as is proper...

Wha-huh???

2012-01-10T13:03:00.000-05:00

I was thinking about it....

(and all that thinking was rather taxing, I tell ya)

and it took me many long moments to remember when I last took a picture.

I thought and I thought and I thunk and I thunk,

then the rational side kicked in and said,

"Duh... it was probably Christmas."

Oh, right... that makes sense.

I'm not entirely sure, but it may be possible that the auto focus on my camera is off a bit.

For a while, I thought it was me.

I thought I suddenly couldn't take a picture.

(That may be true too... the jury is still out.)

But this lack of picture taking is one of the many reasons that I haven't been blogging.

I like pictures and I like to be current.

It's very hard for me to post something that happened more than a week ago,

much less last summer (which was awesome.)

And... ugh... I hate philosophizing about blogging on my blog too,

but here I am doing it!!!

Darn it.

But I miss my blogging self, and I miss being here,

and I'm finally finding more time to sit in front of the computer, so here I am.

And now that I've written a bunch of words that mean pretty much nothing,

I'm going to go dig through the archives and slap some random photos in between all those words.

Because I can.

And because I like pictures.

As it turns out... they're all Christmas pics.

(Which is not current... but whatever...)

And yes... my son did get a doorknob and my daughter did get bubble wrap.

That's just the way we roll.

Light is good

2011-12-15T01:30:00.000-05:00

We've been enjoying an unusual amount of sunshine for the month of December.

And around here, any amount of sunshine in the winter is a really good thing.

But sometimes the sun has to work really, really hard to make it's appearance.

(Yep... that round thing in the middle of the pic is the sun, not the moon.)

The fog was particularly thick and despite it's best efforts, I didn't think the sun was going to win out.

(And despite appearances, this is NOT a black and white photo, that's just the way it was!)

But the sun DID win...

and for a short time that day we had beautiful blue skies,
which turned into a beautiful pink sunset and moon rise.

I was driving home from a trip to Target and as I came up over a hill,
I saw the moon rising up over the mountains.
I didn't have my real camera with me, so my not so great camera phone was put to a test.

It turned out okay, but ooooooohhhhhh what I would have done to have my other camera on hand.

Still... I love this picture because it reminds me of one of the many reasons why I LOVE where I live.
I love the mountains.
I love the lake.
(I also love my friends and neighbors, but they're not in this picture.)

:)
Life is good.

Winter has settled in

2011-12-06T12:15:00.001-05:00

Western Towns and Wacky kids...

2011-11-20T09:34:00.000-05:00

So anyway...

Apparently, the world's largest buffalo wasn't enough of a tourist draw, so they built an entire tiny western town on the same property.

Cool.

Having arrived first in this tourist mecca, the kids and I wandered through the local mercantile while we waited for Jess to arrive.

Meeting a blog friend for the first time is just plain weird... so many thoughts flit through your head.

What will they be like? What will they think of me?

What if we don't like each other? What what what...

And you find yourself trying to imagine how the initial meeting will go,
but there's no way to actually plan it is there?

So I was wandering the mercantile and out the window I saw some tiny familiar faces.

They were the main cast of characters over at Jess' blog. And with them was Jess, of course.

I opened the creaky screen door and timidly asked, "Jess?"

I don't exactly remember what happened next, it's all a bit of a blur of introductions

and wandering around the over-sized bison

and maybe some griping about taking pictures in the harsh light of noontime in the summer.

And I remember that my ginormous children were also in a bit of a mood,
not a bad one, just silly.

They were playing on playground equipment clearly marked "for small children only."

(Seriously... where's their parent? Oh... taking pictures of their bad behavior? Hmmm.)

They made themselves comfortable in the saloon (a bit too comfortable maybe)

and settled down for a game of cut-throat poker.

(How do they even know how to play that?)

Which resulted in a few people getting put in jail.

And while all this was going on, Jess and I got to know each other, to find out who we were and if we like each other as well in "real life" as we did on line.

This may have been just a bit more important as we had planned to spend the entire day together at her house eating REAL food and not doing laundry.

(I had recently decided to do laundry during a quick stop in South Dakota.)

We watched our children play (or rather my children act like crazies while her children looked on warily)

and bonded over the mutually mystifying concept of some guy's use of a pop-up flash with a very expensive and very long lens.

"Doesn't he know that he'll get a shadow??"

(I believe this may still give Jess a twitch from time to time.)
:)

And then... after a lunch of curly fries and chicken nuggets, we packed the children up and Jess bravely allowed us to follow her back to her home.

Or were we the ones being brave??

After driving and driving and driving down a dusty road

and then turning down yet another dusty road in the middle of farmland

with nothing but corn, sunflowers and sky as far as the eye can see,

Julia pipes up and asks,

"Hey mom? Shouldn't one of the rules be 'Never follow a stranger into the middle of nowhere?'"

Yes, Julia.... that's a good rule, a very good rule... ;)

North Dakota on my mind...

2011-11-09T11:47:00.000-05:00

As I was planning our trip across country, whenever I told someone that we were going through North Dakota they would invariably ask "Why?"

It wasn't a why as in "why on earth would you want to go there?!"

in a tone that is generally reserved for New Jersey, third world countries and well... Seattle.

No... it was more of a question of "Why go there? What is there to see or do?"

They were curious, but...

Honest truth... I had no idea.

North Dakota seems to suffer from a lack of advertising.

I wonder if the people of ND prefer it that way, maybe it keeps all the riff-raff and obnoxious tourists away.

I did a lot of research to see what might be worth seeing in the great state of ND.

First thing on my list...

The world's largest buffalo statue!

Yeah, man... I'm going there!

