FLAT FISH PAPER ARTS

Beekeeper's Birthday Card

2012-01-20T09:31:00.000-08:00

I'm going to a birthday party for a old time beekeeper. Saw a card on Pinterest that used the word "vomit" instead of spit.
I just changed it up a bit.
My mom would not eat honey because in her words "who would have to eat anything a bug spit back out"! I even, back in the day bottled honey called "bee spit" in memory of my mom. :)

Direct to Rubber Stamping

2012-01-15T11:44:00.000-08:00

Super simple card I did for the card class down at the Wellness Center. Working at getting my card racks stocked up.

printer's cabinet up for sale

2012-01-07T13:51:00.000-08:00

A good friend is selling her printer's cabinet. She has a new craft space and it just won't fit. It's about 6X5X3 and was refinished. Super cool piece I wish I had a home for. Let me know if your interested.
$1,000

Sample Cards

2011-12-29T15:41:00.000-08:00

Two of the sample of the cards we will be making down at the AWC. I'm working with supplies I have on hand so the cards anyone can do at home. I don't have access to my studios anymore, so I'm back down to basic equipment. Really have to think about what I'm doing now since I can't just open a drawer and pull out what I need. We make a total of four card in an hour, which is pretty fast. Class is the second Friday of every month at 1:00.

The Birthday Girl turns 2

2011-12-19T09:10:00.000-08:00

It's Annie's birthday today! She is on her new doggie bed and wearing her birthday crown.
No big plans today since I have to work and Annie only wants to chase her tennis balls. I do have to say, she already has a date for Christmas eve, Christmas day and New Year's eve. She is very popular!

Annie on her new bed

Blog Moving

2011-12-15T09:34:00.000-08:00

I've set up my new blog. It's a private blog (more from the heart postings) so you will have to email me to sign up to view it. I will continue postings on this blog for events and classes but the good stuff will be on my new blog. Hope to see you there!

Re-Birth Glass Tree

2011-12-12T09:37:00.000-08:00

Kitras Art Glass Inc.

This was a very thoughtful gift from my good buddy Toni, who flew out to help celebrate my Spiritual Death Wake this past weekend. It's a giant hand blown glass ball called
"re-birth" by Kitras Art Glass.

"Throughout our lives we journey through many different cycles of renewal. Whether it is overcoming a difficult challenge and emerging from it ready to start over or an exciting new beginning that will lead to great happiness. Just as a tree goes through cycles of death and then rebirth so do we, each time growing stronger. Whether we are standing before a new pathway or reflecting on a journey taken - the themes of Creativity, Passion, Happiness, Freedom, Re-Birth and Giving helps us to move forward and celebrate the many pathways of life."

So thankful there are word people out there who can express what I feel.

Moving Again - New Blog

2011-12-12T09:05:00.000-08:00

Spiritual Death Wake Bonfire

I made it through some very difficult times with the help from my good friends, but big girls have to know they can also go it alone. Find out who they are now and not live in the past. I will be switching to a new blog site soon so I can post more personal things to help me go through the challenges I will be tackling in the coming years.
When I started my blog all those years ago, it was for the general public but my life has changed so much. To help find out who I am after ending a long term marriage is a little more private. I'm still willing to share but only to those who can help encourage, challenge, keep me focused and maybe even inspire other on the their own path.
I will post here when my new blog is ready and if you request it, email the link to you. You will have to subscribe to my new blog (sign in) so I know who is visiting.
Had a great time at my Spiritual Death Wake Weekend at the beach. Made some very tough decisions and plans for my future. It was also fun to talk about our silly dreams and hopes between the tears and sadness.

Crafty Friends

2011-12-08T09:54:00.000-08:00

I may not be able to do as much crafting as I have in the past but I still have some pretty talented crafty friends. Marcia B made this cute little Santa box. Love all the little details that gives it a personality.
It's been another whirlwind morning with tons of things on my ever growing to do list. My spiritual mentor told me keeping busy helps keep the negative thoughts from creeping in. I still will have to deal with them, but I can make the choice of when I want to do that. Much healthier way to go. Getting ready for my spiritual death wake weekend at the beach is keeping everything in focus. Friends flying in for the weekend, bonfire plans all set, Annie's babysitting arranged and the run to the liquor store done. I'm not a drinker so it was entertaining trying to figure out what to buy at Bev Mo from the list everyone sent in. Have to say, some pretty hot guys shop there and are very helpful if you have no idea what to buy. You can tell from the picture below my drink of choice requires no ID. :)

Staff Pot Luck

2011-12-06T18:08:00.000-08:00

Good eats at any pot luck at work. Almost everyone knows how to cook and makes the best homemade Japanese dishes. It was the first time in a long time I made of full plate and ate everything on it!

Just to show you why I'm called the "tall one" at work. That's me in the back row with the Santa hat on. I'm not kidding when people can't remember my name they say "you know that tall one". I'm only 5'7" and in the Japanese world that super tall.

One big tree for the Yu Ai Kai

2011-12-06T17:25:00.000-08:00

I've done a lot of Christmas tree decorating in my time both for my home and for companies. I really wanted the Yu Ai Kai to have a BIG tree this year. It takes man power and with my loss of muscle mass, I'm not able to handle a tree this big anymore. The massage guys were good enough to help cut one down, get it in the truck and carry it into the building. That's Glenn in the photo, who is a triathlon kind of guy and even he said it was a good work out going up and down the slopes looking for the right tree. Don't think he broke out into a sweat like everyone else. Nice to have these very fit young guys at the AWC! Now the task of getting it decorated. Too bad all my Christmas ribbon was thrown out during the big move.

Normal Day?

2011-12-06T09:36:00.000-08:00

I think today was one of the first days in a long time I haven't had to pack, throw out or move something. My life is slowly getting back into a semi normal routine. During the Big Move Out, I was carrying so many keys, I had to have one purse just to hold them all. Now I'm down to only 6 which makes my purse much lighter.

During those time when things get over whelming, I have to think about all the things I'm thankful for. So here is this week's list.
1) Super great place where I work.
2) Great boss who is supportive and understanding when I'm not on top of my game.
3) Former neighbors who let me use their super sized truck during the big move. I was finally was able to give their keys back last night.
4) Friends who share not only the joys in my life but help support me through the tough times too.
5) Strangers who's kind hearts help me continue on the path to a more positive light.
6) Strong young guys always willing to do the heavy lifting, run errands and misc. handyman work at a moments notice.
7) My volunteer cookie baker who makes awesome cookies every week.
8) Pants that fit - not as easy as it sounds.
9) Washers and Dryers (yes, I have access to more than one) since I'm not a clothes horse, I have to wash clothes everyday.
10) Cheap airline tickets making my trip to Hawaii possible.
11) Annie who is always happy to see me in the morning when I pick her up. To her foster parents who love her almost as much as I do.
12) For the warm bed I have and the flight of stairs I have climb every night, which is helping my weak leg recover.

Tis the Season

2011-12-05T10:55:00.000-08:00

How can you not love where you work when people walk in the door with homemade cookies (thank you Emily), bags full of hand knitted baby caps and staff coming by to fix broken sprinklers?

The Wellness Center is jumping with activity. People chatting in the iPad class, Zumba teacher shouting out directions, knitting teacher calming knitting in the coffee room, the ED working in the Pine room banging out our newsletter and the massage guys off hiking in the mountains cutting down a HUGE Christmas tree for the YAK.

Great to be around all this positive energy again!

Christmas Tree 2011

2011-12-02T12:26:00.000-08:00

It's great to finally see all my Christmas ornaments out of the packing boxes. We had our staff and board holiday party last night that included a tree trimming party. My building looks very festive now!
As always the pot luck food was super good. With all the Japanese cooks running around how could it not be? Had 3 hot King Eggs Rolls for starters and it was a high calorie food fest after that. :)

Easy and Quick Christmas Gift

2011-12-01T12:30:00.000-08:00

There hasn't been a whole lot of crafting going on in my world lately but as I unpack all my Christmas ornaments for tonight's tree trimming party, I came across this one done in 2003. It's a great idea for a quick but personal holiday gift. It does mean that you have to know the person well enough to write some of the highlights for the past year. I had one made for my son and daughter. Seeing it again, it's like reading a mini journal of some of the highlights that happened in his life. His first big halibut, getting his driver's license and signing up to join the Navy etc... Now I wish I had one made for every year. The one I had made for my daughter was taken doing a demo. Not sure why someone would want someone else memories but it's gone.
Anyways, all you need is a glass ball, glass marking pen (any craft store will have it) and some ribbon. Sure is fun doing a quick read on what happened in 2003!

