Haboob in Peoria, Arizona

 Last night we had the pleasure of watching a Haboob roll in (a HUGE dust storm).  They are quite amazing actually and my photos did not do this one justice.  I was taking them from our back yard with my Droid, as Mark kept telling me to get inside.  Above is a view to the left.

 And this is a view from the right...

Okay, so now it is above us and after this pic I went inside, closed the arcadia door and the Haboob said hello in a big way.  After it left, we were blessed with an awesome loud, rolling thunderstorm with the works. At least it washed the dust away.

In light of the storm, we decided to watch the movie Twister.

Peace,

Rocki

My Sasha Girl

I know I've posted many pictures of all of my kids, both 2 and 4 legged, but I went down memory lane last night after posting a pic on Pinterest of the tiniest little pup.  It reminded me of how itsy bitsy Sasha was when we brought her home at 8 weeks old so thought I would share and post these as well. 

 Sasha always had (still does) to rest her chin on one of her million toys.  She's not spoiled, truly she's not.

We fell instantly in love with her, as with all our kids, but couldn't get over how tiny she was.  We even put a cat collar with a bell on her so that we could hear her - didn't want to step on her!

Here is my happy Sasha girl now.  I just love her smile - melts my heart.  Oh and if you are wondering, she is a Yorkie Maltese.

Happy Friday Everyone!

Rocki

Expansion

Paige Bradley titled "Expansion"



Came across this today and just had to blog it.  A beautiful piece of art that truly speaks to you.

Valentine's Day Water Heart!

I was brushing my teeth this morning, looked down and there was a water shaped heart!  I always see shapes in water drops...well, that's another story in itself.  Anyway, so I grabbed my Droid and snapped a pic before it went away. What makes this even more exciting (yes, water drops excite me) is what is today people?  VALENTINE'S DAY!

Okay, time to hit the studio, but just had to share this first.

♥ Rocki

Life is like riding a bicycle

You're never too old to find your balance.

♥ Rocki

Awesome Florida Bird...

These pictures are from our Florida trip last December. We visited again just this past August and I took more pictures. I have many cool shots that I would like to post - when I have time.

Anyway, just a real quickie here... I took these pictures when we were boating through the channel where my brother lives. I'm no photographer by any means. I took the above pic and then a couple moments later clicked again...

and got this AWESOME shot! It may be just me, but I really love how this picture came out- so cool!

Have great day!

Peace,

Rocki

Daughtry - VIP Part 2

The concert! I do apologize for the quality of the pics, but as mentioned previously I forgot my camera (too much excitement!) So these are all taken with my Droid - and shaking, er...rocking hands.

On the catwalk. We had floor seats and were in row 21 - AWEsome seats. Seats? Funny, but I don't recall ever sitting!

My man Steely! Totally rocks the guitar :)

Daughtry gettin' down and the crowd was screaming big time! I woke up the next morning with a very raspy voice. Not sure why exactly ;)

Throughout the concert there was some pretty cool & colorful flashing light effects that I wish I could have picked up more, but you get the idea.

Far part of the stage with more cool lights.

I did take a few pics of Cavo & Lifehouse when they were on, but they didn't turn out so well. Both of those bands rocked the house! Daughtry put on an EXCELLENT concert all around. Performance, singing, sound, looks... everything was right on!

Well, that's it. Concert is over. We had a total blast and yes, still smiling from meeting the guys and getting hugs! I have a TON of pics, but don't worry, this will be the last Daughtry post... for now ;)

Thanks Daughtry, you guys rock!

♥Rocki

Name That Cloud

I've been meaning to post some pictures from our Florida trip in December, but... So I'll be posting a few of my favorites here and there.

Yep, that goofy gal is me driving my brothers boat while he co-captains. We had a total blast on that trip! It was the middle of December and we experienced rain, cold, sunshine and beautiful warm days. We'll be heading back there again in August for a whole week and I get to drive a BIGGER boat then!!

Okay, so now to the Name That Cloud. I love clouds, especially ones that resemble real life. Take a good look at the below picture and DO NOT scroll down yet. Can you make out what it looks like? Give it a few minutes and it will hit you.

So while we were visiting, we pretty much stayed in and on the water. So many beautiful places and beaches. Now that Chris has a bigger boat with cabin (and the all important bathroom!) we can travel even further into the ocean! Oh and he's going to teach me to drive that boat as well, that we have nick-named after me. He didn't actually name the boat "Rocki", but just for fun he did.

Oh yes... the cloud. Any clues yet? I have a couple other fun cloud pictures that I took on our trip, but will only post one of them because the other one is... well... let's just say it's on the nasty side! But we all got a good laugh out of THAT one!

As mentioned in my previous post, we're pondering moving to Florida. This is no joke, we are seriously looking into it as Mark & I are ready for a change. However, there are many factors right now that we have to consider first.