I'm a sucker for cheesy and dorky tourist attractions and world's largest anything.

And... Grant's favorite animal for all of his childhood was a bison/buffalo.

He even had a stuffed bison that he had named "Adonis."

(Gotta love that kid.)
So we had to go.

As I planned this little pit stop, a voice from blogland called out and said,

"I live just a few miles from that 'largest buffalo', let's get together."

(Or something like that. I'm paraphrasing.)

To which I replied, "Great! I'll have run out of clean clothes by then. Can I do laundry at your house?"

Screech!!! Hold on!
Did I just ask a total stranger (albeit a blog friend) if I could come to her house

and do laundry???

Who does that?

And who would let me?

Well, I did and Jess would.

(Grant getting ready for his first buffalo run.)

But... in an effort to ease into that activity, we both agreed to meet at the World's Largest Buffalo Statue.

(Large bovines make great meeting places.)

(see Jess back there?)

The story of that meet up and the trip to her house where I didn't end up doing laundry
will have to wait for another day.

Fall back...

2011-11-07T14:34:00.000-05:00

I don't really care for this whole daylight savings time thing.

I kind of think that we should leave well enough alone.

And as much as I appreciate the concept of that "extra hour" of sleep,

I never actually get it and generally just have an extra hour of daytime.

(Also useful, but still...)

What I don't like is having an hour less daylight. Sad...

As soon as the clocks turned back, I found myself looking toward the winter solstice.

It may be the shortest day of the year,

but after that the sun gradually inches it's way back, bringing longer and longer days.

I found myself anticipating the gradual lengthening of days until Summer finally rolls back around.

Don't think I'm wishing away the wonderfulness that is Thanksgiving and Christmas and snow days.

I like them too.

For now, rather than looking so far ahead to next summer,

I think I'll look into the more recent past and remember, hold onto, enjoy

the memories of our incredible summer adventure.

Oh, Hail! I'm forty...

2011-11-04T13:37:00.000-04:00

I had a birthday yesterday.

A big one, I suppose.

Over the last year or so, I've wondered how I was going to celebrate the big day.

I never could come up with a great plan, so I just took the day as it came.

And it turned out to be a wonderful day.

One of the best parts of the day was simply going about my life spending time with so many great friends.

It's kind of what I've been doing everyday since we've moved back,

but I still find those moments precious.

I am beyond glad to have an amazing group of friends and neighbors to share my life with.

So my day was pretty special.

Oh... and it hailed.

Apparently, I'm an overachiever...

2011-11-03T05:34:00.002-04:00

So, slicing a babgel wasn'g enough for me.

I had gto keep going and slice my finagefr as well.

As cuts go... it's a prfetty big cutg.

As injuftries go... it's a fairly minotr injury

I think I'll live b ut typing has becomgte quite tgeh advengturfe.

Nonsense

2011-11-02T08:00:00.004-04:00

Whenever the kids are stuck on a particular writing assignment,

I tell them to "just jot down their thoughts, be quick, write whatever comes to mind."

Later they can make those thoughts make more sense, become more cohesive.

AND... when my son was stuck on a particular assignment because he had decided in his mind that it had to go a certain way, but couldn't make it work that way,

I said to "think outside of the box, start at the end or just write the middle."

Guess I'm going to have to take my own advice. :)

There's an awful lot of fun to be had when you write outside of the box.

As I mentioned yesterday,

November is National Novel Writing Month which has been shortened to NaNoWriMo.

It's a ridiculous group of syllables, and you won't find me writing a novel this month,

but here's what I am going to do.

I'm gonna...

Turn my NoMoBlogPoMoJo into BlogPoMoJo-N-Mo

(If those nonsense syllables don't make sense to you that's okay...

just think about it for a while, run it around in your head, lose some sleep over it...

I don't mind.)

;)

Time flies

2011-11-01T12:07:00.000-04:00

November 1st!!!

Really???

Already???

Wow....

It's been a long, long time since I've last posted. It's not that I haven't been thinking about it. I've composed many awesome posts in my head as I cleaned, painted, unpacked, etc... but by the time I finally sit at the computer, all of the clever words have left my head and I stare at a blank screen with an equally blank mind.

Seems to me that the last time I had a similar lapse in blogging was right after my last move.

Coincidence???

I think not.

AND...

as I recall....

The thing I did to get me out of that little blogging slump was to join up with some sort of

"write a blog post every day of the month of November" thing.

(It had/has a catchier title than that, but I sure can't remember it.)

So here's hoping that I can get my blogging mojo back.

Yay!

Normal and wonderful...

2011-09-11T12:21:00.002-04:00

It's 8:45 am on this Sunday morning.

Most of the kids are still asleep (we had a late night last night) and I'm enjoying some quiet time with a cup of tea. As I sit in my living room that is still cluttered with boxes, I can hear the neighborhood and the surrounding town begin to wake up.

I can hear my neighbor's one year old chattering away as he gets some early morning out-door play time in. From the lake (which I live near, but not on) comes the distant noise of jet-ski engines as people revel in the rare but wonderful sunshine. Yes, it hasn't rained once since I've arrived here two weeks ago, but I know that the rain will come soon enough.

Remnants of a neighborhood barbecue remain on my friend's driveway across the street.
Once everyone is awake and has some caffeine, I imagine we'll all be out there to clean the rest of it up.

All in all... life is good.

And on this anniversary of one of the most terrible-awful days, it's nice to know that life goes on in all the most normal and wonderful ways.

Once upon a time...

2011-09-09T09:46:00.001-04:00

Once upon a time...

Four score and seven years ago...

In a galaxy far, far away...

Yes, it's true, I blogged once.