Brown Cows Rock!

2011-12-01T09:03:00.000-08:00

My work day starts super early. Usually I have Annie with me so in between throwing the ball for her and getting her breakfast ready I have to allow extra time to get all the other things done before I open my building. Since there is a party at my building today, I didn't bring Annie in, which means I can run around even faster. There is a small gift exchanged planned for tonight, so I wrapped my present this morning and got these cow scratchers. My mom's lucky charm was brown spotted cows. When I saw these I just had to get them to put on the top of my gift.
What would you do if you won $500.00?
For me that would be my plane ticket to Hawaii and new pants that fit. :)

Brown Spotted Cow Bell I made a long time ago.

More random Christmas

2011-12-01T07:44:00.000-08:00

Driving in today to work and thinking about all the things that I have to get done today before the staff and board holiday party I thought of all the random things I'm thankful for. One of the silly thoughts was how thankful I am for my soon to be ex's angry and nastiness toward me. Whenever I feel sad about the end of our relationship or in doubt, I just call him. It doesn't even take a full 30 seconds for him to go postal and for me to remember why we are getting divorced. :)

But on to more positive thoughts.

Love coming into work and seeing all the holiday decorations up and playing holiday music.

Santa Tree Topper

The Santa tree topper is like the one that was on my family tree when I was growing up. Every year my mom would decide what color light bulb would go behind Santa. One year the bulb got too close and burned a little hole in Santa's face. My mom just called it a liver spot. Not sure what happened to the tree topper (I'm sure it's stored away somewhere) but when I see this one I think of my mom.

Looking forward to making more happy Christmas memories.

For the love of Christmas

2011-11-29T18:02:00.000-08:00

Today my love for Christmas was rekindled. In the past I would pack up the whole house so I could put out all my Christmas decorations. Thinking about it now, it was like having a life size doll house to change over. I know my daughter and son both feel scared by how cluttered the house would look at Christmas with Santa staring at you from every corner. My ex got more Grinch like every year until he was down right nasty. So for the past few years with everyone yelling at me not to decorate, I stopped. Always made me sad because when you unpack the ornaments or Santa, the memories of when and why you got it come back. During the purge of my house a few months ago, the Christmas boxes got over looked so where not sold off.
With the holidays now here and the staff party is at my building, I finally get to decorate again! It's wonderful to see the smiles on people's faces when they walk in. The best part was, I asked a friend if he would pick up a tree for me since I was running out of time (tree had to be up by Thursday for the tree trimming party) and trust me, this is not a favorite activity for him. It was fun to joke and debate the pros and cons of real and fake trees. For the first time in many years it was nice to feel the happiness and warmth of being with people who enjoyed the process (maybe not as much as me) of getting ready for the holidays. Yes, I'm a real tree kind of person and I did learn it's best if only one person goes out and gets the tree. :)

Is Hawaii in my future?

2011-11-27T10:15:00.000-08:00

If you follow my blog a while back I posted if I lost all the weight the doctor wanted me to lose, I would go to Hawaii. Well good news is that I've lost all the weight and more (over 50 pounds in two years) The bad news is that I'm also in the process of getting divorce so money is and will be tight. I put the idea of going to Hawaii on the back burner.
Today, someone I didn't know before offered me a week stay in their condo on Maui. I know it's my mom's spirit pushing me to go, but Hawaii is a place for honeymooners, not single people. I went there for my honeymoon over 30 years ago (boy that makes me feel old) and if I was still married, I wouldn't hesitate. The condo lani is right on the water and I will see the whales breaching without even having to get out of bed. It's not that I won't travel alone, but Hawaii is a couples vacation spot IMO. There are some hiking trails I would like to try but again it's more fun to hike with a buddy. It's not everyday you get an offer like this. So what should I do? Go on the trip alone or give it up to a charity to auction off?

Driver License

2011-11-21T09:46:00.000-08:00

I haven't been around a scale since we put our house on the market a few weeks ago. To my surprise this morning I lost another 10 pounds. I'm not actively trying to lose weight but with the all the packing and moving boxes everyday and not remembering to eat the pounds are dropping off. Guess having no free time and not being a fast food eater and getting divorced must be the ticket.
I'm now only 10 pounds away from what's on my driver's license. I was wondering if anyone else has never changed their weight on their license thinking they would get back to it someday. ;)

Knee Squats

2011-11-18T12:54:00.000-08:00

With all the moving and packing up of the house I haven't had the time to do all the physical therapy on my knee. After the run in with Annie and her friend Tasha my right leg has been very weak after coming out of the leg brace. I have NO muscle strength anymore and it has caused a lot of problems all the way around. Moving and lifting so many things everyday my back is starting to complain big time.
One of the good things about working at the Wellness Center is all the various treatments available. One of the massage therapist is also a personnel trainer so I asked him for some pointers on what to do.

Here's George doing a demo for me with the help from Annie. Now there is no way I can get the low yet but my goal is I will some day. I will start out slow and only do 15 squats a day and then add some other strength exercises.
Annie on the other hand is in tip top shape. Getting to playing almost non stop all day, she is one fit puppy.

Packing more boxes

2011-11-15T08:10:00.000-08:00

It's been months now that I've been purging, packing boxes and moving things and there is no end in sight either. I'm just exhausted from having to wake up every morning at 5:00 to pack something up and move it to where ever it needs to go before going to work, only to come home at night to more packing and moving. So wish Annie and I could be moving to our permanent home or at least one we come stay at for while.

Chef Alan Wong - The Blue Tomato"

2011-11-14T17:45:00.000-08:00

Lisa, Arnold, Robin,Linda, Chef, Sandy

Group photo of us at the Chef Alan Wong book signing.

Guess which one is Chef?

On my serving plate.

Was a super fun event and the food was wonderful!
Chef Alan's cookbook is very nice too. I still have to try some of the recipes but I think it would be better if I went to Hawaii instead. :) Could use some R&R.

Update on the sale of my house

2011-11-14T13:45:00.000-08:00

Update on the sale of my house. We had 13 offers, almost all of them over the asking price. As sad as it is to lose my house, I'm thankful for the fast sale. The family moving in have young children so it will be nice to know the house will once again be filled with laughter and the energy only children can bring to a place.
I'm still in search for a place Annie and I can live together, so if you hear of anything let me know. As bad as it is going through a divorce there are some positive things too. So here is my list of positives.
1) No more $$$$ mortgage payments to worry about.
2) I can now fit into a size 4 pair of jeans. I can't sit in them but I can get them on. Last year I was wearing size 14. No, I didn't buy the size 4 jeans, I still like to be able to sit down. :)
3) Annie's foster parents are still wonderful and Annie loves them.
4) Getting a good routine down in the kitchen at work so I can plan out my meals better.
5) At the end of this week, I can start to get rid of all the things kept for staging the house.
6) Thankful for friends who drop off chocolate to help cheer me up.
7) Big thank you to the family buying my house and for the nice clean offer they made.

Cooking Pot Roast is the best

2011-11-14T13:12:00.000-08:00

Pot Roast!

My day starts super early, around 5:00 am. Not that I'm a morning person but my life just turned out that way. Having to make sure Annie gets her workout before she eats sets the schedule. Amazing all the stuff you can get done that early in the morning.
One big advantage I have at work is that I have access to a commercial kitchen. I can start my dinner in a slower cooker and work while my dinner is cooking. It also makes the building smell super good. I find that is a major stress reducer.

