Perfect paint colors are in the eye of the contractor

We're starting to think about painting the house.

 

"Somewhere between a healthy Winesap and an unripened Jana."

"You got that, Charlie?"

That's Myrna Loy playing the homeowner with a vivid imagination. She's married to a character played by Cary Grant in Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, made in 1948.

This film proves that nothing ever changes. The experience of renovating an old home was the same then as it was for Tom Hands and Shelly Long in The Money Pit in 1986.  As it is today for you and me.

 Mr. Blandings is full of witty dialogue and well worth renting - can't find it streaming anywhere, dang!

I still like the idea of running down to the store for a pound of the best butter to find the perfect sunny, warm shade.

We're still at the stage where we are driving around the neighborhood, seeing what colors and combinations work well on other houses.  Maybe we should head to the grocery store.

  Robin (& Sue), Tempe

A Saturday night full of friends and laughter

...  my kind of evening.

Robin, Tempe

Writer's block

Writer's block, originally uploaded by RobinJP.

Now that's old media.

This rusty old typewriter was found hanging in a nautical junk shop near Anna Maria Island, outside of Tampa, Florida.

I usually have fond feelings for old typewriters, but this one does nothing for me.

Robin, Tempe to Tampa

Waiting for the bride... really, what bride?

Don't despair. The bride did arrive and it was a beautiful wedding full of all the Perfect Moments a wedding brings.  

But none were more perfect than this one.  

Robin & Sue, Tempe

Totally Perfect Moment Weekend

The purpose of this blog was to point out Perfect Moment's as we work through our days. But this time I wanted to talk about my Perfect Moment weekend, a weekend full of moments that made me smile, made me outright laugh, made me "feel the inner light" made me envious and made me cheer out loud. Lets just say it was one amazing weekend!

It all began on Friday when I heard this giggle as I was walking through the mall. It was an indoor carousel. You always see those pictures in movies when a kid and their parents are riding on them and having the time of their lives. I can't say as I ever remember riding on a carousel, but I am always intrigued, and they always make me stop and watch. But this time it was the sound of this little boy that drew my attention.

He was all alone on this carousel with his mother, the only ones on the ride. And he held on to that horse and to his mom so tight and was just laughing and laughing. I couldn't help but wish I was on the horse next to him! His infectious laughter made me feel like a kid again, made me remember how much fun it was to enjoy something for the first time, that sheer wonder! I thought to myself, what an amazing way to start my weekend! I walked out of the mall with a big smile on my face!

Saturday I had my perfect day and just lounged around in my pajamas with the person I love watching bad movies. It was fantastic!

This joyful bounty of perfect moments continued on Sunday morning when I went to this yoga class. It was a class where we were concentrating on the heart. As I laid down on the mat, and listened to the instructor tell me to "invite the light" into my heart, I have to admit it gave me an amazing feeling.

I don't know what the heck was going on! You can read anything into it that you want, but what I can say is that I smiled, a big old smile! I couldn't fight this smile that started in my heart and then spread out to my toes and the top of my head. It was quite amazing! And then the class ended with us breathing, and my favorite song playing, Haleluhah! One heck of a Karma moment!

So, then I got in my car and was headed home and stopped at a light, and I was still smiling about my class, when I looked to my left and saw this ... a truck literally covered in mud. At this point I just broke out laughing! What the heck had this truck been doing all weekend that it was literally covered from top to bottom in mud??? All I could think about was it must have been a Perfect Moment for the two kids driving the truck! I wanted to play in the mud as well!

Then, it was time for the icing on my Perfect Moment Weekend... The Giants versus the San Francisco 49'ers.

Now, for those of you who don't know it, I am a huge football fan, especially love the Giants. So, today I did my "smack talking" as my dad would say.

I lived and died many deaths throughout the four-hour game which went into overtime, but lost it when the Giants made that field goal, and are now headed to the Super Bowl! I love this weekend, and wanted you all to share in it with me!

Sue, Tempe

Don't you love technology!

Our guest blog today comes from my sister Debra Dudley.She became a first time grandmother a year ago. (I can hear you right now Debbie, saying, Don't tell everyone I am a grandmother!!! But hey, you are and wear it proudly!)



Debbie sent out this message on facebook this morning, and it shows that even though she lives hundreds of miles away technology is allowing her to still share a close relationship with her little guy!