I'm thinking...I'm hoping... that maybe I can start blogging again.

I've missed all of you out there in blog land.

And I have so much to tell you and so many pictures to share.

I can't believe how long it's been since I wrote a real post!

I'm still digging out of boxes, but life is starting to find a rhythm,

so we'll call this my starter post

and hopefully, I'll find lots of time to post over the weekend!

(I said hopefully... no promises.)

If you weigh a hippo down with rocks....

2011-08-20T23:21:00.000-04:00

It might not attack your daughter!

Phew... we were lucky this time!

Pickin'

2011-08-20T09:55:00.001-04:00

Halfway between Chicago and Des Moines is the town of Le Claire, Iowa

which just happens to be the place where the Mike and Frank from History Channel's

American Pickers have their shop.

We stopped there and ate our lunch at a picnic table alongside the Mississippi River.

Then we drove up to their little (and I do mean little!) storefront.

The place was full of people snapping pictures.

I left my "real" camera in the car, but took a few iphone pics.

It was fun to see some of the items that we remembered from the show.

But the prices were a bit high.

(Don't they know that we saw how much they paid for these things?!)

The guys were out of town doing what they do best... pickin.

And Danielle wasn't in the shop either.

So we settled on taking pictures with this guy.

Chicago and Brooke!

2011-08-19T21:52:00.000-04:00

I'm currently sitting in a hotel in Montana, just on the edge of Glacier National Park
and I finally have a moment or two to catch up on blogging.

(Catch up being a relative term.)

We've been on the road for three weeks now and still have another week to go.

It's overwhelming to look back at all the amazing things we've done and seen so far.

I think I'm on visual overload! But in a totally wonderful way.

This trip has been amazing, but the very best part of it has been the people we've met along the way.
So many wonderful people!!

Reaching waaaaaayyyyyy back to August 5th (or was it the 4th?)was our trip to Chicago,
where
we met with the amazing Brooke from My Boysterous Life!

Fun!!!!!

Brooke truly was amazing!

She took on the role of both tour guide and taxi driver for us!
How awesome!
Getting into and out of Chicago could have been a huge stress, but she made it all so easy on me,
by maneuvering through the many streets that had been closed down for Lollapalooza.

We wandered through the Shedd aquarium and talked like old friends.

When we were all fished out, we hopped in a couple of cabs and went to Sears Tower

(Willis Tower... whatever...)

(They can call it whatever they want, I think it will always be Sears tower in my mind.)

The view, despite the haze, was pretty amazing.

We even got a good overview of the crowds at the previously mentioned Lollapalooza.

And look! I even remembered to take a picture of Brooke to prove that we met!

(I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.)

There's even a picture of the two of us together, but the one taken with my camera has an amazing view up my nose and I've chosen not to share that with you.

Brooke has a wider shot which she can choose to share or not, but whether they ever get blogged, at least I know that the pictures exist. :)

We all took turns standing on the Ledge looking over the city.

I thought it might be scary, but I was okay.

Julia (and Brooke too) was a bit more freaked out!

Chase, Brooke's son, thought this was hysterical.

(Love that kid!)

Once all of our stomachs finally settled we took part in a Chicago feast.

Yummy and yet, so heavy!!

Thank you again, Brooke, for making our trip to Chicago such an amazing one!

Those Darn Hippos...

2011-08-10T09:47:00.000-04:00

Seems like everytime I turn around another hippo is attacking my daughter.

Crazy hippos!!

Kent Lake, Michigan and a bloggy meet up...

2011-08-07T20:23:00.000-04:00

We've been on the road for just over a week now.

And while I feel like we've covered so much ground and have done so many wonderful things,

I know that there is so much more to go.

I haven't had a lot of time to blog, but being in the car gives me lots of time to think,

so I find myself composing blog posts in my head.

Unfortunately, my mind is like a sieve

and I can only remember bits and pieces of these "amazing" posts that I've mentally composed.

But let me start with the one thought that comes to me most often

(other than "get outta my way, you slow driver!)

and that thought is...

I Am Happy.

I am grateful.

I am excited.

I am having fun.

I am blessed with wonderful children

and wonderful friends

(who have made this trip so much more amazing than I could have done on my own.)

One particular example is this day at Kent Lake, where they had a great splash pad and water slide

and a wonderful swimming beach.

Just a half an hour from our hotel in Detroit,

but we would never, ever have found it if Alita from Alita Jewel's Treasures

hadn't taken time out of her day to meet us at the nearby Dairy Queen

and to show us to one of her favorite summer hangouts.

Her boys were adorable and Julia had a great time running around the splash pad with them.

I had a wonderful visit with a bloggy friend.

A great time was had by all.

BUT...

Can you believe that neither Alita nor I took a single picture while we were together?

Didn't even break out the camera.

Maybe we were shy, maybe we were nervous,

maybe I was feeling a little self conscious about my... well me.

(I weigh far more than I like to mention here on this blog.

I like to pretend like no one will notice, if I just don't bring it up.)

(and maybe if it's in parentheses, you still won't notice.)

Anyhow... I have no photographic evidence that I met up with Alita, but the memory will stay with me

and I am more than grateful that she brought us to such a fun place.

Thanks, Alita!

*************************

I've been keeping up with posting a pic or two a day on facebook, so find me there too.

Moving week...

2011-07-30T23:24:00.001-04:00

It's late. I'm tired. And I'm sitting in a crowded hotel room with the kids.

This past week was the pack up/ move out/ clean out week.

NOT so much fun.

But now, we are finally on the road.

It still doesn't feel real as we are currently headed to my in-law's house,

which doesn't feel like day one of a grand adventure,

it just feels like a normal trip to Grandma's house.