Someone waiting for her friends to show up and play

Buttons to Billionaires

2011-11-12T13:37:00.000-08:00

If you read my blog you know a lot about me. The most important thing is the written word is not one of my strong point but I force myself to keep posting, mistakes and all. You also know I work for the Yu Ai Kai Senior Center and run the Akiyama Wellness Center which is part of the YAK.
As with any non profit group we are always in search of money to help support our core programs and support the staff to keep those programs running. To show the range of people I interact with, two things happened this month. At a recent staff meeting our lunch program coordinator told us that someone paid for the lunch with buttons taped in the lunch money envelop. Our lunch program is free (suggested donation is $2.50) and you only have to fill out a form. It shows us a trend of seniors who are in need who don't want anyone else to know they are in need. Since we can't track this person down, we can not help them and this has us concerned. Now on the flip side we are a private senior center (meaning we are not part of any city or federal government program) so we must raise all our operating expenses through grants, fundraising and donations from donors. At one of our donor appreciation nights, I met a billionaire. There are a lot of millionaires around here, but I've never met a billionaire. I had a nice little chat with him and his wife about the programs we run here. At the time, I didn't know they were in the "B" league. What impressed me most was what a cute couple they were. Not Hollywood glamour cute but two people who are devoted to each other. Not only are they generous with their support to our agency but they are truly interested in the welfare of others. Nice people all the way around.
I never know if I will have buttons or billionaires walking through my doors and that is what makes this job so interesting.

Bundtinis

2011-11-11T10:58:00.000-08:00

I do like sweets but with all that is going on in my life right now I don't really eat a whole lot of anything anymore. One way to lose 50 pounds in a hurry.
Last night was our donor appreciation event at work. One of the donors (thank you boy toy 1) ordered a dozen of each of the "bundtinis" flavors "Nothing Bundt Cakes" carries. It was a bundt cake fest last night. Pumpkin spice is the seasonal cake of the month and is pretty good. I think more sampling is needed to be sure.
There were a few leftover this morning so I made the sacrifice and ate a few. Now I'm in a sugar coma and looking for a place to take a nap.

How to handle stress - the Buddha's Triangle treatment

2011-11-09T17:57:00.000-08:00

Working at the Akiyama Wellness Center is not your typical work place. Today was a "how to reduce my stress" day after my melt down last night. So with apple confit cooking away in the kitchen making the whole building smell of baked cinnamon apples (yes it smelled super good) I asked if acupuncture could help with stress reduction. Well, did you know there are two types of stress? Angry stress or depression stress, both are treated differently. I had to think about it because going through a divorce you bounce back and forth it's a tough call. I went with the depressed stress treatment since I'm sad to be losing my house. She did what is called "Buddha's Triangle" to help get my good feelings back into my heart. I also had a few needles put in my forehead to help get a better night's sleep. Now that hurt a little since you can't frown or really move your face muscles while the needles are in. I have to have all my treatments sitting up at the front desk since I run the building and don't have the time to lay down. Moving is not a good thing when having acupuncture done but I have no choice. After all that I had a nice steak for lunch which helps with my low level iron issues and some very tasty apple confit. So we will see how it goes tonight.

Help Beat the Blues

2011-11-09T08:44:00.000-08:00

I always thought I was a stress eater but after losing close to 50 pounds in two years, I've found out I overeat when I'm bored. With all the stress and work of getting divorced, I've had little time to be bored. I had a little melt down last night as we get one step closer to selling the house. I'm really sad to lose the house that I love so much. My listing agent is great and as she hugged me during the melt down she said "be strong and stay positive so you can attract more positive energy to you." Kathy is very wise.
Good smells coming from the kitchen always put me in a good mood, even if I'm not hungry. One major advantage I have is that I have a commercial kitchen at work. So early this morning I fired up the crock pot to make some apple confit - really a fancy name for apple sauce. Not so much that I plan to eat it but is sure smells good.

To follow the lead of my buddy Toni here are some things I'm thankful for today.

1) Great kitchen to cook in now that I can't at home.
2) Happy puppy at my side waiting patiently for someone to throw her tennis ball.
3) Nice warm bagel being delivered any minute from a good friend.
4) Triple berry scone with my triple chocolate mocha this morning.
5) All my skinny jeans are now too big for me along with the rest of my clothes.
6) To my buddies who know when to call and check in to make sure I'm still moving forward.

Words of Wisdom

2011-11-06T09:27:00.000-08:00

"Just as a cautious businessman avoids investing all his capital in one concern, so wisdom would probably admonish us also not to anticipate all our happiness from one quarter alone."
Sigmund Freud
"A succinct corrolary to Freud's wordy observation is "Expectation is the mother of disappointment." When we expect too much happiness from one part of our lives (a person, a career, marriage, parenthood, material items), that one part is destined to disappoint us. Life is far too rich and diverse and ever-changing to allow for this sort of narrow anticipation.

Plus, when we suffer the extreme disappointment that follows extreme expectation, we might grow bitter and angry. I have known several people whose bitterness and anger made me wonder what sort of disappointment they had suffered, what kind of happiness they had anticipated and failed to receive."

Saw this on Susan's blog "Simplicity" and it rang true to what is happening in my life and to my soon to be ex. A good friend gave me a "man's" point of view on what is happening with my ex. He put all his hopes and dreams in one area and when it crashed and burned how it manifested in his reaction isn't always predictable or the best solution. In my ex's case it was thinking another women would make him happy. Yes, I now hope this solution will work for him because his angry and bitterness is taking it's toll on both of us.

For me, I'm past the angry and the hurt. Still dealing with the sadness of losing everything, including a relationship of 33 plus years but I know it's part of the spiritual death process and I have to keep moving toward the positive light that is ahead of me. Yes, women handle it differently. There are many new things ahead of me as scary as it is to start over at 54, I'm excited to forge ahead with Annie wagging her tail at my side.

I'm thankful for:

My friends being there for support 24/7
The great foster family that is taking care of Annie for me at night.
A job that supports me both financially but more importantly supports me emotionally and offer me a safe quiet place to be me.
A good cup of double chocolate mocha - my new go to stress deduction fuel.
To the new home that is in my future.

Cup of Tea with my friends

2011-11-04T15:32:00.000-07:00

Some of my best friends live thousands of miles away. Without the support from all my buddies far and near I would have never made it this far with my divorce. My house went on the MLS today and I hope for a quick sale. It's super hard to lose the house that I remodeled for our retirement. So today I decided to have to cup of tea (Earl Grey is a favorite of one of my buddies) with those far away who I know are sending me positive thoughts. Looking forward to when Annie and I can go home together to a peaceful and safe place all our own.

One lucky dog

2011-11-03T18:21:00.000-07:00

Annie had another great day with non stop tennis ball throwing and to top it all off, her dinner was made by the cooking staff of Chef Alan Wong. Chef Wong was the one throwing the tennis ball for Annie. :) Don't know too many dogs who can say a famous chef made her a chicken dinner. I do have to say Annie ate it in record time!
I just had leftover pie. Way too tired to eat anything else. I will be attempting to make the Japanese pasta and clams on Friday. Decided Fridays would be food fest day here since I've been hanging out with so many chefs and there is always a big crew of people here to help eat it.

Guess what I had for lunch today?

2011-11-02T13:53:00.000-07:00

Twice Cooked Kalbi Short Ribs

Today was a total food stuff day. Chef Alan Wong was here at Akiyama Wellness Center doing a food demo and book signing of his new cookbook " The Blue Tomatoes". Author and food historian Arnold Hiura is also here with his book "Kau Kau". This was a wonderful event. Tickets are still avaiable for the evening event at Hukilau Resturant if you feel like eating some super great food.

Sashimi Stack

Chef Alan Wong in the house!

2011-11-01T17:36:00.000-07:00

Celebrity Chef Alan Wong from Hawaii will be at Akiyama Wellness Center on Wednesday for his "Taste of Hawai'i" tour. There will be cooking demos, tastings from his new cookbook and book signing. From what is in the kitchen now it's going to be super good. Tonight was the prepping of the rooms and kitchen. I had Annie with me so she entertained the chefs and their staff. I have one exhausted puppy at my desk right now. It was a very good day for Annie. Almost non stop tennis ball throwing and stick toss.