Here is her post:

Just wanted to thank my daughter and son-in-law for letting me share in and interact with my grandson thru Skype. (Technology is wonderful!) I've shared in meal time, play time, story time, Christmas morning and even played virtual catch with my grandson.




(Special thank you for that one, Lal. When he keeps coming back ...and wants to do it again, you know he's having fun too.)

Love you guys!

I love that technology allows me these glimpses into their lives. I feel like I got to play catch as well!

Susan, Tempe

Elf yourself. We did.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

and so did Oprah and Gayle:

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Zero: How 'Upwake' woke up my Friday

My week has been full of Perfect Moments. As I zoom in to the final work day this week, I was stopped cold by this new video on TED, the site for "ideas worth spreading."



Now this is 15 minutes worth of Perfect Moments, but they are all very well worth it. As TED puts it:

Natasha Tsakos presents and performs her one-woman, multimedia show, "Upwake." As the character Zero, she blends dream and reality with an inventive virtual world projected around her in 3D animation and electric sound.

I'm so happy I have started my day with this mix of humor, simplicity, complexity and awe-inspiring talent.



More from TED. This is a site worth putting on your regular route around the Internet.


Robin, Tempe

PhotoFunia and other cool time-wasters

The Bloggess had a funny blog this week about ways to avoid getting fired over your Facebook and Twitter and other Social Network postings. She's so funny.

It was pretty much that you just create a fake Facebook page for your boss and then mess with him.

Funny enough. Yeeaaah. But she also pointed me to this funny time-waster Web site: PhotoFunia. And I'm having some good times.


Cause sometimes you gotta just play.



Robin, Tempe

Yes, I have lost my mind!

It's sort of hard to find something perfect when the temperature is supposed to spike at 113 degrees, but I was bound and determined. I decided to do my own version of Bikram hiking, and man oh man did I pay the price!

I decided to wait until after 5pm, you know, time for the temperatures to cool down to like 110! Well, the first half hour was pretty good, I hit the trails like a woman on a mission. I was going to knock back this hike, and then spend the rest of the evening watching the homerun derby on the couch! Now, that's my idea of a perfect moment! So, about half an hour in I was feeling ok, and then something happened. I swear to goodness that someone turned up the thermostat,
and I slammed face first into a wall. I found myself trying to run from shaded spot to shaded spot, at least as much shade as some little sickly looking bush could provide.

I started saying my mantra... "come on God, are you serious!" Then I started making deals with the big guy, you know the kind, "I will do the dishes before nine am every day if he will help me make it back to my car". Or, "I promise not to yell at anyone on the highway during rush hour".

I figured they were two very doable promises. I just needed some type of divine intervention if I was going to make it down off that hill.
About an hour into the hike, I was running out of water, and the sweat was steadily climbing up my hat. I also noticed that one of my hiking boots seemed to be dragging. I looked down and realized it was so hot that the sole on my hiking boot had melted and come apart. I believe this was the point when I realized maybe God wasn't the one I should be making a deal with because I definitly felt like I was in Hell!

It was about this time when I realized I was on the last little rise to my car. I kept telling myself it was only a little climb, although I swear it felt like mount Everest as my quads yelled, and my hammy's screamed out. I put down my head and just concentrated on the trail two feet in front of me, until finally I reached the top, and then collapsed on the hood of my car. But I quickly found out that was not a very good idea! Try leaning on a silver car that has been in the sun for an hour.

I peeled myself from the hood, drank down the last drop of my warm water, and dumped myself into the car, just wanting to get home. The drive back to the house was about five miles, and it's amazing what can happen during that drive. As the warm, ok hot air started to cool off my skin through the open window, I started a new mantra. "It wasn't that bad, as a matter of fact I can't believe i did it!" All of a sudden I realized I had accomplished something. I had conquered that trail, and conquered mother nature. Yes I lost a pair of boots in the process, but I had gained something else, I had gained a sense of accomplishment. I had beat that trail, and mother nature!

Tomorrow it's only supposed to be 112! I can't wait to get out there again to test myself. Man, what a perfect moment!

Have you ever tried clothes on in Costco?

Adam said it all when he shared this Perfect Moment last weekend on Twitter.

Adam Nollmeyer, ACMEPhotography, Phoenix



What does Acme mean?
Acme means “The Best of Something.”
Adam strives to provide excellent photography to showcase you, your business, emotion, or your story by creating powerful images.

Check out Adam's blog.