We're thinking that once we're finally in unfamiliar territory,

it will feel more "real."

This week, photography has been pretty much the last thing on my mind.

Most of my pictures were very utilitarian in nature.

But I did find this sign on a cash register at a Chic-fil-a.

Hey, baby... want a breakfast burrito?

And then there was this...

and this...

That, friends, is what happens when someone drops toilet bowl cleaner on your carpet.

SMH!!

That is some scary stuff!

I almost never clean with chemicals. I'm very much a vinegar and baking soda kind of girl.

It's better for you, it's better for the environment

and now we know...

it's better for your carpet.

Grant dropped the bottle and within seconds the carpet was GONE!

Scary, dissolved, gone!

Before I realized how bad this was, I gave him a dish towel to clean up his mess.

We do not know where the dish towel went.

We think maybe the toilet cleaner ATE it!!

Holy Cow!! Never, ever, ever use that stuff!

Now if you ask my kids what scares them most,

they'll tell you "toilet cleaner."

Gotta go get some sleep.

Hopefully, I'll have far prettier pictures to share soon!

Going home...

2011-07-27T22:45:00.000-04:00

It just occurred to me that when my cable company "cuts the cord" at midnight tonight, I will no longer be able to use my computer to blog or do much of anything until I get somewhere with a wireless connection.

Which means... pretty much a whole week from now.

The friends I'm staying with this weekend are still on dial-up.

Seriously! No kidding!

There are still people out there listening to that eeeeeooooheeeee

as they connect to an internet that moves at a snails pace.

Then I move on to my in-law's house, who (only because my husband set them up with this) do have cable,

but no wireless to make my laptops work.

So, like I said before, I'll do my best to keep everyone updated via facebook.

(I didn't know how grateful I would be for my iphone and 3G.)

I wonder if I have any old drafts of posts that I can run while I'm "away."

Guess I'll look in a minute.

For now, I'll leave you with a picture and some words that I wrote when Alita asked me to be a guest blogger while she was busy moving.

(Why didn't I do that too? I don't know.)

It's about home... and I'm going to be there... soon.

I'm melting!!

2011-07-21T09:23:00.001-04:00

Ok... so I checked...

I scrolled through all of my winter posts to see if I whined about the weather.

remember this?

I may have whined a little bit about the lack of snow,

I may have noted the crazy temperature fluctuations of February,

but I don't believe I whined once about the cold weather.

So I think I have reserved the right to complain today...

It's Stinking HOT!!!

And...I hate the heat!

(Link)
View more

It's so hot... my kids and I have decided to pack our stuff and move.

Yep! Monday morning, all our stuff is going in boxes and we're hitting the road.

Gonna move ourselves to cold, rainy Seattle.

Oh, wait... we've been planning that for a while...

Well, it's a good thing!

This picture has very little to do with my post, but it does feature my cute baby and a few trees.

The World Trade Center site

2011-07-19T07:56:00.000-04:00

It's a good thing I took so many pictures of our trip to NYC

since I've been so busy getting ready for our move that I haven't been taking any pictures at all.
So much for that 365 project...

But I have been wanting to share these pictures with you.

It's been nearly ten years since the city's skyline changed dramatically.

And I haven't been back to lower Manhattan since then.

Dan and I decided to walk down to the WTC site to see what was happening there.
As we were walking down one of the side streets toward the site,
Dan and Kevin were trying to remember just what the final plans were for the new buildings.
How many buildings did they decide on?
What will the memorial look like?

We had all seen a tv show with various plans, but couldn't remember which one had been decided on.

As we were discussing this,

We hear a man say, "There'll be five buildings."

We turned to look and see who was talking and saw this guy,

all dressed in his construction gear and looking like he might know what he's talking about.

Normally, I don't have conversations with random people on the street,

but this was a moment in which I needed to let down my guard and listen.

He told us where he was on the day.

(Toronto... he was supposed to be flying home that day.)

He talked about how his company was involved in picking up the pieces of the buildings.

He pulled out his camera and showed us an aerial picture of the site.

He pointed out each crane and told us how big they were and which building they were working on.

"The red one is working on building 2 and the white one is for building 3..."

"That's an 860 ton crane there."

I have to admit that the construction jargon went over my head a bit,

but it was interesting to get the "inside scoop."

Ten years is a long time, but not so long that we've forgotten.

It's still really vivid and real for me and Dan and this stranger that we met on the street.

We didn't necessarily discuss our emotions, but as we talked about cranes and pickers and being stuck in Toronto, the shadows of these emotions flitted across our faces.

For the kids, it was a history lesson.

They were little or not even born when this happened.

That kind of blows my mind.

In the right light...

2011-07-13T09:23:00.000-04:00

...even Jersey looks good.

'Nuff said.

Coffee talk

2011-07-12T11:07:00.002-04:00

It's coffee time!

And, based on this picture, it looks like you'll be having coffee with my husband.

But no.... he's not home right now.

He left yesterday to head back to Seattle

and in two weeks the ship will be leaving for a seven month deployment.

(I obviously didn't take this picture... )

I won't be sharing coffee with him until February!

That's a long time...

On the bright side??

I have a million and one things to do to keep me busy

and hopefully that will help me not dwell too much on how much I miss him.

And how are we keeping busy, you ask?

Well, we're busy eating ourselves out of the freezer and pantry,

which the kids were quite excited about,

especially since that meant pancakes and bacon for breakfast.

We're busy gathering up us much stuff as possible for one big goodwill run.
It's better to get rid of it now than to unpack it later.
However... I can guarantee that I'll still find things that will make me wonder,
"Why on earth did I traipse that across country?!"