Very First Halloween Pumpkin

2011-10-31T12:42:00.000-07:00

Yi with her very first Halloween pumpkin

Volunteer work can be fun too! This is Yi (pronounced E) who is a new volunteer down at the Akiyama Wellness Center. She has never carved a Halloween pumpkin before until today. I won a pumpkin at our last staff meeting and didn't have time to get it craved. Yi did a great job with a little coaching from some of our seniors.

learning how to pull out the gut from a pumpkin

2011-10-30T12:15:00.000-07:00

Today was a very productive and lucky day for me. This is the last weekend before our house goes on the market.

I made what I hope is the last run to the dump.
Got the last Beckmann's Strawberry Olallieberry pie at the farmer's market. It's the best pie around and one of my Dad's favorites. I thought they would only have pumpkin and pecan like last week so I was super thrilled when I saw it.
The Hope charity truck was open so I could drop off all the clothes that are now to big for me. I decided last night it would be foolish to pack clothes that don't fit anymore.
Can't have pie without high fat ice cream. I really wanted to get my Dad's favorite Haagen Dazs ice cream to go along with his pie. Almost gave up finding White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle. In my need to keep things in order, I started putting the ice cream back in their proper places when waaaaay in the back was the last of the raspberry ice cream. Happy dance down the ice cream aisle.
I was lucky all morning, so I picked up a lottery ticket. Stay tuned to see how that turns out. :)

Annie On Duty

2011-10-27T14:01:00.000-07:00

Annie on duty

Annie earned her keep this morning. I had her at work with me today (it would be a quiet day at the center) and she's getting to know the routine not to bark at everyone and not whine when I'm not in my office with her.
Today I had a strange man come in asking about some classes. Instinct told me he wasn't interested in classes at all but was scoping out the building and seeing how many people were here. One of the things program coordinators have to be good at is following their gut feelings and mine was telling me trouble ahead. He started down the hall toward our kitchen area and saw Annie behind the dog gates. He said "nice dog" and then turned around and left. Not sure what would have happened if Annie was not here, but luckily I did not have to find out.
Annie LOVES to come into work with me. She has tons of people to play with all day and best of all she is with mom 24/7. :) Another reason I love where I work.

Annie first full day at work

2011-10-25T20:23:00.000-07:00

This was Annie's first full day at work. She learned quickly that she didn't have to bark at everyone coming through the door. She also found out that if you roll a tennis ball across the counter at someone, they will roll it back to you. Several people knew she was coming in today so they stopped by to see her. All I can say is I have one tired pup on my hands. Along with the cats, Annie will be going to her new home in a few weeks. It's a foster situation while I try and find affordable housing that allows big dogs. If I can't, then she will be adopted by a very nice family. I try to enjoy all my time with Annie and live in the moment. It breaks my heart to have to let her go but at least I know I've found a good home for her.

Annie Free Day

2011-10-25T19:56:00.000-07:00

Annie Free Day

I was told Mr. Purrcy had a very relaxing "Annie free" day today. Annie had to go into work with me while a super good friend cleaned and polished my hardwood floors. She did a great job but it was so sad at the same time. I have such a beautiful house that we remodeled thinking we would retire here. If you look on the bright side, at least I got to remodel a house with everything that I would want at least once in my life. The other sad note is with the sale of the house only weeks away Mr Purrcy and Miss Squeak will be going to their new home. My soon to be ex said he would take them but he again waited too long to find a place to live and it's very hard to rent a place with animals. Again on the bright side I found a wonderful cat person who will take both my little fur babies in.

Cup of Kindness

2011-10-23T20:11:00.000-07:00

It's been a stressful past few months. Lots of changes and things to take care of when getting divorced especially when you have non fine print soon to be ex. The amount of paperwork that has to be done and the work of getting my house ready to sell is at times overwhelming. Some times I just have to leave the house to find some peace and quiet. Get away from the negative energy vibes. On Saturday morning I went to a new coffee shop to work on some paperwork when a very nice young man a head of me turned around and said "your coffee is on me". That small random act of kindness lifted my spirits to no end.
I also have a great group of friends who have pitched in day and night to help me. From making endless trips to Goodwill, helping load and unload truck loads of stuff, help clear out the house, cleaning up and just being there for me. So looking forward to selling the house and getting to move on to my new life!

Creative Juices Flowing Again

2011-10-20T14:39:00.000-07:00

One of the things that I love about my job at the Akiyama Wellness Center is finding the hiding talents of my volunteers and getting a undeveloped project finished in record time. I found out that Erin (one of the massage therapist) has excellent printing skills. I had her write the quotes and notes from our stress and depression workshop last weekend on the chalk boards that were donated to the YAK. The project turned out better than I thought. Wish I took some before picture of the conference room so you could see how it looked before.

Akiyama Cookies

2011-10-13T15:15:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons why the Akiyama Wellness Center is so popluar. Super crispy cookies and they freeze well too!

Emily Ando’s Cookie Recipe

2 cubes better (no substitutes)
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup oil
1 egg
1 cup oatmeal
2 tsp vanilla
3 ½ cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup Rice Krispies
1 cup angel flakes coconut
Emily does not use coconut, she adds dried fruit (blueberries are a favorite), M&M’s or whatever is handy and sounds good.

Blend together butter, sugar, brown sugar; add oil, egg and vanilla. Add flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Add oatmeal Rice Krispies and coconut. Put in refrigerator for several hours to get good and cold. Very lightly coat cookie sheets.
Form dough into balls. Press with fork. Bake 10 minutes at 375°. Take out and let rest on pan to set. Turn pan over and run cold water on back. Never put dough on hot pan. Makes 11 dozen

Ghandi's 7 dangers to Human Virtue

2011-10-13T13:00:00.000-07:00

Dalai Lama

2011-10-11T12:13:00.000-07:00

One of these days I will meet this man.

Wonder what I will say when I do?

MLS master bedroom

2011-10-08T20:03:00.000-07:00

Not much to show in my master bedroom. I love the colors and texture. Didn't know how to get a picture of the closet and bed so I just settled for the bed. I'm not one for a lot of pillows on the bed so I had to borrow some from a neighbor.

My cleaned up family room

2011-10-08T19:59:00.000-07:00

This is my family room all cleaned up. Staging it for the MLS listings. It's so sterile looking now that all the funny stuff has been sold off. Use to be a very comfy room way back when. Loved my dark pink leather sofa. I know it sounds weird but it did look good. :)

MLS Kitchen photos

2011-10-03T20:59:00.000-07:00

Big thanks to Debbie for coming over and helping me clean up my kitchen tonight. I'm really sad that I have to sell my house. The kitchen has always been my favorite. Had to get it ready for the MLS photos. Will tackle the master bed room and bathroom next. Then move on to the bonus room. It's tough moving around in the leg brace. I'm so lucky to have hard working friends willing to help out.

Another Day Checked Off

2011-10-02T20:33:00.000-07:00

Big thank you for all my friends who are helping me through this very painful time. Thankful for the great neighbors who let me come over when I need a good cry or listen to my rants when I need to vent. It's hard to stay focused but with my family and friends by my side, I know I can see it through to the end and be in a much better place.

wishing jars

2011-09-28T19:39:00.000-07:00

If you've seen my office and didn't know me, you would think it was a gift shop. It's not your metal file cabinet kinda of place. I like to have things around me that inspire, make you smile and some what functional.
It's been a super bad month for me and as they say it can only get better. Working on getting the house for sale and dealing with all the legal matters with my soon to be ex husband, it's taking is toll. I decide to make some wish jars at work. I write on a slip of paper a wish and add it to the jar. Guess it's like the law of attraction. First up on the wish list is to find a place for both Annie and I to live. Would like to find someplace close to a park so I can keep running her everyday. So I'm putting the call out there to anyone who has any leads. I don't really have to wish for my house to sell, since we live in a area people want to buy a home because of the school district. I'm very sad to lose my house. When we remodeled it ten years ago, we did everything we would want for when we retired. Love everything about my house. Maybe I should wish for my next house to be on the beach. :)

Annie's Cone of Shame

2011-09-23T07:55:00.000-07:00

Annie with her cone of shame. I took Annie in to the vet yesterday for a sore paw. At first the Dr thought is was a torn de-claw but after putting Annie under he found out she had a small puncture wound that had gotten infected. Drained a lot of gross stuff and put her on some strong drugs. She's not handling the cone very well. With the hot weather it can't be making it any easier.
If anyone knows a good way to get this black cloud hanging over me to leave? Please let me know. Totally up for a burning man ceremony or white sage sweep of the house. Enough is enough already!

