Sunday, March 29, 2009

MHC Women's Retreat... the arrival and prep...

On March 13th I packed up my car and headed "up the mountain" to Oakbridge Retreat Center... it's several miles outside of Ramona, on your way to Julian

I had been put "in charge" of decorations and so my car was packed with 13 tablecloths, 1 wine barrel, 1 side table, 8 grape garlands, 1 tool kit, 1 large banner for the stage, 4 changes of clothes, 1 toothbrush and other toiletries, a speaking outline, 2 Trader Joe's dark chocolate bars, my camera and most importantly ear plugs for all my roomies (since apparently I snore at night).




After some hustle and sweat we had all the decorations done. Thanks to Flo and Lyn for helping at crunch time! I couldn't have done it without you girls! We put up stage decorations and got our 15 tables ready before all the participants arrived for registration. Then we went and relaxed a bit...






This 9 foot tall banner was along the back wall of the main stage. Where did we get that banner, you may ask? Well, you may recognize the picture... yours truly was the photographer. And Partner Signs did the printing for us - thanks guys! You rock! What a beautiful banner in real life... this photo does not do it justice.



A huge shout out to Sun Fresh Vineyards - they let us use one of their empty wine barrels for the weekend! It added such ambience to the main stage... it just made me long for a glass of wine during most of the talks! HA! Nice focus, eh?!


More to follow on the beauty of the retreat site - as it continues to recover from one of the recent wildfires. Also more to follow on some of the connecting we did... you know what happens when you get 115 women staying up late at night? Well, I may never tell... what happened at Oakbridge, stays at Oakbridge. But I'll post some pics later! HA!

Saturday, March 28, 2009

The First Decade...






Well, I'd have to say I think my parents make cute kids. Yes, yes... they certainly do!

Don't you just love the technology of photo scanners?! I get to share how cute I used to be... I just love this opportunity!


Oldies... but goodies!





Anyone else feel like they jumped out of a time machine?! Oh wow... check out these old pics!!! The black and white image was taken around 1980 or 1981. I can't find any words ... except, look at the handsome family!

The second image, the very colorful picture, was taken about ten years later. I think that was in 1991 or so. And I very clearly remember Mom and I trying to find matching outfits. Oh my...

The last picture is stamped 1997. I believe this picture was taken for Mom and Dad's 25th anniversary. Wow... what a handsome family!
Hmmm.... what other good pics can I find out there?


Friday, January 30, 2009

Master bedroom makeover

It was time... the colors of the red/tan themed bedroom was HOT for our first five years of marriage. But, I've been ready for a change for a while (not the hubby of 5 years - just the colors). So here are some images of the room BEFORE... (a big shot out to Debbie for helping me paint way back then... and specifically for painting red paint on my ceiling... love your personal signature to my project)






And now AFTER...





I love the new colors... this room will get a few more decorative pillows and maybe a throw for the end of the bed. But the theme is running through the house - declutter. That I know how to do... KEEPING it that way over time is the hard part.

So, instead of continuing to surf the internet... I'm going to go put laundry in it's place instead of on the floor at the end of the bed.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Kitchen - progress and ALMOST done...

So this is what we started with. About 8 years ago I painted the kitchen this BEAUTIFUL color... I call the color "Baked Bean Red". Although I'm sure the paint company had a more appealing name for it at the time. This paint was actually leftover "oops" paint that I bought for a church project. And there was just enough paint left to roll a coat on my kitchen walls. I remember this being so drastic at the time... and many people have commented over the years how this color was so ODD for a kitchen color. But it was perfect for me.

Here's two different angles ... I'm sure the first thing you've noticed is how CLUTTERED everything is. (It took just about everything in me not to tidy up before I took these pics.) But I really truly wanted these pics to be good "before and after" pics... so I didn't touch anything...




And then the next step was cleaning out the cabinets, off the counters and removing everything. Our contractor removed the doors and painted them along w/ the cabinets. It's kinda difficult to see in these pics - but the color of the cabinets is very similar to what it was before. In fact, so close that you can't really see a difference between the old color on the ceiling and the new color on the cabinets. Worked out perfectly...

Mr. Contractor then put new handles and drawer pulls on. Among other odds/ends projects in this room, he tweaked on some of the drawers so that they move easier and then he put everything back in place... except for my plates, dishes, pots/pans and pantry food. He, of course, left that for me to do... oh joy! I took the time to take the contact paper off of the shelves... and purged some old items at the same time! I LOVE clean sweeping! What a project! I did get a few nights "off" from cooking that week... and that was rather nice!




