October with the Kowals

10/27/09 (Tues)

Lewis & I went to the Loggins & Messina concert a couple wks ago. That was my 17th time seeing them live since the 70's. SEVENTEEN TIMES. Yes, I am a fan. Seven times in the front row. We were in the 9th row this time. Still a pretty good seat. They played all of their obscure, but great, songs. Songs that only the real fans would know. It was the most interesting concert because of that. I loved all of those songs. Have all of their albums (tapes, CDs, downloads......)

We went to a new Italian place for dinner before the concert. Well, new to us. It's in downtown Phx. We don't get down there often except for concerts. Lewis, of course, works down there though. Had this fresh fruit crepe for dessert. Wonderful!

When I worked at Fender Guitar, Loggins & Messina came in to sign autographs & meet everyone. That was 4 yrs ago, 1 day before my 50th birthday. I finally met my 70's idols. It was a great way to start my 50th birthday celebration.
(By the way, that birthday celebration went on for wks. The day after I met Kenny Loggins & Jimmy Messina, we flew to CA to spend 3 days at Disneyland, then got on a ship for a 7-day cruise. I got a new car, a new watch, concert tickets, cash, clothes, DVDs, lots of other stuff that I can't remember now. Best birthday ever!)

Went to brunch at Corte Bella with the Kowals this past Sun to celebrate Alex’s birthday, Sam’s birthday & Allan & Candy’s anniversary. When we got back to their house, Sparky was limping worse than ever. Lewis & I held her most of the day. When we went home, we gave her another anti-inflammatory. She doesn’t seem to be getting better. Her surgery went well last wk. The tumor was completely removed & she does not have cancer. But the ACL is not good. Poor baby. I'm carrying her everywhere now.

Here's the princess taking a nap. She sometimes sleeps with her paw in her mouth, like a baby sucking her thumb. She woke up when I took the picture.

"Why are you always taking my picture, mom?"

She has an appointment with the vet tomorrow so he can look at her again & then give us an estimate for surgery.

Sparking playing with her brother. Alex was holding her toy. Once she gets it from him, she tosses it up in the air & plays catch with herself. She is so amazing! She also stands up like this when she sees a dog on TV. She runs over to the screen & stands up on her 2 back legs. Sometimes she will bark at the TV dog.

Played Boggle with Lewis, Alex, Sam, & Madison until we went home. I LOVE BOGGLE.

Speaking of Madison, our niece, Alex & I waited in line last wk for the opening of the first retail Microsoft store in Scottsdale Fashion Square. We waited for 3 hrs, but there were people who had been there since the night before. The first 100 people in the door were given tickets (& backstage passes for autographs) to see Ashley Tisdale in concert later that night. She is a Disney person. Little girls like her. So Alex & I each got a few tickets & then drove to Chandler to give them to Madison. She could take friends that way. She called us later that night after the concert to let us know how it was.

Also, at the Microsoft store, the first 1000 people in the door got a gift bag that contained some pretty cool stuff. Gift cards for music downloads & $25 gift cards for any Microsoft product. I gave mine to Alex so he has $50 towards this new X-Box 360 game he's waiting for. Said it should be out soon. I think it's like $65, so he'd only have to come up with $15. Just looking at that figure, $65, I have to ask myself how did games get to be so expensive.

While we were waiting in line, the Microsoft people kept coming along the line giving out stuff. T-shirts, snacks, more snacks, water, coupons for free training sessions. I had my book & iPod with me. Alex had his Zune. We sat there for those 3 hrs, fully entertained. The time flew by. Great store, too!

The 4 of us in July, 2009, when Jan & family came from Virginia to visit.

We’ve been doing a little research on her torn ACL (in her back right knee). Looks like we’re going to go ahead with the surgery. The vet is supposed to call me today with another one of their exorbitant estimates. Lewis has been researching natural remedies online too. She takes a glucosamine every day, but that won't help when the ACL is torn.

Last Sat we went to Jack & Jonella’s house to visit. We took lunch & dinner. Lewis made everything. Nice seeing them again. We really miss them. They moved too far away. Jack doesn’t get around much now so they don’t do any driving.

Tonight is 80’s night at The Melting Pot. One of my favorite restaurants. All fondue. I love it. All the music tonight will be from the 80's. My favorite era of music. We are going to dress in 80’s clothes to get 50% off the chocolate fondue dessert. At first I wondered just what “80’s clothes” is. I think I still dress in 80’s clothes, but not really. It’s kind of Madonna-ish – lots of bangle bracelets, big hoop earrings, hair tied in ribbon things, tight jeans with heels, shoulder pads in sweaters. That kind of thing. I thought I had the right sweater for tonight, but I can’t find it. How do you lose a sweater? Haven't worn it in yrs but it has to be here somewhere. Thought I could dig one up at a consignment store. Maybe some bracelets too. But then I’d be spending more money on “80’s clothes” than if we just paid full price for the damn dessert. But it will be fun. So I’m going to look for more 80’s clothes in my closets. The way I hang onto things, I’m bound to find something appropriate. Either way, I LOVE The Melting Pot. I know my nephew, Adam does too.

Just got back from doing a mystery shop at Smoothie King. Boy, what a disaster that was. The poor clerk did absolutely everything wrong. Aside from being rude, she broke every rule on the guidelines list. I will have to do my report & email it to them today. When I got back to the car I pulled out my little digital recorder & went through the list & recorded my responses. There were just too many things to try to remember on the way home.

Alex’s final driving session is today. The driving guy will come to the house & take him away for 3 hrs. Lewis & I have been driving with him often, & he seems to be doing alright. Parking needs a little work, but I’m pretty happy with his progress.

Here is a link to one of my sites that you should check out. http://28059.powerbarclub.com/

Game night is coming up again. I'm making more chocolate chip banana mini muffins & chocolate chip pumpkin muffins. A batch or 2 will probably have craisins also. So go to my website & my Avon site & buy lots of stuff so I can keep buying bananas.

Alex's English teacher is here now. She will be here for a couple of hrs. When she leaves we may go to Arriba. Taco Tuesday!

And THIS is the reason those poor dinosaurs are not with us today......

Wishing you a fun & happy Halloween. Halloween is my favorite holiday. And not just because of the candy. I always decorate the whole house, inside & out. I'm actually running out of places to put decorations. I buy more every yr the day after Halloween at 75-90% off. I've got this really cool witch's cauldron that makes a mist in the front entryway of the house. It was $29 but I got it for $2.99 the day after Halloween a few yrs ago. What a great deal! I'm thinking of getting some spooky music for next yr.

Hugs,
Candace