Cloud? Well? Any thoughts? I would love to say that the winner gets a pot of gold or "one meeeeeelion dollars" or a free shopping spree in my shop, but how would I know that you didn't cheat and take a peak at the below picture, hmmmm? ;) Okay... the moment of truth. Last chance before I disclose what it is! I'll give hints along the way as you slowly scroll down:

- animal

- large

- mammal

- hates mice

- loves peanuts

- grey (or gray, whichever you prefer ;)

- trunk

- zoo

Got it now?

Yep, it's an elephant! Come on, you can see it too, it's not pink! I'll post the other one next week - the clean one that is!

Happy Day!

Rocki

Little Rocki

Yep. This is me - little Rocki in my favorite get-up, as so I'm told. I was a little tomboy through and through. Okay I still am, but I don't dress like that anymore - I don't wear diapers (no Depends jokes Laura! ;)

Before I go on, I planned on blogging yesterday, but due to a major cut in the Cox Cable fiber optic line, we had no Internet service for a very loooooong time. Needless to say when it came back up, many hours later, I was pretty busy elsewhere. Funny how much we depend on Internet now days (again Laura, try to control yourself ;)

So, today I thought I would just share some pictures of me a 'few' years ago. I love looking at the old picture albums - so many emotions from happy to sad are in those books. The black and white photos are so classic, they crack me up sometimes.



As you can tell I've never been much into fashion - I sort of make my own statement. Actually, I sort of look like Boy George here. Hmm, I do remember wearing a dress at this occasion. (Laura -*shakes finger*)

Awe there, see? I clean up nice now don't I? I truly remember the day of this picture. I wasn't much for dresses, but back then all little girls wore dresses, especially in school. In fact, I remember when we were FINally allowed to wear pants to school - I was SO happy. However, no jeans - they had to be a matching pant suit. Anyway, this dress was terribly itchy and I could hardly wait to take it off!

My dad! My buddy ol pal! Handsome little devil isn't he! This was taken at my grandmas house - I loved that front porch! Mom used to tell me that if I kept my hands inside that furry little thing that I would find a surprise inside. I never found anything. I wonder if that was her way of keeping me busy?

Wow - I SO remember this day! We moved from California to Arizona in July (we had lost our home in the big Sylmar quake the previous year, 1971, so guess it was time to move). Yes, we moved in the middle of 110 + degree weather, in 2 big U-Hall trucks pulling our other vehicles & no a/c. My brothers, David and Chris (doesn't he look happy?) rode with dad and we followed with little Laura (yep, that would be my little sis in mom's arms) screaming practically the entire way. Fun times. We lived in the motel for about 2 months before dad found a little house for us - the one on Seldon Lane, Laura.

Well that's it. Just a few memories to share with all my buddies. Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Hugs,

Rocki

Portable Mini Portfolio

Mark surprised me for Mother’s Day and bought me this cool digital photo keychain! (It was a total surprise because we had celebrated it on Saturday with some friends and I already received my gift). If you know me, you know how much I love photos, especially of my kids, Mark, family and friends. In fact, my house is full of pictures: walls, tables, albums, computer, fridge, shoe boxes, etc.

I don’t collect many ‘things’, but I admit that I do have a thing for unique photo frames. I’m pretty easy to buy for. Last year for my birthday my son Jason bought me a table top digital photo frame that is perfect when doing craft shows and events. You can showcase your work, studio, work in progress, etc., all at your table. Most people are drawn towards animation and that makes this one the perfect ticket item for your table – instant crowd!

Oh, back to the keychain. Mark knows that I’m not big on expensive items and am a frugal shopper. So, after he told me how much it was, I told him that I have to share this with my friends! There is a big variety of photo keychains to select from ranging in price from around $13 - $50, with the average price around $24 or so. There are different shapes (even hearts), sizes, colors, etc. This one holds 60 pictures and is super easy to download from your computer – I mean SUPER easy.

After downloading some pictures I had an idea. Now I know this isn’t a new invention and I’m sure others are probably doing it, but I wanted to share my idea all the same...

This would make a fabulous portable mini portfolio! It’s kind of awkward to carry around a portfolio and/or your creations while hiking through the zoo, jogging through the park, grocery shopping with the kids, and so on. But with this handy little gadget you can download your work, clip it right to your purse, jogging shorts or baby’s pacifier (well, scratch that one) and have it ready to show in a flash! When you hand out a business card you can give them a little taste of what you do, right there on the spot! This could make them visit your shop sooner than later. You know what they say: ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’.

I think I’m going to treat myself to a belated Mother’s Day gift and pick up another photo keychain. This way I can have one for my family & friends, and the other one for my mini portfolio.

Make sure to have plenty of business cards on hand!

Happy Monday everyone!

☼ Rocki

p.s. I think I'm going to embellish my keychain a little and add a few rocks n beads ;)