Present form Annie

2011-09-20T17:50:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you play with the big dogs. Last night Annie and her fur buddy Tasha slammed into the side of my knee. That's 150 pounds of mass hitting my knee. There is a 75% torn muscle. Since I still have to walk Annie it was decided I should wear a brace for the next 4-6 weeks. One to help speed the recovery time and two prevent more damage. So not only do I have to wear the brace but I have to go out and buy some skirts to fit over the brace. Clothes shopping is not a favorite past time for me.

Another Stressful Week Off the Calendar

2011-09-18T19:34:00.000-07:00

Gross tasting natto soy beans

It's been another very stressful week and I'm glad it's over. Had a very full weekend getting things done on my every growing to do list.
1) Went to my first ever quilt show.
2) Had "In and Out" burger, my first big meal in two weeks.
3) Sushi dinner with my daughter who made me try natto (fermented soy beans) which is nasty but suppose to be good for you.
4) Saw the last Harry Potter movie. Didn't get all of it, since I didn't see part one. Fun eating ice cream during the movie
5) Cleaned up the driveway - three truck loads of junk hauled away
6) Another sushi dinner with my Dad and strawberry/berry pie (which is the best) for dessert
7) Went hiking in 90 degree heat. Felt good to sweat
8) Trimmed out all the bushes in the front yard and took out all the lavender bushes since I won't be keeping bees anymore
9) Went to the farmers market for my kettle corn fix.
Fingers crossed this coming week will be better.

Cup Envy

2011-09-07T20:03:00.000-07:00

Is there such a thing as "cup envy"? I would love to have these cups in my house. Have no idea where they can be found. I think this is a research challenge.

Quick Halloween Card

2011-09-07T06:30:00.000-07:00

Since I had my Copic air brush system up and running, I decided to start on my Halloween cards. Halloween is my very favorite holiday card making season. Not that I send out any, but I like making them. Maybe this year will be the year I get them mailed. Of course the way the post office is going, I may miss the boat again. It's hard to see in the photo but the ghost's eyes are shining silver. Memory Box stamp (basic masking) and Copic airbrushing. Vintage Quickutz ghost die that I airbrushed light blue.

Sympathy Card

2011-09-06T06:30:00.000-07:00

Another simple card for my card class down at the Akiyama Wellness Center on Friday. I CASE the card from a posting on Split Coast Stampers. I was going to use my Copic airbrush system but it uses way too much ink (well the seniors will use way too much ink) so I went with good old fashion sponging. My leaf punch is on it's last leg, so I will also punch out all the leaves for class. I did airbrush the leaf a little to tone down the shine of the Star Dreams cardstock. I will also be making a winter theme card with this layout. Will post as soon as I get my act together.

Alert Cookie Duty

2011-09-05T14:53:00.000-07:00

Annie is on high alert guarding the ovens. Her homemade doggie treats are baking and she wants to make sure nothing goes wrong. It's been a busy few days for Annie. She's had to break up a cat fight this morning (4:00 am), at least I hope it was a cat fight. Make sure the yard was secure before coming back in. We've had some coyotes in the area killing cats, so it's always alarming when you hear a cat scream then silence. At the park this morning she had to discipline a rat dog who thought it was OK to nip at big dogs legs. Annie has put up with this dog for several days but this morning she had enough. I was right there when Annie pinned M to the ground. There was a lot of screaming from M but no one was hurt. I think he's learned it's not a good thing to mess with the big dogs. Lucky for him Annie is a catch and release kinda of dog.

Labor Day - Domestic Diva

2011-09-05T12:31:00.000-07:00

Yes it's domestic diva day for me. It's a holiday but I had to decided if I should go into work to catch up on all the paperwork sitting on my desk or clean house. My house has be looking a little "rustic" since I've gone back to work full time and Annie's been out of her homemade doggie treats for months. The house won out. Guess I must be old school because a clean house with good smells coming from the kitchen (2 pounds of bacon cooking)reminds me of my mom and home. Doggie treats are waiting for the bacon grease then into the oven they go. Making a double batch for Annie's pack buddies.

Memory Box Acorn

2011-09-04T20:59:00.000-07:00

Thought the new Memory Box acorn die was cute and would make a simple card for the ladies down at the Senior Center. It's a good card when you forget a birthday or did something silly. Of course working for a non-profit we are always running around like squirrels on crack. It's amazing how many things we juggle in one day without dropping too many balls. :)

Card for this Friday

2011-09-04T10:38:00.000-07:00

This will be one of the cards the ladies down at the Senior Center will make on Friday. I got the idea from one of the card making magazines. It's pretty simple but it does have lots of parts. Scallop punch, sponges, ink, Memory Box tree die, mini stamp, ribbon.

Kitty Tote and Tag A Long Purse

2011-09-03T16:24:00.000-07:00

So last week I went on a creative R&R trip with my crafting buddy Patty. We went to check out a fabric store and small craft fair. The fabric store had some fun prints and knowing Patty can sew, I asked if she would make me an over sized tote and a over the shoulder purse when I only want to carry my wallet and cell phone. Of course I picked out some fun cat fabric. Patty did a great job! While we were having our breakfast meeting Patty asked about what I wanted done with the extra fabric. I love the big tote design so much I asked for another one. The scary cat will be made into to i-pad envelope for my up coming i-pad project. Poor Patty had to listen to a very long and bubble thinking (I think in bubbles, some people call it creative thinking, some call it just crazy)reason on why I wanted a cover for a i-pad I don't have yet.

Apple Cozies

2011-08-28T19:34:00.000-07:00

Today was an R&R day. It's been non stop packing stuff up, moving boxes and furniture. Patty (one of my good buddies who helped with all the moving) took me over the hill (Santa Cruz) to visit a way cool fabric store called Hart's. I don't sew well but I'm always up for a new shopping opportunity and of course a reason to eat at Gayle's. There was a craft show at the fabric store with handmade esty stuff. I just cracked up when I saw this Apple Cozie. In theory it's suppose to keep your apple from getting bruised while you carry it in your purse. I think it's so funny that I'm going to see if I can talk any of the knitting club ladies at the Wellness Center into making some.
It was a fun day with nothing really planned but to get creative and eat. :) Thanks Patty!!!!

Comfort food for a stressful week.

2011-08-28T17:51:00.000-07:00

Anahole Cookies from Gayle's

It's been a stressful week and comfort food is always good.
I had to closed down my booth at Cottage Crafts, which was sad but something I had to do. Working full time I don't have time to go to all the auctions. I just can't keep it stocked with

Berry Pie

cool stuff. Two of my buddies (thank you Debbie and Patty) helped me pack up, load up the truck and unload everything at my house. I could not have done it without them help. Now it's the slow process of going through everything and deciding what to keep and take to my booth at Cranberry Hill. On top of all this I'm also remodeling my office now that I'm officially a permanent employee. I've been waiting for the green light to change things around. It was a very stuffy sterile office. Hope to have it done by the end of the week and make it my own space. I didn't take before photos but I will post when I get it all done.