We're also trying to clean out and organize all the stuff we do want to keep.
I need to stock up in gallon size plastic bags.
If I put all my crayons in one and markers in another and legos in a few more,
there's less of a chance of the packers just dumping all that into one big pile at the bottom of the box,
a pile that I would have to re-sort and organize.
Again... another task that is better done on this end of the move.

So.... anyone interested in coming over and helping out?
♪♪I'd buy you some Starbucks.♪♪
No??

Darn...

A sherbet sunset...

2011-07-09T20:41:00.000-04:00

I have oooooh so many photos from our recent day in New York City.

And while it would seem logical to start with the pictures that I took

at the beginning of the day and then proceed from there,

I'd much, much rather share these pictures right now.

Probably because they're my favorites...

;)

Our return trip from the city via the Staten Island Ferry

happened to coincide with the most amazing sunset.

Well, truthfully, we could have taken the 8:00 ferry,

we arrived at 8pm on the dot and they were holding the doors open for last minute stragglers,

but I wanted to wait.

My husband who has become accustomed to commuting
and making a mad dashes for the next train or ferry

may have developed a twitch at that point.

It went against every instinct he had to let other people go ahead of us

and to sit and wait half an hour for another ferry.

(twitch. twitch. shudder)

However, I was content to sit and wait.

It had been a long day and there had been lots of walking

so it felt good to rest a bit.

Besides... one of the kids needed a restroom NOW!

and I didn't think it would be nice to make them wait an entire ferry ride

while watching the waves splash back and forth and back and forth.

I worried just a little bit that we might have missed the best part of the sunset

but no...

We stood on the deck of the ferry and watched as the sunset turned all the colors of rainbow sherbet.

It was perfect.

And when I turned to see what the little girls were doing,

Avery turned to me and said,

"We're pinching ourselves to see if it's real."

So, yeah...

I think it was worth it.

Fourth of July

2011-07-07T13:49:00.001-04:00

My time on the east coast is coming to an end, so we spent this week visiting family

getting in as much quality time with them as possible.

Waiting around for the fireworks gave us a little time to hang out.

Which means... Dan and Mitch wrestled and squished each other's faces.

We watched in fascination as Delilah smiled and cooed and made silly faces and sounds.

And appreciated from afar Mitch's collection of critters

(Well... most of us were able to do that.

He seemed to enjoy getting them as close as possible to his mother's face.

I guess the reaction he got was totally worth it. )

We dyed Quincy's hair and think that the new hair color suits her nicely

(it's redder)

The girls amused themselves by poking each other in the forehead....

?????

Kevin listened to his music

But he also made time to stick his nose into the kids pictures

(Mitch's dragonfly also made the shot.)

Grant kept busy rolling grass into balls...

My youngest sister, Kate, hung out with her boyfriend.

The kids (and maybe some of the grownups) danced to the music and generally goofed around.

Then... finally.... the main event!

The kids settled in

And watched quietly.

Ooohing and aahing in all the right places.

But Dan still had a little goofing off left in him.

Happy (Belated) Fourth of July!

Patriotism

2011-07-06T21:55:00.000-04:00

At this time of the year, patriotism is fairly easy to find.

This year I found patriotism while overlooking the river at sunset,

While listening to the West Point band play the National Anthem,
the service songs of each branch of the military and the 1812 Overture.

I found patriotism in the newly shorn heads of the new cadets.

Just babies, really, at the beginning of their military careers.

And in the crowds of people gathered together to party and to celebrate.

And I found it as I stood in the midst of all these people and heard them sing that they'd

"gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today"

knowing that most of them are doing exactly that.

Those aren't just words... they are a promise that they are living every single day.

Beauty Queens and a Cute Kid...

2011-06-30T22:10:00.000-04:00

Took a moment to visit DC one more time before we move

and saw a few Choctaw Nation beauty queens

at the National Museum of the Native American.

And an awfully cute little guy...

Who was running and dancing so fast that I could hardly keep him in the frame.

Today is Tuesday...

2011-06-28T12:52:00.000-04:00

I titled this that way only to remind myself.

Ever since school ended and summer began, I can hardly keep track of which day is which.

The schedule that is my backbone, that keeps me moving, has been ripped away

leaving me drifting aimlessly from moment to moment and day to day.

For some that may seem wonderful, but I don't like it.

I like having plans and goals and activities.

I also like having down time, but only if there is "up" time to balance it all out.

You would think that with all this free time I'd get something done,

but I wander from computer to tv to book.

I stare at the unmade bed and the half-filled dishwasher and feel no compulsion to finish the tasks.

There is no deadline to spur me on, no clock to race against.

And it's only been a week.

Time to create a summer day schedule.

Something a little more substantial, but still fun.

I swear I just blinked...

2011-06-23T14:15:00.000-04:00

I was just a few weeks shy of turning twenty-one when he was born.

At the time, it was hard enough to imagine being the mother of a baby boy, or a toddler,

and the teen years were too frightening to even contemplate,

But I'm sure I never even thought to imagine or dream of his high school graduation.

I never imagined him dressed like a grape (or maybe a wizard) in his graduation gown.

Or considered watching him rush off to get to the staging area on time.

I never pictured myself sitting high in the stands

scanning the rows trying to find my child in a sea of purple and white.

But the moment I saw him and he saw me,

well... there was no doubt that I had found my kid.

Because, I had never spent time imagining this day,

(and because my personal graduation experience was soooo much different than this)

I didn't know how I would feel.

Would I get all emotional and cry?

I'm not usually a sappy, teary kind of person.

