Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

Warrior Tales

Can You Say Bead Bonanza?

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by Kimberly A. Cook                 (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

Returned from a girl’s four day road trip to Las Vegas last Saturday. While my poor little creative brain is still on total sensory overload trying to process everything I saw and experienced, I wanted to share a few pictures of my view of Las Vegas.

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Most folks go to Las Vegas to gamble and see shows, but I prefer seeing exhibits, lights and animals. We took in the Elvis Exhibit from Graceland, the M&M’s Store, and the white tigers at The Mirage.

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One amazing thing which caught my eye was above my head in the Golden Nugget Casino in downtown Las Vegas. Having a bead addiction, I about lost it when I spotted this chandelier. These three pictures don’t do it justice, but I had a wonderful time getting closer to try and determine the crystal and bead patterns with my zoom lens.

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With so many things to see, hear and experience in “Sin City,” you know I found the biggest piece of bling I could find on a ceiling. Now if I can just figure out how to make one of my own. I’m sure Spec Ops Cat would love to play with these beads!

I will share more of my fun Vegas finds with you next week, so stay tuned. Or in my case, what happens in Vegas ends up on WordPress!

 

Need Help Smashing Pumpkins For Pie?

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by Kimberly A. Cook           (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

If you’ve got some leftover giant pumpkins from Halloween you might want to use for pies, I don’t recommend letting Lily and her pachyderm pals help in the kitchen. See what they did to two giant gourds for the annual squishing of the squash.

I particularly like the way Lily straddles her food. A girl after my own heart! Our butts kind of look the same too.

Have a great weekend everybody and Happy Quirky Friday!

Happy Veterans Day U.S. Warriors

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by Kimberly A Cook                (Twitter@   WarriorTales)

Tomorrow is Veterans Day and I wanted to say thank you to all my fellow veterans for their service. It’s nice to be remembered on a national holiday, but we are veterans every day. For veterans who return with medical and mental health issues, each day is another fight for them and their families and friends.

We don’t ask for parades and big ceremonies; we serve because we love our country and we took an oath to defend the United States against all enemies. Veterans have been hurt and injured during war, peace and in training. Saying thank you is enough, but for wounded and disabled warriors do what you can to help them throughout the year, especially supporting their family caregivers.

Serving changes us all. Even the four-legged vets. Thanks for remembering.

It’s Snoopy Happy Dance Friday!

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by Kimberly A. Cook             (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

It’s time! The new “Peanuts” movie opens today. Does life get any better than that? Snoopy is my hero from his military service to his Joe Cool shades and fantastic Latin dance moves. Plus he’s a writer, I have his books. Looks like this movie has it all.

What better way to spend the weekend than a visit with the Peanuts gang. Crank up the sound and let’s all boogie with Snoopy! A dog’s work is never done.

Happy Quirky Friday and have a great weekend!

Sorting, Winter Projects And Too Many T-Shirts?

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by Kimberly A. Cook                (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

Spent part of Halloween weekend sorting my clothes closet for trash and treasure. Found some of both. What started this adventure was tight jeans. Some fit, some don’t, so I did the grand jean try-on rodeo. Once that was done, then I sorted shoes, sweaters, workout pants and things snowballed.

Bead treasures to sort. Bring on the rains. Okay, not all the rain in one day.
Bead treasures to sort. Bring on the rains. Okay, not all the rain in one day.

One of the excesses I came across were t-shirts. How many does one person need? Add the fact I only wear them for yard work or gardening and I have way too many. Some oldies but goodies I’ve worn so much they’re rags, so those might become a pillow. Or not.

It was a trip down memory lane looking at the different sayings, symbols and jokes on the shirts. Not parting with the Harley t-shirts. Not yet. I used to buy these shirts travelling, but I’ve moved on to refrigerator magnets and now even those are out of hand. I have to rotate the stock on the frig.

My reward for all of this sorting and cleaning was to escape into my office/craft room and play with my latest bead and yarn purchases. Turns out I hadn’t sorted the last batch of goodies from the July bead show. Finished that since the bead show is here again this month. Bead therapy, that‘s what I call it.

Geode tragedy. Special glue and determination will get me through. And leftover Halloween candy.
Geode tragedy. Special glue and determination will get me through. And leftover Halloween candy.

I also girded myself to assess the casualty from my thunderegg trip. I’d bought my largest geode pair yet at the Richardson Rock Ranch. I fell in love with it.

Unfortunately, I was carrying several bags when unpacking and of the two small bags slipped and hit the floor. The geode missed the carpet and landed on the kitchen floor. Argh! One half broke apart, a tiny ding in the other.

The special rock glue is here now and it’s time to try and figure out this puzzle project. Not today, but this winter. Plenty of time for indoor craft projects now that the dark and stormy nights have arrived.

Got winter projects? Too many t-shirts? Sort away all!

Spec Ops Cat kept trying to find a quiet spot to sleep while IO was sorting, cleaning and vacuuming. The indignity of it all.
Spec Ops Cat kept trying to find a quiet spot to sleep while I was sorting, cleaning and vacuuming. You can tell from his expression he’s not happy about the indignity of it all.

Candy, Scary Weather And Ghostbusters!

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by Kimberly A. Cook                  (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Walking across the quad at the day job yesterday I happened upon a Ghostbuster. Full outfit. Not something I normally see on the job, but later I ran into him again at a retirement party. You never know when you might need to call one.

Big wet weather weekend, scary wind and Halloween make for the perfect time to stay in and watch movies. I’m not a fan of horror, so this 80s classic movie is much more my style. The only challenge with watching with today’s generation is going to be trying to explain a library card catalog!

Turn up the volume and dance around the house. It’s Ghostbusters time!

Have a great weekend and Happy Halloween Eve Quirky Friday!