Then it was my turn to get my hands dirty... I stripped down the once-lovely and rather trendy border paper. I took the time to take the contact paper off of the shelves... and purged some old items at the same time! I LOVE clean sweeping! What a project! I did get a few nights "off" from cooking that week... and that was rather nice! A few months wen tby... and I finally got to my painting part. The new color is called "Camel". It's two colors darker on the paint chip than the cabinets were. A perfect neutral color... and now a kitchen with a lot less clutter!




Next? I decide what art to put on the walls and where. And then maybe I'll mop the floor... what do you think?!

Monday, January 19, 2009

Days off are a gift from God!

Seriously - I would have slept in if my internal clock would have let me. But I guess getting up at 5:30 am IS sleeping in when I'm usually walking in the door at work around the same time... so, no, I'm not complaining.

I got right to work updating my new wonderful Facebook-ness. (And saying "adios" to the OTHER networking site... sorry Tom - I just wasn't that into you!)

Then I went to get my neck adjusted... and then went to visit my boyfriend, well Michael is actually a craft store... but in my circle of friends we call him our boyfriend since we spend so much time hanging out with him. ;-) I love all the coupons I get to use - it's almost like 'going dutch'.

Made another stop, I think... then came home to multi-task with various projects at home. The hallway has a fresh coat of paint on it... now it's time to make my mini-gallery. I've already got quite a few black/white prints framed... they've just not been loved very much. So today will be dusting off the frames and washing the glass and ... do you think I can talk DH into helping me hang them? Or should I do it myself?! Hmm... cleaned out the craft room and put stuff in 'give away' boxes and 'to sell' boxes. I think there were other miscellaneous houskeeping projects happening simultaneously... all I know was that I must have logged back on to FB every 15 min or so for about 4 hours! HA! Hmm... focus much?!

In just a little bit I'm going to meet a friend from high school for coffee - Sharon... I'm sure we'll laugh and snort and I already warned her that if we get laughing too hard I might spew coffee. (I've also been known to spray fluids through my nostrils from time to time... I'm not ashamed.)

After that? Coming back home to shred last year's filing junk... and maybe stalk some more unsuspecting individuals on Facebook. Who can blame me?! I have a lot friends to catch up with!

So I leave you with this pic today...




Monday, December 29, 2008

From one of my heroes...

Thank you to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice... in this interview she confirms what I've been hoping someone would say.

While President Bush has received some rather low ratings, ok dismal, but anyway - while he was highly criticized Ms. Rice confirms what I suspected. We'll eventually find out all the crap that's been throw his way that we just aren't privy to.There is a place to draw the line on the information you share to justify your decisions. Pres Bush can't share much - and rightfully so.

We don't want to have a President who puts all the details out on the table - just so we can confirm he's making the right decision. To dumb it down - we don't have the same top secret clearance. We want a President who can keep some things in confidence. We want a President who will think about the future of the American people - not just today and what would "feel" better.

I'm happy to hear from Ms. Rice that the leaders she has worked with, first hand, appreciate our President. That they still hold our country in high regard as they trust our President.I'm confident we will read more of these types of interview snippets over the next several years - which will serve the purpose of justifying some of Pres Bush's actions. He shouldn't have to do that himself.



Thursday, December 18, 2008

Another crazy "Lori story"...

For those of you who've known me for years this is just another story... but for those who haven't heard these crazy stories... this is just par for the course. I often have rather strange things happen in my world (like a homeless lady who was sleeping in the elevator in the parking garage at work. the door opened and she didn't move - i thought she was dead and i started screaming! she woke up MAD and she started chasing me through the parking garage!) ... well here is today’s crazy story … it has a good ending. But it all seemed very ominous as it was happening.



Yesterday morning driving to work I saw a tow truck parked on the side of the 56 freeway (on the opposite side of the freeway) with its hazard lights on and I could see there was someone sitting inside. But it looked like his head was hanging forward - like he was taking a nap in his truck at 5:30 am or something… I don't know what he was doing - but I noticed he was sitting there.

Then when I left work yesterday afternoon I saw a tow truck, with someone sitting in it, in the exact same place on the freeway - no movement inside the truck... with its hazard lights on, etc. At that point I was slightly concerned, if my phone was working, I would have called CHP and asked someone to check on the truck driver to make sure he was OK. But alas, my cell phone is very dead currently. (And I was hoping the truck driver wasn't dead also.)