I can't deny the fact that there was a little lump in my throat

and maybe a little extra moisture in my eyes

as I watched him walk down the aisle to the strains of "Pomp and Circumstance."

And I have been proud of him since the day he was born,

so when I watched him walk across the stage to accept his diploma,

the feeling I felt was quite familiar.

I am SO proud and SO pleased to see the man that he is becoming.

But I also love the glimpses of the little boy he once was.

Love you, Kevin.

Congrats!

You make us proud.

you capture: purple

It's not the heat, it's the humidity...

2011-06-22T18:55:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was the solstice and the weather wanted to prove to us that it truly was SUMMER.

I stepped outside thinking that I would attempt to capture some of the heat lightning,

took the lens off the camera, took a test shot to check my settings,

and this picture was the result.

The humidity had fogged up my lens.

I took one look at the shot... shrugged...

and took my frizzy hair and my foggy camera back inside.

Right Now...

2011-06-15T12:05:00.001-04:00

Right now.... I am taking a break from the many chores that need to be done.

Grant is trying to finish up his last math workbook for the year.

Julia is making ugly faces at me as she takes care of her laundry and cleans up the messy family room.

Kevin is "enjoying" his first day of freedom from high school, by cleaning out the car.

(I'm a mean mom.)

And right now, I just gave Kevin, my newly licensed and nearly graduated 18yo, permission to take his sister and the family car to Taco Bell.

And now I'm going to do some breathing exercises and maybe a say a few prayers.

Slightly smoky with a hint of beer...

2011-06-08T13:27:00.001-04:00

I love Trader Joes.

They have so many interesting foods to try

and there are very few of their items that I've tried and didn't like.

But today....

This is their chicken fried rice.

(It's not a very good picture, but that's okay 'cause it wasn't very good food.)

It's one of those frozen bags of food, just plop it in the skillet and be done,

so I'm pretty sure that I didn't do anything to screw it up.

As I was stirring, the thought of beer popped into my mind.

"Why," I asked myself, "am I thinking about beer? I don't even like beer."

Thought dismissed... move on.

Stir, stir...

A conversation I had with a friend about smoking cigarettes pops into my mind.

I don't smoke, she used to...

The rice smelled funny, but it also smelled familiar, so I leaned in.

It smelled like my grandmother's house did when I was growing up!

Slightly smoky with the slight tang of beer.

(Yeah, I know... all of your grandmother's houses smelt like cookies and pie, whatever...)

That's weird... so I smelled it again, and again.

Then I put some on my plate thinking that maybe it would taste different,

but no...

it pretty much tasted like my grandmother's house.

Which, no matter how much I love my grandmother, should not be how my food tastes... ever!

So consider this a public service announcement:

Don't eat Trader Joe's Chicken Fried Rice.

***************************************************************

Dear Mom and any other relatives that might read this,

I in no way intended to insult Grandma here.

She is a classy lady who just happened to live in the 50's and 60's

and smoked cigarettes just like everyone else.

(So very Mad Men of her.)

But maybe you could not tell her about this particular post.

Thanks!

Off in the distance...

2011-06-07T11:33:00.000-04:00

I couldn't resist re-posting this picture when I saw that this week's I heart faces theme was "from a distance."

(cue Bette Midler...)

Not only is she at a distance from the camera, but she's looking off into the distance looking for the source of the birdsong that we'd been listening to.

Playing games

2011-06-02T10:49:00.000-04:00

In the winter and on hot summer days, we love to play board games,

but when the weather is good, being outside is best.

Julia gets to play on swings, pretending to fly,

while I get to play with my phone, pretending it's a "real"camera. :)

(I somehow managed to capture her in motion, getting her in focus while the background blurred, on my first try.

I can't tell you how many more times I tried to duplicate this shot with no success!)

Are you following me?

2011-05-31T08:58:00.000-04:00

If you are, then thank you!

And while you're at it, why don't you follow me right over to Alita's blog

where I have written my very first guest post!!

(Sheesh... writing a post for someone else's blog is a lot trickier than just rambling on my own blog,

but now that it's over, I'm so glad I did it!)

Alita is one of my favorite bloggy friends.

She's an amazing photographer, poet, writer and mom.

And she has incredible and eclectic taste in music.

(Sometimes I leave her blog in the background, just so I can listen to her playlist.)

Alita is busy packing and moving to a new house today,

(thus the guest posts)

so head on over there and wish her luck with her move!

(oh... and while I'm blogging... may as well enter this in the I heart faces "best face of May" contest.)

Do chickens tell secrets?

2011-05-29T12:44:00.001-04:00

... 'Cause, I think maybe these two were sharing a secret.

Or maybe, they were plotting their attack.

I'm pretty sure that they weren't particularly fond of being photographed.

This white one looks all cute and sweet.

She came up to me and wandered around my feet plucking bugs off the ground

that is... until she decided to peck at my leg!

Not cool, chicken, not cool.

(Unless, of course, she was plucking a bug off my leg. In which case, thank you very much.)

This guy made a lot of noise...

did a lot of cock-a-doodle-dooing while giving me the "side-eye."

Then he decided to come down from his perch and bring that side-eye a little closer to me.

When Mr. Foghorn Leghorn started to make a bee-line for me,

I decided to back off.

I was pretty sure that I had enough chicken pictures for one day.

And you know...

Once plucked, Twice shy.

Cheestastic!!!

2011-05-27T08:08:00.000-04:00

I looove to watch the American Idol finales

if for no other reason than the crazy stars that they pull out of oblivion and feature on the show.

And Oh, My Delilah!

This year did not disappoint.

No, not at all.

source

A full on Tom Jones medley!

The cheesiness!!!