Rando's Fried Rice

2011-08-22T20:59:00.000-07:00

One of the interesting things about working for the Yu Ai Kai is how many of the guys are good cooks. One time I had a ton of uncooked food left over from an event. I called over to the other building and asked if there was anyone who could cook it. Well, three guys came over and looked at everything and just started cooking. It was amazing what they came up with even with the limit supplies I have in the AWC kitchen. Rando (real name is Randy) always makes super good stuff. For my going away/welcome aboard breakfast he made fried rice, which is so good we are lobbying hard for him to make it every Friday. Here's his recipe (you know any recipes good when it starts with "fry bacon")
Fry bacon – set aside. Fry Spam – add teriyaki sauce. Cook until absorbed into Spam. Dice up Spam – set aside. Teriyaki sauce: place equal amounts of soyu, sugar, sake and approximately 1/8 tsp of ground ginger or ginger powder in sauce pan. Heat until sugar melts and sake gets cooked.
Let cool and adjust to taste. Store leftover sauce in an airtight jar in the frig.
Place approximately 1-2 Tbsp of oil in heated wok (or similar pan) and coat sides. Medium-low heat, add the day old rice and add soyu. Mix until even brown color. Once heated up, reduce heat add defrosted frozen mixed veggies, add to rice and mix. Sprinkle approximately 4- 6 Tbsp of Mirin, mix. Taste check and adjust with soyu, Mirin.
Crumble bacon, diced up Spam and mix in. Taste check again.
Forgot the last step: scramble 2 eggs and fold in.

"The Help" Movie

2011-08-19T07:59:00.000-07:00

Had a great "girls night out" last night! Went to see "The Help" which is a great movie. I read the book three years ago (which I liked) and was looking forward to seeing the movie. Of course the book was better but the movie wasn't bad with the limited amount of time they had to develop the characters.
Down at the YAK (Yu Ai Kai) we have some great volunteers. We have two men who are so good, we now have code words for them - "boy toy". The word has gotten out in the non-profit world about how hard these guys work or about the complicated projects they take on. We can't use their names in public anymore for fear of someone poaching them. We are all about sharing but we like to make sure they are not over whelmed with requests for their volunteer services. We take good care of our boy toys. :)

Peach Sake

2011-08-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

I'm not much of a drinker but I do like sweet things. Working down in Japan town drinking sake is just something that happens at all important events. Toasting with sake is a tradition.
I have some bottles of peach sake hanging out at my house so when the neighbor across the street gave me a bag of mini peaches, thought I would combine the two. It turned out better than I thought. Really I could drink peach juice and be happy. Peaches infused with peach sake make a super summer time cocktail.

Chocolate

2011-08-13T07:43:00.000-07:00

Chocolate makes everything right!

I was having a bad week at work. Tons of stuff that just stresses you out. I have some great co-workers and on Friday they dropped off a box of See's chocolates as a little pick me up. Since I'm in a different building from the other staff most of our communication is by emails. When they plan to come over to my building they call to make sure I'm there and ask if I need anything from the YAK building. When I say "chocolate" they know it's been a rough day. It was very thoughtful of them to feed me chocolate. :)

Quick Sympathy Card

2011-08-11T07:53:00.000-07:00

I've had this Stampin Up set for awhile and I finally unearthed it on my studio table. It was buried under piles of paper and punches. Any paper crafter knows what I'm talking about. I think today is a first for me - I have all the cards done for my class down at the Senior Center. It's been a while since I've had everything prepped this far ahead.

Birdhouse Stamp

2011-08-09T20:27:00.000-07:00

I got this stamp at one of the used rubber stamp sales. It's been floating around my work table for months now and I finally decide to use it. This will be one of the cards (3 -4) for my class down at the Akiyama Wellness Center. I wasn't too sure if I should use it for the ladies since it has a lot of fine lines and shading but I know they like a challenge.
I'm not sure why the photos of this card looks like a square when it's not. I don't think I have my camera set on "square" mode and I don't even know if you can do something like that. Hope someone knows the answer to this mystery.

Quick Card with Hero Arts Stamp

2011-08-08T21:25:00.000-07:00

This is another of the cards I will be doing for the ladies down at the Senior Center on Friday. It's a new stamp from Hero Arts. I wanted to do a modern art type of card, so I went with funky colors. I was going to add weird angles and shapes but then thought it would take to long to make in class. In the first draft I used a Stardust pen to add some shimmer but it just didn't look right so that one got tossed out. Yes, I do throw out a lot of samples. It takes several rounds to get something that looks nice but still be able to teach. That's one mistake new rubber stamp teachers make. They come up with great cards but when you have a classroom full of people it's hard to translate and teach.

Memory Box Tree Dies 2011

2011-08-07T16:05:00.000-07:00

This will be one of the cards I will be doing for the ladies down at the Akiyama Wellness Center this coming Friday. It's simple but requires a lot of tools. First there are two dies to make the tree (leaves and trunk) then you need a cutting machine (I used a Cuttlebug). To make the background I used my Copic airbrush machine and Copic pens. Glue pen, black ink and happy birthday stamp. I know the ladies will have a fun time with the airbrushing the background. I better stock up on ink refills for my Copic markers.

Mini Veggies

2011-08-05T07:45:00.000-07:00

Cherry Tomatoes and mini cukes

Took this photo with my cell phone so the picture is not as clear as I would like. One of my buddies (thank you Emily) drop off some mini cucumbers along with her world famous cookies. We had a discussion if they were small pickles, but her husband is 100% sure they are cucumbers. I had them for dinner last night along with some cherry tomatoes from my garden. What I like about these tiny cukes besides tasting good, is that they are the perfect size for just one person. I don't like to put half cut up anything back in the refrigerator. Since working down at the Senior Center I can see these being a popular veggie for those cooking for one.

Movie Night with Annie

2011-08-02T22:10:00.000-07:00

During the summer my neighborhood group hosts a movie night down at the park. It's a huge screen they spend all day setting up. I've taken Annie before but she's not much of a night time dog so every shadow makes her bark. This time a took her tennis balls and sat up on hill away from the screen. When Annie started to get barky I would throw a ball. I felt sorry for the guy who ran by me out of the shadows. Annie went German Shepherd and made sure he wasn't getting any where near me or her tennis balls. Yes, I take my dog to the movies.
There have been reports of coyotes and bob cats in our area. A few people have lost their cats to them. Annie has decided she wants to sleep outside. I thought maybe because it was cooler but now maybe because something in roaming around.

Great finds at the Buddhist Church Rummage Sale

2011-07-31T14:27:00.000-07:00

I've been on the look out for some nice coffee cups for the ladies down at the Akiyama Wellness Center. Every Tuesday morning a group of ladies(Coffee Club)come over to the center after their early morning workout class. I started serving them coffee in fine china (I have a huge stash from my auction house finds) but now the group has gotten so big, I don't have enough matching cups. Yes, I know I don't have to use matching cups but this is old school stuff.
I walked around the church rummage sale and there were several sets of nice china but I didn't need the dinner plates or bowls. On top of that, none of the sets were bigger than eight place settings. Finally I found 10 cups and 12 saucers. Two cups were missing,so I'm going to try and find them at the auction houses. Guess whoever donated the cups kept the plates.

The other super great find was 30+ sushi serving trays.It had to have been donated by a restaurant. AWC doesn't have a whole lot of extra cash but we finally agreed on $30.00, which was all I had in petty cash. I plan to use the trays for the next Sake San Jose event in 2012. If things go as planned, I will also using the trays for the upcoming culinary night fundraisers.

San Jose Buddhist Church Rummage Sale

2011-07-30T09:24:00.000-07:00

The San Jose Buddhist church rummage sale is today and if you have time you should stop on by. The entire gym is full of stuff and priced super cheap. I picked up this vintage (1950's) glass pitcher for .75 cents! I went to the sale to see if I could find anything for the Akiyama Wellness center. I will post again with the super great deal I got for the next Sake San Jose.

Mr Purrcy my metro cat

2011-07-27T23:15:00.000-07:00

Mr Purrcy is such a "metro" kinda of guy. He loves to be groomed. It's been a long time since he got a good brushing. His pile of fur was almost as big as he is. Annie barked the whole time I was brushing Purrcy. She hates to be brushed and I guess she feels the need to defend Purrcy. He just ignored the noise and rolled around making sure I didn't miss any spots.

From the Garden

2011-07-24T11:44:00.000-07:00

Today is a domestic diva day. Been on the run since 5:00 am. Little Miss Squeak has made it her business to wake up Annie who in turn makes it her business to wake me up. Went for a quick run with Annie then off to the airport to drop off some friends. Got home at 6:30 am and started to washed the car which lead to Annie getting a bath. One of Annie's favorite things is to attack any source of water. Decided to have a late breakfast with the tomatoes that are now ready in my garden and the bacon I always have on hand. Not sure what type of tomatoes these are since a friend gave me several seedlings without any label.
Almost done with ironing and wash, then off to clean up my studio. I would vacuum but that will set off Annie's auto alarm system and she will wake up everyone in a 10 mile radius.

