to say.. I did walk out with a bag and yes I had to ship!

 I bought myself one of these body forms.. isnt it cool? I cant wait to get it.. suppose to arrive friday. Yay.. Sharon got one too and I cant wait to dress her up!

 A cool paper chandelier - love it!!! Look at all the goodies... amazing! 

 Sharon did pretty good shopping for treats too.. you go girl!

 Roxanne behaved with only a little bag.. it was so good to see her too!

 This is where we went for lunch.. it was really good and very eclectic inside.. I loved the decor!

 Ok.. all I can say about Sprinkes is.. FABULOUS and oh my.. so.. german chocolategamic.. YUM!!!

 So, there ya have it.. my adventure to AZ.. It was a very enjoyable stay!!! I just wish I could have brought back the AZ sunshine and the warmer weather.

My Journey To AZ

Now that I am home.. and a bit rested up (well sort of), and I have my pictures handy, I thought Id share a few pics with you all. It was a fun adventure to Tucson and Phoenix. I wasnt far from a tragedy which was heartbreaking. I had an extreme amount of fun seeing relatives I have not seen in ages... and of course I shopped! I should be Suzi Weinberg's sister.. with the words.. "do you ship?" LOL.. Ok I'm kidding.. I shopped and I did ship.. but I behaved.. sorta! LOL. So, the first part of my adventure was to meet up with my auntie who lives in Tucson. I met up with my parents in Phoenix.. we rented a car and traveled that night into Tucson and checked into this cute little place.. here is where "home" was for a week:

 It was cute.. and it was cozy and we even had a fireplace. I had my own private bedroom and full bath. Sweet!! We got to see my Aunt Pat. Here is a picture of my aunt, my mom, myself and holding a pic of my grandmother.. see a resemblance?

We got to see where my aunt works. She manages an Antique Mall.. how cool is that?? So, I did a little shopping and my aunt and uncle gave me 2 antique cameras which Im still waiting on arriving (should be here Wednesday) to put my birds i've made.. on each.. yay! Thank you Aunt Pat and Uncle Fred! While we were in our casita.. we had a few visitors.. these are called Javalinas (pronounced have a leena). I called them piggies LOL.. wild piggies..and they are not real friendly, they just want food!

We were being tourists and we visited the Church Of The White Dove.. very cool place. It was beautiful inside and before we did go to see what it was all about we had fry cakes. It is a lot like an elephant ear and you can dress it up any way you like... either taco like.. or with all the sweet stuff on top. They were very good! Here are some pics:

This was a cemetary just outside the church. I found this eye appealing even tho it is a cemetary. Look at the beautiful colors. It is on an indian reservation.. not sure if this is some sort of tradition but it certainly caught my eye.

We also were able to see Kitt Peek .. the observatory of the stars n stuff. It was fun, altho I have to admit, I was hoping I was going to look thru a telescope and see the stars and moon and milky way. Bummer! The tour was educational and the scenery was fantastic!

We had more time on our hands that day so we decided to see the Botanical Gardens and the butterfly exhibit. It wasnt exactly what I thought it would be but it was interesting.  Ill share more pics of my adventure tomorrow. Apparently Google has told me I'm out of space for my pictures.. the noive !! :-) Ive taken care of that issue but it may take 24 hours before I get my "extra space" thru picasa and my blog. Pout.. good night and see you tomorrow for Chapter 2 of my journey to AZ!

Visiting Arizona

Hi Everyone.. this isnt stamping news.. but Im traveling.. and I thought Id share a few things. I am in Tucson. Within 12 hours of being here, there was a shooting. That was tragic. On a bright side, I am here to visit some family. My auntie lives here. I've not seen her in 10 years at least. I have found out my cousin is here too.. I will see him Wednesday. Ive not seen him since I was a kiddo. Wow! I am at a cool resort called Star Pass. It has 3 golf courses.. a spa which Ive yet to find. Its layout is kinda cool.. all sorts of Cacti and this.. a picture which wont load.. GRRR.. I miss some of the conveniences of home.. LOL.. Ok.. well anyway.. it looks like a pg but I hear its called a Javalina... and we had a whole family.. babies included, right outside our patio here at the resort. I ran to get my camera and I missed the babies.. Im bummed.. none of my pictures will load. *pout*.. Oh well. You all take care and take time to be creative.. !

Spring? Where Are YOU???

I got a little stamping time in on Wednesday. Tonight watching the weather forecast, I think it will be a long time until I see real flowers.. so the paper flowers will have to do! Playing with these bright colors was fun and much needed. This area will see up to 2 feet (yes, I said 2 FEET) of snow from now til Saturday. Eeep! I have a flight leaving Grand Rapids tomorrow late afternoon. I'm heading to Phoenix. Lets all hope I get my flights okay. It should be an adventure for sure! I used crumb cake for the card base, also used Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango, Melon Mambo, and Wild Wasabi along with Whisper White. Also used the clear big buttons and linen thread and some non SU ribbon I had in my stash. I thought they turned out kinda cute. How can you not smile with such cheerful colors? :) Next time I blog, I will be in Arizona. Ill share pictures as things progress! Take time to be creative!

"Lovin`" Stamp Club This Month! (Wait.. I ALWAYS Love Stamp Club!)

Hi Everyone! I just got done with January club tonight and I must say.. Jenny created some awesome projects for us! Love love love love em!!! It is nice to get a break from Christmas. As much as I love Christmas, I have to say.. I've had my fill and lets move on... to Valentines Day. Besides.. this is my excuse to use a lot of PINK!! You all know how much I love pink! :) Great projects Jenny!Check out the box.. it is a box of sweetheart candies and they slide out with the ribbon. Isn't it cute? The calendar is adorable and is made with a 4x4 coaster.

Occasions Mini Catalog Is Ready To Order From.. WoohOoooO..

And.. if you want a catalog.. just let me know :) All kinds of goodies stuffed in this book! I have to say.. one of the best yet.. Stampin Up just keeps outdoing themselves :) I think I love everything in this one.. !

Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers!

A few days ago Lucinda and I took time to stamp.. I CASE'd this cute card. Little did we know it would take a gazillion little punch art pieces but it turned out kinda cute! I just thought I'd share. Since I made this card I was surfing and seen some other versions of it.. all very cute! I didnt have any "baby" cards so I think these will come in handy, eventually! By the way............. Happy New Year!!

This was the ball drop in downtown Ludington. I have to say it was quite impressive for a tiny town! We even had fireworks! Take time to be creative! :-)