This was like a party platter of cheese,

source

next to some steaming cheese fondue,

source

with some cheez-wiz on the side.

source

And what could make it better??

Why, the cheesemaster himself!

Seriously... no one wo-oh-ohs like Mr. Tom Jones.

source

I cannot even begin to tell you how much this amused me.

And still does.

So what or who is your cheesy delight?

Sometimes you just can't win...

2011-05-25T19:08:00.000-04:00

Project 365, Week 20

2011-05-21T00:11:00.001-04:00

Do you ever have those weeks that are just too boring and too long and you wonder what you've done with your life, only to look back on the pictures and realize how really wonderful your life is?

That's how this week was for me.

I know life is good and sometimes, boring is a blessing.

However, last weekend was anything but boring.

I drove to Maryland and back to take Quincy and some friends to Key Leader camp,

I got to visit an old family friend while I was in MD,

and when I was home (May 14), I attended my son's JROTC's end of the year awards.

He did well, I tell ya.

May 15

The week was full of rain, rain, rain and more rain.

Watching it fall was a good quiet activity.

On May 16th, a blue-tailed skink thought that my house might be a nice safe and dry place to hang out.

We told him that we weren't taking any boarders and that he had to go back out on the streets...

so sorry.

May 17th brought us more rain, but apparently, May showers bring May flowers.

Kevin usually gets a ride home from school with a friend, but May 18th found me waiting outside in the car for him to be released from Drill team.

On May 19th, we declared it "Sander skip day" and I took all the kids out of school so we could get together with some friends, but we managed to get home in time for riding lessons.

And finally, on May 20th, we did pretty much nothing special, but I did get a pic of Julia while we were playing outside.

Shooting in the rain...

2011-05-20T14:50:00.000-04:00

It occurred to me recently that I didn't really know how to take pictures

(or good pictures anyway)

in the rain.

I'd find myself waiting (much like Julia is in this picture) for the rain to pass

and for the sun to shine and give me some pretty light.


the before shot

Not a problem right?

Just wait for the sun... I mean the song says that it will come out tomorrow.

And if you don't believe the song,

there's always the whole Noah's ark/ rainbow promise thing that we can cling to.

before a crop and contrast fix

But... here's the problem...

(or at least, my problem)

You see... I'm moving back to the Seattle area soon

and everyone knows that Seattle tends to be a tad rainy,

(just a little bit)

mostly in the winter,

or pretty much any month other than July or August.

before crop and contrast fix

So I'm practicing my rainy day photography skills whenever I get a chance.

And figuring out how to do some post-processing to give them that extra boost

without taking away from the rainy day feel.

So while she's singing and dancing, I'll keep busy shooting in the rain.

Making time for fun in the middle of the busy-ness...

2011-05-18T08:52:00.000-04:00

I don't often take pictures of the things that truly keep me busy each day.

You have to be in an especially creative mood to make school work, laundry,
and dishes look good in photographs.

This day was busier than some.

There were lots of places to go and kids to transport.

Somewhere in the middle of all that, I found a free hour...

plenty of time for a quick photo shoot.

My version of fun.

We'd normally walk here, but due to the busy-ness of the day,

we decided to drive and park as close as possible.

Julia was a good sport and risked getting wet as she waded across the slippery rocks.

We were there for less than half an hour.

Maybe it added to the busy-ness of the day, or maybe it gave us a break from it all.

I'm not sure.

But I'm glad we made some time to enjoy the weather and have a little fun.

Shoot and Edit SOOC

2011-05-17T20:06:00.000-04:00

Okay, okay, okay...

you all know that I get weirded out about posting the same picture on my blog twice.

(Seriously, I must get over this... too stupid.)

But, how could I not participate in this week's Shoot and Edit

when the pictures that I took yesterday happen to be exactly on topic.... Rain and Umbrellas.

So here are my SOOC shots...

(I made these small, because it makes me feel better about posting twice.)

(rolling my eyes at myself...)

Let the music do the talking..

2011-05-16T07:11:00.000-04:00

We went to a "tatoo" a couple of weeks ago
and I used it as an excuse to take lots of pictures of men (and women) in kilts.

But the absolute cutest kilt-wearer there had to be this guy...

Oh. My. Goodness.

The adorableness factor is off the charts!

The very serious face on this guy has a different level of "adorable."

Do you love the sound of bagpipes? or hate them?

I love them.

I'm also particularly fond of bright red kilts....
usually...

I mean, I still think it's a little odd when I see someone wearing one at the mall or the park.
But you have to admit it takes some... ummmm... guts for a guy to wear a kilt on a normal day.
That's a guy who has his own definite style opinions!

These people all seemed to have a passion for what they do.

And this guy was so into his drumming... it was fun to watch.

A beautiful week...

2011-05-14T14:47:00.000-04:00

Okay, well, other than the whole blogger snafu,

(ACKKK!!!)

this week has been quite good.

Beautiful weather and lots of outdoor activities = awesome.

Saturday, May 7th: Kevin and Natalie are off to the prom in full Hollywood style.

Sunday, May 8 Mother's Day: The kids took me out to dinner at the local Mexican restaurant and they let me pay! Aren't they sweet? I gave myself a present and didn't take any pictures. I just relaxed and soaked it all in. But I handed the phone to Quincy and said "take a picture of that for me", and she did, and I did the quick edit using instagram, and I'm happy. ;)

Monday, May 9: Another one of those "Quick! Take a picture!" days. So I did.

Tuesday, May 10: The kids and I discovered some nice hiking trails nearby. We went there three days in a row, they enjoyed it so much.

Wednesday, May 11: Lily pads. Not my favorite shot, but the best of the five that I took that day, so here it is.