No Tennis Ball Left Behind

2011-07-23T18:57:00.000-07:00

I walk A LOT at home and for work. When I run Annie, I don't have her bring the tennis balls back to me that I throw. Early on I realized that if I did that, I would be standing in the same spot for an hour and not get any exercise. So I throw the ball and Annie chases it,picks it up and then lays down and waits for me to throw the second ball. When the grass at the park is tall I can't always see where the balls land. I have to give Annie the command to "find the other ball". This morning I must have had that lost ball look on my face because Annie started the search without being given the command. When she tracks down the ball she will put it next to the other one. Such a smart little puppy. :)

What I love about my job

2011-07-23T08:37:00.000-07:00

Free physical therapy program for our seniors

One of the things that I love about my job is what we call "program development" and it's an on going process. When I first started the job one of the major goals was to get everyday of the week filled with programs for the seniors. Last week I reached that goal having full programs running Monday - Friday. The next goal is to starting filling in the evening time slots with programs for our local community. So tonight I will be doing what I call "field research". I would like to host a jazz night at the AWC serving just coffee and brownies along with jazz music. Bring in artists who play jazz on non traditional instruments, like the ukulele. Dolce Bella(my favorite chocolate spot) has a jazz and chocolate night on Saturday. I'm going to check it out and see if I can develop it something we can do down at the center. It's a tough job but someone has to do it. :)

Perks of the job at the Akiyama Wellness Center

2011-07-20T23:13:00.000-07:00

One of the many perks of working at the Akiyama Wellness Center is having the seniors bring in flowers from their gardens. I'm a big fan of fresh flowers and made sure one of the first things to have on hand were flowers vases. I saved some (OK a lot of empty sake bottles)from Sake San Jose. My pics from my cell phone don't really show the deep rich colors of the roses or how great they smell.

Lastest Project

2011-07-20T07:50:00.000-07:00

Full Circle Farms

It's been a busy last couple of weeks. Now that my center is booked solid Monday thur Friday (one major tasks on my to do list when I was hired) there isn't much down time. My home computer also got the blue screen of death and had to go into the shop. Got my computer back but my spell check is in French. I can't fix it from home and the computer guy wants me to bring everything back in. Really, can't he just walk me through it on the phone? I'm guessing there is a language issue. Tough to get off of work in time to get it down to the shop when Borhan is there, but I'm happy to have my computer back.
One of the projects I'm working on right now is setting up a community garden at the center. It's proving to be an uphill battle. I hope to team up with Full Circle Farms in Sunnyvale. There are many issues outside of our control since the property is still owned by the city. With all the budget cuts and staff layoffs, it hard to find anyone at the city who can help. Even if we raised the money to build the best senior garden in the country we may not be able to break ground.

Prototype invitation in the works

2011-07-10T08:02:00.000-07:00

Ginkgo leaves

I've been working on the invitation design for an upcoming donor appreciation event. It's a team effort with several people working on the project. A frog was picked be the theme for the card (has something to do with giving back or coming back in Japanese)and making one out of origami was requested. It took a few days to find a pattern easy enough to do(thank you Wen for finding pattern) but still look like a frog and not a cockroach.

prototype invitation

It's important to make the invitations look nice but not cost a lot since our big donors prefer the money they donate go to help support the senior services. I decided to use real ginkgo leaves(theme of our donor tree at the Akiyama Wellness Center)which I found out was not as easy for me to find. I do have some great friends and volunteers who found a ginkgo tree and dragged in several branches for me. I really like the green color but I know they won't stay that way. I will be spray painting them gold. The photo is the prototype I make when doing big jobs so everyone has some idea what it's going to look like. I also make a pencil sketch but most of the time it's all Greek showing it to a non card maker. The only thing on the prototype that won't change is the frog. The base card will be gold StarDreams, washi paper will be more ornate red (can't wait to go shopping for that) and the leaf will be gold unless I can figure out how to keep it dark green. Once all the parts are ready, everything goes to a group of volunteers who will assemble everything.
If you would like to receive one of the these invitations all you have to do is make a really BIG donation to the Yu Ai Kai. :)

Day to Day Stuff

2011-07-07T07:54:00.000-07:00

It's been a challenge working full time and also keeping my other two side business going. It's really showing in the bottom line that I have not been paying enough attention to my vintage/antique booths or greeting card racks. I do miss going to the auctions (bargain hunter withdraw) but I also enjoy my work down at the Senior Center. Just not enough hours in the day. I'm pushing to get out of the office at a reasonable time and be home with Annie too. I squeeze in my creative work when every I can but right now it's not so creative. I have to go for volume since I don't have the luxury to spend hours designing one card. For those of you who make cards you know what I mean. :)

Kimono Card - Michael Strong

2011-07-04T17:25:00.000-07:00

It's hot and Annie really wants to go to the park and chase her tennis balls. I know once we get there she will over heat and run for any shady spot she can find.
Working out in the studio waiting for it to cool down enough for our walk. I spent days looking for my Michael Strong kimono die. (Mike if you read this, remember I put the die in a CD case and filed it with your other stamps) and final found it buried under a stack of scrap paper. The background paper is from Hanko (no I did not air brush) and I used a Cuttlebug embossing folding. Makes a super fast card.

Miss Lisa the black widow spider

2011-07-03T16:56:00.000-07:00

One of the down sides to working 40+ hours a week is that I don't spend as much time with Annie anymore. Not that we do a whole lot other than chase tennis balls, but she does miss not having me home. Last night I was tired and the tennis made a bad bounce up over the chain link fence at the school. I'm not a good fence climber so Annie was very unhappy to be able to see her tennis ball but not get it. She even went and got a stick to see if I could use that get her ball. No really she went and got the stick for me to throw since we didn't have a tennis ball anymore.

Miss Lisa - Black Widow Spider

At work in the outside storage shed there is this SUPER BIG black widow spider. I mean steroid type big. Two volunteers who were moving bags of dirt (for my container gardening project)decided to name her "Miss Lisa". Really one volunteer thought it was funny to name her after me. I decided to keep Miss Lisa in place until the next time we have to clean out the shed. She's has volunteered to be door security (remember how to use volunteers post) and she will keep the shed insect free. I was trying to get a better photo of Miss Lisa's red hour glass belly which you can't miss when you open the shed door but I could only get so close her.

What super good boys get.

2011-07-03T16:35:00.000-07:00

I do have the best group of volunteers working down at the Akiyama Center. One of the skills a good volunteer coordinator has to have is to be able to find the passion or skill each volunteer has and how it can best be used for the organization. Many times, groups will try and stick a volunteer in a position they need filled without really seeing what skills the person has.
I'm lucky enough to have a volunteer who can and likes to handles numbers and spread sheets that would make most people go screaming into the hills. He also has a super sweet tooth, so I got him a box of the best handmade chocolates in town. This was just a little thank you for crunching the numbers I needed to get some projects passed by our board.

Perks of the Job

2011-07-03T07:50:00.000-07:00

One of the volunteers, Robin down at the Akiyama Wellness Center brings in lunch on her volunteer day. She really likes to cook, which is a good thing since most of the time I don't have time to sit down and eat. Robin brings in lunch, heats it up at noon and has it waiting for me. Sadly it may be 3 hours before I can get to it but it's nice to know there's food in the house. She made some super basil pesto a few weeks ago and I just got around to using it. It was super good and I would have eaten all of it if I had more bread. I'm not a big pasta eater, too many carbs and too hard to eat when running around. I know bread isn't much better but I don't need a bowl to carry it around while I try to eat it.

Food - Something New

2011-06-26T07:35:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to the San Mateo Obon festival. I usually don't go to the summer festivals, too many people and you tend to over eat. I was meeting my art buddy Mike there to pick up some ginkgo leaves (for an up coming art project) since he was going to be there anyways.

