Dar-vah-lous

{INFAMY}

Having lived in Hawaii for six years I've had the opportunity to visit the USS Arizona Memorial many times, it's one of the saddest places I've every visited.  The first time I was with my mom, back in the days before You Tube and had never seen the video of the sinking before.  Sitting in the dark theater watching the footage of the destruction of Battleship Row is emotional enough but seeing and hearing the explosion of the Arizona for the first time is an experience that I will never forget.  It brought me to tears.  On the water taxi ride out to the memorial we sat next to an old Japanese woman who wept the whole way, another memory that has stuck with me over the years.  I have always wondered what had made her cry?  Did she lose a loved one in war?  The Memorial itself is very quiet, standing over the sunken ship with the wall of names of dead entomed below you leaves you humbled at the sacrifice those sailers made for their country. 

{SNOW DAY}

Some photos from yesterdays snow day, or "snow event" according to the good folks at the Weather Channel.  Gotta love that meterological lingo.  Yes, the snow is so pretty when its falling and its a great photo opportunity; however I think the white flakey stuff is highly over-rated.  Driving in it sucks and not so pretty when it starts melting.  Let alone when you have big dirty piles of it in parking lots and on the side of the road.  If it snows on Christmas Day that would be all festive and fun but as far Im concerned if we didn't see another "snow event" for the rest of the winter I would be a happy camper.

I have a bumper crop of purple iris's or the plant is completly confused about the current season.  Anyhow it was really pretty with the snow on it.  I still have a few yarrow, button flowers and roses blooming too.

{CHRISTMAS CREATIONS}

Some of my Christmas creations listed on Etsy! http://www.etsy.com/shop/Darvahlous

{THUMBTACK THIEF}

The Christmas Season and has started and I haven't blogged about Thanksgiving.  My pictures were less than spectacular, Katie made me put the camera down.  Despite no good pictures and lots of dishes it was a fabulous weekend with family.  Thanks Philip, Cody, Taylor, Mom, Ish, Kurt, Dalton, Patty, David, Tim, Katie and Will it was fun.  Lets do it again next year.

So I started the Christmas decorating this morning, was all in the spirit in the season only to have a string of lights out on my pre-lit tree.  After an hour messing with strand and not finding the problem the lights are still out, my holiday spirit went out the window and I thought about tossing the tree out the window too.  Indie saved the day with a bit of cuteness.  The cat loves thumbtacks.  I was putting the stuff on the window corkboard and he was trying to take the thumbtacks out of my hand.  So I  get everything up and he reaches up, paws at the thumbtack, then gets it in his mouth and pulls it out.  I grabbed the photo, tacked it back up and grabbed the camera in case he did it again.  He did and it was just as cute.  I put the photo back up with a tack he can't get in his mouth for safety reasons of course. Anyways I love my corkboard, christmas and the cat!

{HAVE YOU EVER}

'have you ever' meme.....

Copy, paste, and bold what you have done!

Have you ever.....

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Been to Key West, FL
4. Vacationed in Hawaii - Lived there for 6 years
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/Disney World (both for me)
8. Climbed a mountain (Mt Fuji, didn't make it to the top}
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo or played a solo
11. Bungee jumped - not it this lifetime
12. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Gone rollerskating (had pompoms on skates, I was to cool)
15. Adopted a child
16. Gambled in Vegas
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train (in Japan)
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Worked at a Cannery or Welfare Farm
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Played an instrument (flute)
32. Been on a cruise (a Med Cruise, Spain, France, Italy, Croatia and Greece)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community (dodged buggies) 
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Acted in a play or performed on stage (in elementary school)
38. Been to Italy (on a cruise, want to go back soon!)
39. Gone river rafting (in Michigan as a kid)

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David (a copy in Florence, not the original, close enough)
41. Sung karaoke (and thats a good thing, cant carry a tune in a bucket)
42. Seen ‘Old Faithful’ geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Water Skied (for about a second before I wiped out)
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted (a self portrait in art class and it was ugly)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Been to Japan ( lived there)
50. Rode a horse (a pony at Elizabeth Park as a kid)
51. Gone snorkeling (at Hunama Bay in Hawaii)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Sailed a boat (does a row boat count}

54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Surfed
57. Started a business (Darvahlous)
58. Visited the Great Wall of China
59. Lived in a foreign country (Japan)
60. Delivered Meals on Wheels or Served at a Soup Kitchen
61. Snow Mobile or Snow Skied
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Gone Ice Skating
67. Bounced a check…(to Peg, lol)
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar ( like ewwwwwwwwwwww)
72. Knit, Crocheted, Sewn, Quilted
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades (as a kid on a family vacation to Florida)
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (once, never been on a bike again!)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper or been on TV
86. Visited the White House
87. Been stung by a bee
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury (a civial trial in Hawaii)
91. Met someone famous ( said hello to Val Kilmer in the airport)
92. Joined a book club
93. Had to put someone you love in Hospice Care
94. Had a baby (2, Taylor and Cody) 
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98.  Eaten suishi (once, like ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!)
99. Won the Lottery
100. Read an entire book in one day

{THANKSGIVING PART 1}

Catching up again.  The weekend before last we went to Michigan for a pre-Thanksgiving feast at moms.  Yum, good food.  Got mom a new laptop and Phil got her all connected, she's gone hi-tech.  The weather was perfect and we had a wonderful time.  Check out these turkeys!

{GETAWAY}

Home from Getaway.  Sad it all went by so fast but happy to see the family.  Thank you Peg, Wendy, Kasey, Tracy, Lana, Stacy, Bonnie, Kim and Kelly for the good time.  You girls rock!!!!!  I got plenty of "exercise"!  Some of my favorite stuff: 

What do you mean you don't have EZ Pass!  Large curd cottage cheese!  We got a piper down!  A huge thicket of pubes!  Morman Wendy who doesn't want to hang out with Kim!  Is this BBQ supposed to be black!  C U at ic!  Bonnies driving (it wasn't that bad, really)!  Im getting exercise!  Topics not to be discussed at the next Getaway - hyperbaric chambers, lol!  Good times girls, good times.  Looking forward to next year!

{GETAWAY}

Finally!!!!!  Sun and fun in the Outer Banks.  Tomorrow we head to Nags Head for a long girlz weekend.... From last year....

{A WEEK LATER}

  Pictures from Philips birthday.  My two favorite guys, could they be any cuter. 

I have been so bad about updating for awhile now.  Its been cloudy, raining and cold this entire week, blah, a week of gray days.  The leaves are changing and falling off the trees like huge raindrops.  Had to turn on the heat and wear socks.   Time to put away the flipflops, goodbye summer, hello fall.

{HAPPY BIRTHDAY PHILIP}

Happy 47th Birthday to my favorite husband!  Hope your day is as special (ed) as you are!  Much Love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!