So, fast forward to this morning - tow truck AGAIN in the same place on the freeway, with someone sitting in the cab, hazard lights on, etc.... and my heart started racing. Immediately I think to myself - "I HAVE to go check on him to see what's going on here. But I don't have a phone. If he's not responsive I'm going to have to flag someone else down to stop and hope they have a cell phone so we can call for help." In the meantime, I got off the freeway and back on to circle around and park behind him… I stopped with my lights on, lighting up the back of his truck.

My heart was racing.. And I was praying for this individual... and praying that I wouldn't find a dead person in the cab of the truck.

Keep in mind... it's 5:30 am and it's still dark outside. I walk up to the door, looking for any movement inside the truck, and all of a sudden a head pops out!

Thank goodness he was making eye contact with me or I would have freaked out for sure! OK – he's alive! I take a deep sigh and start laughing at him.... he looks confused. I explained to him the whole drama that was unfolding in my creative imagination and we had a good laugh together on the side of the freezing cold freeway at 5:30 am. He thanked me for stopping...



No this wasn't a dream... this is just the world I live in…
As to WHY he was sitting there... looking back on it now, I don't think it was the same tow truck or same guy sitting there the entire time. Maybe it's just a place for tow companies to sit while they wait for service calls?! I don't know... then again, it could have been the same guy... I didn't ask. That's his business...


Monday, December 08, 2008

I love living in San Diego

San Diego = America's Finest City

These pictures should tell the story just fine... I was downtown to take some family pics and took some of these shots as we mosied about town. I just love this place...








Saturday, November 29, 2008

Thanksgiving '08

Thanksgiving was really cool this year... we had food (that was a given)... and we had a sing along (that was the "cool" part). Our "friends" Paul and Cheryl (really, it's my Uncle and Aunt - but they won't let us call them "uncle/aunt" because it makes them feel old) hosted dinner and we brought a few things... we had about 20 people there and a friend of theirs brought his guitar. We laughed, we ate, we sang... we had a good time. Thanks for hosting - we had an awesome time!















Sunday, November 23, 2008

"If Democracy Doesn't Work, Try Anarchy" - by Chuck Norris

THAT Chuck Norris?! Yes, THAT Chuck Norris. See more here ... wanted to share what he wrote. It's the message I've been wanting to share - but couldn't find the right words. Thanks buddy, Chuck... you're my hero. And I'm not talking about your movies...


If Democracy Doesn't Work, Try Anarchy
(11/18/2008 )

Protestors of Proposition 8 in California (the marriage amendment) shoved aside a 69-year-old woman who was bearing a cross. They reportedly spit on her and stomped on her cross. They then aligned themselves in a human barricade, blocking the media from getting to or interviewing the woman.

Prop. 8 supporter Jose Nunez, 37, was assaulted brutally while distributing yard signs to other supporters after church services at the St. Stanislaus Parish in Modesto.

Calvary Chapel Chino Hills was spray painted by vandals after they learned that the church served as an official collection point for Prop. 8 petitions.

Letters containing white powder (obviously mimicking anthrax) were sent to the Salt Lake City headquarters of the Mormon church and to a temple in Los Angeles. (Thankfully, the FBI said the substance was nontoxic.)

The 25-year artistic director of the California Musical Theatre, who also happens to be a Mormon, was muscled to resign because of his $1,000 donation to the campaign to ban gay marriage in California.

A pro-homosexual, pro-anarchy organization named Bash Back marched into the middle of a church service and flung fliers and condoms to the congregants. They also hung a banner from the balcony that featured two lesbians in provocative positions at the pulpit.

And lastly, the tolerance-preaching activists also have taken their anger to the blogosphere, where posts have planted ideas ranging from burning churches to storming the citadels of government until our society is forced to overturn Prop. 8. You even can find donor blacklists online. The lists include everyone who financially backed Prop. 8 -- even those who gave as little as $46 -- with the obvious objective that these individuals will be bantered and boycotted for doing so.

What's wrong with this picture? Lots.

First, there's the obvious inability of the minority to accept the will of the majority. Californians have spoken twice, through the elections in 2000 and 2008. Nearly every county across the state (including Los Angeles County) voted to amend the state constitution in favor of traditional marriage.

