Mom And Shay's Day

Today was the awards assembly for Shay's school, and I was really glad I got to be there. He was given his Perfect Attendance for the whole year, which included a certificate, a bunch of freebies like free bowling for the summer (every darn day!) a free lunch at a couple of places, and his name was entered in a drawing for Sea World passes. He didn't win the passes, but it was thrilling all the same. There were only 14 kids at his school who got Perfect Attendance. Yay, Shay!
And then there were the surprise prizes. He was awarded for Citizenship and Sportsmanship. Whaaatttt??? Neither of us were expecting those.
To celebrate, we went to the K-Mart and got Shay a new Razor scooter. And then Payless (Why pay more?) for a new pair of skater shoes. Then Chili's for some lunch. We were going to do some more stuff but he decided he wanted to go to a friends's to try out the new scooter.
Here's a demo of the new scooter down at the skate park:


It apparently works ok.


But I had fun with the alien looking clouds, after all that hoopla. We had some strange winds whip up, and the result was some cloud formations that reminded me of my time on Alderon.




Pretty cool, eh?

Tomorrow morning I head out to Ensenada, Mexico, for the Baja races. I wish I could update the blog from there, but it is usually a miracle to find any kind of decent cell phone signal, let alone a wireless connection.

Wish me luck!!

I Just Gotta RIDE Man...

I had to stop running and hiking and walking a few weeks ago, because the little foot problem of mine flared up--as well as a new and improved case of tendonitis.
But I was hooked on the cardio workout. I started scouting for a good deal on a nice exercise bike, because I figured it would be the sensible choice for a gal who lives on the surface of the sun (yay, Arizona summers....) who wants to exercise without hurting her tootsies or having a heat stroke.
No luck with the exercise bikes. They're expensive, and I'm not willing to spend a big hunk of money on something that I may or may not like very much.

I decided to look around for a regular bike, to see if maybe that would be the answer. Bikes, it turns out, aren't that cheap, either. I was looking for something around $50, and everything was $100 and more. Thrift store!! Aha!!
I went to the Thrift Store and found a bunch of very nice bikes that needed a LOT of fixing. Broken gears, flat tires, broken chains, and on and on and on....

As I was leaving the Thrift Store I ran into one of Shay's friend's moms. I told her what I was looking for and she said, "Well, I have an old 1960's Beach Cruiser that I picked up for $20, you can have it!"


Whoa.




Shay and I painted the frame powder blue, and I polished all the chrome. I have a little rack that fits behind the seat, and I have it off right now while it's being polished.
Unfortunately the wheels are covered in rust, so I've emailed pictures to a friend of mine who is a self-proclaimed bike nut and he's going to tell me what to do about that.

So far, I've invested about $29 into the bike, which includes the new handle grips and the original-style peddles that I've ordered online. When I'm in between bike improvements, I'm peddling around at the airport getting my exercise. It's awesome!! I ride at the airport because the hills on the streets out there are way less steep than the ones at home, and there is no traffic to worry about. I just put the Bee Gees on my Ipod and start peddling.

I love my Beach Cruiser!!

It's a Living

When's the last time someone asked you to dress up as a pirate wench and dance all day, for $10 an hour? Well if you're me then it was the other day.
My friends started a promotional company several months ago, and I was kind of feeling a little insulted (but not really....I'm 35 years old and I should know better) because they didn't come to me IMMEDIATELY and say, "Oh gosh Shawna would you be one of our Havasu Hunnies?"
Well they've run thru their younger girls, and need some girls who are dependable and trustworthy to do some of their promotional work. I, being a person who has done nearly 15 years of promotional stuff, was an obvious choice. After they got really desperate, anyway. They ran into me at the store on Thursday and said, "Hey, can you work on Friday and Saturday for us?"
Hmmmm....let me think about it.....OKAY I WILL!!!!

Our assignment: dance on board a 2 story tiki bar that floats around on the lake. It is intended to promote a new resort that is up river, and it's called the Pirate Cove. Beautiful place, I've checked it out.
As I readied myself in the costume I was issued, I had to crack up because, being a good girl, I drank my protein shake and had all my vitamin supplements before I headed out the door. You'll notice the BIG cup I use for my protein shake:


The boat itself is a tiki masterpiece, the gods would be impressed.
The upstairs, where I spent most of my time, was beautiful:




Oh, of course there were poles for us to "hang onto"


Here I am pondering the likeability that I would be recognized by anyone from my "legitimate world..."


Interesting little scene: the production crew from the Pirahna 3D movie being filmed here had this stage built out on the water. No ideas at all what this is about. I suppose I will when the DVD comes out...


How many times do you see a Beech 18 on floats? Pretty much never. There's only two in the whole U.S. So we got to see one up close....


My sweetheart made his way back from Phoenix with the helicopter while we were out toiling away on the lake. He did a fly-by:

Bethany was saying "Hi!"

All in a day's work.

I'm Lucky

Yep, I'm lucky. I say lucky because this past year has been some amazing experiences, and my participation in them was not all my doing.
Local politicians, friends, some very helpful ladies with the Republican Women's Club, cancer fundraiser volunteers, and of course my sweetheart have a lot to do with how well things have been going for me.
Without all the help, I'd have never done some of the things I've done, I never would've met one of my long-time heroes, I'd still be just reading about others who do the stuff I want to do, and now I have a chance to do something even bigger--thanks to the help from some great people.
The local Republicans nominated and sponsored me to apply for some special training for "women in leadership" and I just received my letter congratulating me. I've been selected as a finalist and I interview for a spot in the program on June 17th in Phoenix. That's almost a four hour drive, quite a committment.

After I read my letter my eyes darted around (Like how Joey on "Friends" would call it--as if I were trying to do long division in my head) I realized that Brandy and R.J. would be flying into Phoenix that same day. Uh ohhhhh....
But, good news. The interview is at 3:30, and the girls land at the airport at 4:30. And the airport is 16 minutes away from where I'm interviewing. Yaahoooo! Talk about the stars falling right into place!!!! This is probably the first time in my life that the stars have been completely on my side.

The only time I had any luck in the past was considerably bad luck. I've starved, I've been homeless, I've been in incredible pain, I've worked my tail until I had no tail left at all, I've been the outcast, I've scrimped and saved, only to to be ripped off to the tune of many thousands of dollars, taken advantage of, fought off pure evil, I've had to constantly rise above the drama, and through it all I've always wondered what it would be like to have good luck instead of bad. Now that I've tasted it I WANT IT ALL THE TIME.

Could this be the end of the bad luck? Or is this a fluke? Am I jinxing myself by being so openly triumphant?????

The Dog Days of Summer

Sadie is one of my dog sitting regulars, and we exercise a LOT when we're together. Since it's now too hot to go for walks in the afternoon, I decided to bring her over for a swim. She liked it more than I thought!

Three Wolf Moon Shirt

This is probably some of the funniest stuff I've read in a while. Amazon claims that this shirt is one of their best sellers now, and the hundreds of positive reviews prove it!

Be sure to page all the way to the bottom and read the reviews. VERY FUNNY.

http://www.amazon.com/Three-T-Shirt-Available-Various-Sizes/dp/B000NZW3IY/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

I Am The Jewelry Maker

I love turquoise. LOOOOVE turquoise. But it's not cheap and I can never find a pendant that is just right. Then I went to our new Michael's store at the mall and located the aisle where there are loads of beads and pendants. I've never made jewelry before (except the Geek Bling, made from a Pentium Processor) so I decided to give it a shot.
Not too shabby. I will be wearing my new creation, along with the matching bracelet, today!