July 22, 2015

This is going to be a picture heavy post, so I apologize for that right off.  
I know it has been awhile since I have been out here and for that I have no excuse other than - life.  It isn't always easy and it isn't always hard.  But it happens regardless.  
Let us start at where I left off and get to the present shall we?  
My dad passed away a few months ago.  

Dad.

We are still handling everything from that.  My mom passed away 5 years ago on the 18th of this month.  It has not been the easiest thing.  My mom loved Iris's and my dad loved purple and of course Iris's.  So this is a snippet of his house.

Dads house

He painted the entire thing himself, all the way around.  And it is beautiful.  We will get back to the Iris part later in the timeline.

A bit of TX while we were there:

A view from where we stayed in TX.

On the Highway in TX driving home.

It was horrid weather while we were there, raining every day.  When we left to drive home, (yes we drove straight home), it was raining and had snowed the night prior.  The drive home was not great.  It took us about 29 hours I believe.  We didn't stop to sleep except for 1 hour.  We switched off driving, 2 in each vehicle.  I can tell you right now, I will NEVER do that again.  

We had made plans to go to Wonder-Con about a year ago, so we went.  It was kind of nice to get my mind off of everything that was going on.  Here are a few pics of the Con.

DD dressed as Pearl from Steven Universe.

DD with someone dressed as the Dr.

DD dressed as Noodle from the Gorillaz.

 We had a great time and plan on going next year as well.  There were a lot of people and so many dressed up.  I would show you more, but oh my, I have a LOT of pictures.
While we were in the area, we went to Medieval Times.  If you haven't been, it is a great experience and they have them in a few areas throughout the US.  We went with friends who we have known for quite awhile.  DD's bff (that we went with), was given a flower by the knight we were routing for and DD was made Queen of the Tournament.  It was great fun had by all.  

DD after getting the Queen of the Tournament sash from the Red Knight.

The Red Knight!

DD's bff got a flower from the Red Knight.

 Again, I have so many pictures, but since this is a picture heavy post to begin with, I will just bore you with a few.  :)
Next was a company trip on a Hornblower cruise ship.  We had a great 3 hour trip on a tour of the SF bay.  Here are a few pics:

A view of the Port.

The CS team.

A view of Alcatraz.

My bff had asked me a few months prior if I wanted to go to a Kenny Chesney & Jason Aldean concert.  I am not a big country fan, but I do enjoy some.  So, we went to the first concert held at the new Levi Stadium in Santa Clara.  It was a great show and I had a wonderful time.  Here are a few pics:  (Oh and Jason Aldean - YUM!)

Jason Aldean - super yummy

Kenny Chesney

A bit of the crowd.

Jake Owen

Work had a "thank goodness the auditors are gone and we ended the year" getaway for a few departments.  We got to go to see an A's game.  Here are a couple pics.

Just win Baby!

It's baseball.

I am not a big baseball fan... I know, I know.  

Next up was the Ren Fair in Lake Tahoe.  Hubby, DD and I went for the weekend.  It was a great time.  I didn't get many pictures inside as I don't like to be that out of character, but here is a picture of the three of us that the lovely lady at our hotel took of us.  Also a picture from the hotel we stayed at.

Lake Tahoe

Me, Hubby and DD

Then we got to go to see DD's bff, (the one we went to Wonder-Con with), graduate high school.  She is on to college this coming fall.  We are so very proud of her.

Getting the diploma.

She is so beautiful.

Going back to the Iris's.  In honor of my mom and dad, I am in the process of having one of my tattoos covered up.  Here is the picture of before/after my first session.  4 1/2 hours in the chair.

From thumper to Iris's.

I have more done now, but I don't have an updated picture yet.  I will make sure to post one soon.  My next appointment, (should be the last), is at the end of August.  So far I love it!

A bit more on what is going on right now.  DD is taking a class 4 times a week with her bff, (not the one above), for art over the summer.  Here are a few of the things she has done.

Beach scene.

Starry Night

Steven Universe Shoes (she didn't have room for Steven).

Flowers in a vase.

Angel kitty!

These are just some of the things they have done in the class.  She has 5 more classes left and she is really enjoying them.  

Now, for what you probably came here for, my stitchy update on Ruh.  He is coming along nicely.  Page 20 is being worked on and getting done color by color.  Here is pages 1-19 complete.

Isn't he amazing?

Alrighty, I think that is it.  We have more fun adventures coming up shortly so I will share those with you after they happen.  It's been an interesting year, good and bad.

Oh!  One more thing I almost forgot!  I got my promotion at work and I am now lead in my group!  

Thanks for reading/looking.  I hope you all have a great day.
S.I.N.