Nevertheless, bitter activists simply cannot accept the outcome as being truly reflective of the general public. So they have placed the brainwashing blame upon the crusading and misleading zealotry of those religious villains: the Catholics, evangelical Protestants, and especially Mormons, who allegedly are robbing the rights of American citizens by merely executing their right to vote and standing upon their moral convictions and traditional views.

What's surprising (or maybe not so) is that even though 70 percent of African-Americans voted in favor of Proposition 8, protests against black churches are virtually nonexistent. And everyone knows exactly why: Such actions would be viewed as racist. Yet these opponents of Prop. 8 can protest vehemently and shout obscenities in front of Mormon temples without ever being accused of religious bigotry. There's a clear double standard in our society. Where are the hate-crime cops when religious conservatives need them?

There were many of us who passionately opposed Obama, but you don't see us protesting in the streets or crying "unfair." Rather, we are submitting to a democratic process and now asking how we can support "our" president. Just because we don't like the election outcome doesn't give us the right to bully those who oppose us. In other words, if democracy doesn't tip our direction, we don't swing to anarchy. That would be like the Wild West, the resurrection of which seems to be happening in these postelection protests.

I agree with Prison Fellowship's founder, Chuck Colson, who wrote: "This is an outrage. What hypocrisy from those who spend all of their time preaching tolerance to the rest of us! How dare they threaten and attack political opponents? We live in a democratic country, not a banana republic ruled by thugs."

Regardless of one's opinion of Proposition 8, it is flat-out wrong and un-American to intimidate and harass individuals, churches and businesses that are guilty of nothing more than participating in the democratic process. Political protests are one thing, but when old-fashioned bullying techniques are used that restrict voting liberties and even prompt fear of safety, activists have crossed a line. There is a difference between respectfully advocating one's civil rights and demanding public endorsement of what many still consider to be unnatural sexual behavior through cruel coercion and repression tactics. One thing is for sure: The days of peaceful marches, such as those headed up by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., seem to be long gone.

The truth is that the great majority of Prop. 8 advocates are not bigots or hatemongers. They are American citizens who are following 5,000 years of human history and the belief of every major people and religion: Marriage is a sacred union between a man and a woman. Their pro-Prop. 8 votes weren't intended to deprive any group of its rights; they were safeguarding their honest convictions regarding the boundaries of marriage.

On Nov. 4, the pro-gay community obviously was flabbergasted that a state that generally leans left actually voted right when it came to holy matrimony. But that's exactly what happened; the majority of Californians -- red, yellow, black and white -- voted to define the margins of marriage as being between one man and one woman. California is the 30th state in our union to amend its constitution in doing so, joining Florida and Arizona in this election.

Like it or not, it's the law now. The people have spoken. "



Sunday, November 09, 2008

Words to the Wise...

Wow - I wish I would have seen this before. Not because I would have voted any differently ... but because I could have shared it with others as a challenge of why they just simply shouldn't have voted. To quote the friend who shared this, "I would never have thought there would be a video that more clearly illustrates my point that it's important to know who and what you're voting for."




Monday, October 27, 2008

Enraged with the liberal media...

I picked up my cell phone last Wednesday, a very busy day for me, and my brother asked "Hey look up this guy - Orson Scott Card. He's a democrat but he wrote an open letter to the liberal media that you've just got to read!"

So I made a mental note to self to check it out...

While I was reading his article I had the sudden urge to find a blow horn and go out on the patio and read it to the entire neighborhood. He really dealt a blow to the media who swear up and down that they are "just delivering the news". But his point is that they've lost all honor and are only showing one side of the truth.

Since then I've shared the article with many friends and asked them to pass it along. From my personal searches I cannot find any mainstream media willing to print this article on their websites. So I wonder if they have read it.

Then I just about jumped for joy when I saw this post on the Fox Forum about a Florida TV station which has been banned from the Obama campaign because of their direct questioning to Biden about his running mate's stance on the "spreading the wealth" topic. journalist Barbara West - you are my hero of the day!!! See the Biden interview here.

Biden's reaction to the Karl Marx question... classic!


Copyright

All images are © Lori Tisdale, 1990-2011 unless otherwise noted. Images are posted for your personal inspiration only and may not be copied/pasted into emails to share with anyone else, posted on other sites, copied for publications, contest submissions, or monetary gain. I'd have to track you down and who knows what would happen then?! Thank you for being considerate.