They had something I've never seen or eaten before called "imagawayaki" which is like a thick pancake sandwich with sweet bean paste in the middle. Always in search of something new and different to do down at the Akiyama Wellness Center, I check into it. It's not bad but I'm not a big fan of pancakes but they were selling like hotcakes at the festival. So after taking photos and asking a million questions, I tracked down a used machine that I hope to be able to borrow. After a quick Internet search found out you can stuff it with almost anything. I'm thinking bacon, eggs and cheese. When I get the machine down to the center, I will put my great team of volunteers on the task of mastering the timing it takes to make these puppies.

Adventures with Annie

2011-06-25T09:06:00.000-07:00

the pose

Annie has not been a happy dog since I've gone back to work full time. Last night she went into full German Shepherd alert barking at something outside. She wanted her alpha male to go check it out but his human response was "what ever WAS out there isn't any more" which if you heard Annie barking at full throttle, that is a true statement. Annie would have none of it and made sure we got up to check out the backyard at 4:00 am. I'm guessing critters are coming into our yard to check out all the beeswax scraps with traces of honey clinging to them the alpha male of the house has all over the backyard. It took me over 30 minutes to calm her down. I was so tired that we didn't get to our morning walk until 6:30 am, an hour pass our normal time. This is a pose Annie will go into when she doesn't want to leave the park. She won't come to me but stand just out of reach. Notice her tennis ball which is never out of reach. It's always a stand off. I decided to take some pictures, which always gets Annie moving.

Grandpa's New Pet - Jerome Slider

2011-06-20T08:08:00.000-07:00

Last week hubby came home all excited about what he found. He ran up to show me a bucket with a huge slider turtle in it. Now after raising kids who are very outdoorsy, I'm use to being shown live critters in containers. Hubby said it was a birthday present for my Dad's 91th birthday. Many years ago,my folks rescued a turtle named Cherry. So my Dad has fond memories of turtles.
Jerome Slider (my daughter named him) lived in our extra bathtub and at the time we didn't know he need a full tub of water to eat. Poor guy was landed locked until this Sunday. No one wanted to release him in my Dad's backyard, so I took the bull by the horns and plucked him out of his bucket and sat him next to the fish pond. It must have only been minutes after I left he jumped into the pond, where he stayed for the rest of the day. Dad's happy to have a pet, Jerome is happy to be back in water,I'm happy to have my bathtub back - it's a good day. :)

Cards for the Senior Center Card Class

2011-06-19T09:19:00.000-07:00

Some of the quick cards the ladies made down at the Yu Ai Kai Senior Center. I still do a card making class for the ladies on Fridays at the Akiyama Wellness Center. It's a little tight on time, but the ladies look forward to the class and it does get me out to my very messy studio.

One of my regulars could not be there this past Friday, so she asked that I not make anything too cute. She didn't want to miss anything super creative. So, no Emily you didn't miss anything super great this past week. :)

Annie

2011-06-19T08:05:00.000-07:00

pick it up and throw it please

If you read my blog, you know I get up at sunrise to walk/run Annie. Without her morning and evening workout, I'm not sure I would have any furniture left in the house. I took Annie into the vet's on Saturday because she was limping and holding her left paw up. Vet said her knees and hips were fine (area of concern in German Shepherds)so best guess is she just strained her front legs. She does have a little cut on the pad of her left foot, so that could be the reason she is holding it up. The vet did tell me to keep her quiet, no tennis ball throwing or running around with her pack.
Annie is a smart dog and when she realized I wasn't going to be throwing her tennis balls, she went and found something I could toss. She was very insisted that I throw this piece of wood. It's hard to walk a 75 pound dog when a block of wood is being dropped in front of you every other step. :)

Controlled Chaos - Life working in a non-profit

2011-06-18T08:28:00.000-07:00

Controlled Chaos
"In chaos theory, control of chaos is based on the fact that any chaotic attractor contains an infinite number of unstable periodic orbits. Chaotic dynamics then consists of a motion where the system state moves in the neighborhood of one of these orbits for a while, then falls close to a different unstable periodic orbit where it remains for a limited time, and so forth. This results in a complicated and unpredictable wandering over longer periods of time."

I know there are those who believe people can't multi-task but then I know they have never worked for a non-profit group either.:) Running the Akiyama Wellness Center requires wearing many different hats all at the same time or what I like to call Controlled Chaos. Imagine planning and hosting several birthday parties, a wedding, conference, counseling sessions and writing a research paper all in the same day. From the moment we walk through the door we hit the floor running and it doesn't stop until we leave - in my case 12 hours later. All of the senior staff at the Yu Ai Kai carry a work load like this because we truly know we are making a difference in lives of the seniors we serve. Without the help from our volunteers, we would not be able to continue the great service and programs. I had to smile on Friday which was a super busy day, with 60+ people coming through the building for various treatments(free massages, medical Qi Gong)and classes along with taking in a furniture donations from a local bank. In the mist of all the chaos, my great band of volunteers were calming working on their tasks as they walked around the growing piles of bank donations. Even with all the chaos going on in the center, they never forgot to take the time to smile and greet the seniors.

Urban Container Gardening - part two

2011-06-16T19:36:00.000-07:00

One of my projects, Urban Container Gardening at the Akiyama Wellness Center is one step closer to happening! The plants have been sprouted and the containers are waiting for the dirt and compost to arrive. I selected a very Japanese theme for the gardens. Shabu Shabu (vegetables that you dip in boiling broth) and Tsukemono (pickling). I also plan to have some cooking classes to tie into the gardens. There is a pickling mash that can last forever. Some our past down from since they develop their own unique flavor. I think it would be fun to sample several families old style "Nuka" recipes.

Morning Walks with Annie

2011-06-16T19:21:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy week and it's always a surprise when the weekend rolls around. Now that I'm back to work full time, I have to get up even earlier (5:30) to walkAnnie. I pass some pretty amazing roses. My cell phone didn't capture the true color of this very red rose. Annie has a sore leg, so I'm not running her at all and let me tell you, she's not a happy puppy. She so looks forward to running full out after her tennis balls.I may have to take her to the vet's just to make sure it's nothing more than a pulled muscle.

House Cleaning Day

2011-06-10T07:41:00.000-07:00

Sharing a house with someone who doesn't think helping in keeping it clean is part of his world, it can get down right dirty. I know his mom taught him many things but cleaning house was never on the list. Today I've declared it National House Cleaning Day. Can't really call it a holiday but maybe it can passed for mental health day. It will be a marathon day so please wish me luck.

Bacon Maple Cupcakes

2011-06-09T20:56:00.000-07:00

This morning when I walked down to get my double chocolate mocha latte they had some new things in the case. If I hadn't eaten a whole pint of ice cream last night I would have given cupcake a try. Not that I'm a big bacon fan but it does look interesting.

Working Late

2011-06-09T20:46:00.000-07:00

So tonight I have to work late. It's a private party that booked at the Akiyama Wellness Center. They hired a private sushi chef to come in and roll while you wait. Not only is he rolling while you wait he will do special orders. His spicy crunchy tuna roll is really good.

"Hat Bee" card

2011-06-03T21:20:00.000-07:00

When I was making this card, nothing was working. Being super tired after a very long day at work, I decided to make an awning over the bee. Don't ask me why, I just did. The whole design process late at night goes out the door and silliness comes in.

Quick Card for Class

2011-06-03T21:17:00.000-07:00

A super fast card for my ladies down at the senior center. I only had a few hours to get four cards designed and prep for class. Amazing what you can done when under the gun.:)

Honey Extraction Class - June 5, 2011

2011-05-30T08:47:00.000-07:00

Doug Smith( Santa Clara Valley Bee Guild Member)will be teaching a hands on honey extraction class on Sunday, June 5, 2011 at the Akiyama Wellness Center in downtown San Jose.A $5.00 donation to the Akiyama Wellness Center(part of the Yu Ai Kai Senior Center)is requested.Call the Wellness Center to sign up.(408)753 -9283
Parking is free on Sunday
Akiyama Wellness Center
110 Jackson Street
(corner of Third and Jackson)
San Jose, CA 95112