Thursday, May 12: Hiking... biking... did I mention that the weather was perfect this week?

~~Friday, May 13~~ Nope!
Thursday, May 12, part two: True confessions... I didn't take a single picture on Friday. And I didn't even realize it until 11pm at which point I could either take some lame photo of my computer keyboard (I've done it before) or just accept the photo-less day. I chose option #2.
Besides... I had more than one fun photo from the day before that seemed worth sharing.
(This was taken with my cell phone using the hipstamatic app.)

How was your week?

Oh brother...

2011-05-10T08:23:00.000-04:00

I've held onto these pictures for a while and haven't shared them

because I couldn't decide if the topic was the relationship between my two youngest children

or how using my iphone totally changes the way I take pictures.

(I'm going to go with topic number two,
but I have to say that I love that these kids get along (usually) and find time to play games
and ride bikes together.)

I know that my iphone pictures are not likely to be technically perfect.

The focus isn't going to be sharp and they're bound to be noisy.

So that gives me the freedom to take pictures that may or may not come out.

They take on a different look.

I kind of love these.

The sunflare...

the silhouettes...

the funky colors...

And even the slow progression from children to ghosts as their heads disappear behind the sunflare.

When I'm in a rut, taking the same pictures in the same way,

using my iphone takes me out of that.

Cool, huh?

Don't these weeks just fly by??

2011-05-07T14:10:00.000-04:00

Every week, as I sit down to put together my collage for the week's photos, I think,

"Where has this week gone?"

It's flown by so quickly.

And what have I done with this week?

Fortunately, the photos help me remember the answer to that question.

I got outside and enjoyed the weather.

However, if my pictures were to really represent what I spent most of my time doing this week,

there would be seven pictures of my computer screen,

like this one...

There would also be one of Tripadvisor...

I rely on this website for hotel reviews and recommendations of fun things to do in the area.

And definitely a pic of the Bedbug registry...

'cause they freak me out.

(You know... when my dad tucked me in at night with the loving phrase,

"Night, night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite"

I had no idea that those things were real!)


Picture found here where you can buy one of your very own... I only wish they really were so cute.

I have my hotels and general itinerary figured out up to Bismarck, ND

after that... well, I guess I'll work on that next week.

Getting outside

2011-05-04T06:26:00.001-04:00

The winter was far too long and summer is just around the corner

so when we get these amazing days that are not too hot and not too cold

I make sure that we get out in it for a little while.

When we left the house, I didn't have a particular destination in mind,

but the kids did,

they wanted to head straight to this rock in the middle of the creek.

It's a good thinking rock.

If I had known just how pretty it would be, I would have brought my "real" camera,

but all I had was my iphone.

I'll have to come back here for a photo shoot.

I just love the reflections in the water.

And I love that this gives the kids a chance to pretend to be country kids.

Say "Bakugan!"...

2011-05-02T06:52:00.000-04:00

"Mitchie, can I take your picture?"

"No."

"You can sit right there and I'll take your picture, okay?"

"Nuh-uh. No way."

"What if you show me your Bakugan and I'll take pictures of them?"

"Okay!!"

So that's how you get a 6yo to pose for the camera!

Now I know!

In fact he got so into the posing, I could hardly keep him in focus,

but I think we got a few good shots and plenty of great personality.

365/ week 17

2011-04-30T13:24:00.001-04:00

I have no idea how this week flew by so quickly!!

Crazy!!

And not only has this week flown by, but the month...

Here we are at the end of April!

And you know what May is???
Nearly Summer!

Spring is in full swing!

There are actual leaves on all the trees.

The stink bugs are out in force... yuck.

I was able to convince the kids to pose together for an Easter picture.

And we watched a royal wedding from the comfort of my bed.

Flashback Friday

2011-04-29T09:35:00.002-04:00

It's flashback Friday and I couldn't think of a more appropriate flashback today

than to go waaaayyy back to the summer of 1987.

I was fifteen going on sixteen and my wonderful aunt took me on a trip to England.

It was the one and only time in my life that I ever considered the royal family with any great interest.

You see, there was still one eligible prince left (Prince Edward) and maybe, just maybe, I would bump into him

and I would catch his eye.

Where and how, I do not know, but I was fifteen and silly and I knew it wasn't going to really happen,

but a teenager can dream.

Let's just say, that even if I had run smack dab into him,

I hardly think that my awesome 80's perm,

my ginormous glasses,

and my baggy sweaters

were going to make him say "Wow!"

(or whatever exclamation a prince might choose.)

Oh yeah... lookin' good!

So this week, as William and Kate's wedding approached, my first thought was to ignore it.

But then I thought "why not make a party of it?"

So I broke out our tiaras

(yes, we do have our own tiaras... another story for another day)

and the good china,

had the girls sleep-over in my room

and set the alarm for 5:30.

At 5:30am we woke to the sound of chimes.

(I didn't realize that my alarm was set to 'chimes', but how appropriate!)

We opened our bleary eyes, popped on our tiaras,

drank ~~tea~~ apple juice

and ate scones in bed while we watched the wedding.

Ohhhhh... the wedding....

totally worth it!

The pretty dress, the crazy hats, the pomp and ceremony.

I rather enjoyed it.

And now we go back to our regularly scheduled and happily common lives.

I'm quite content to be Queen of my own world.

You are perfect...

2011-04-27T11:11:00.000-04:00

Practically perfect in every way.

I love these girls

and I hope they always know that they are perfect

and pretty

And awesome!

Virtual tea with my virtual friends...

2011-04-26T07:20:00.001-04:00

Good morning!

I'm sitting here waiting for my tea water to boil, but as soon as it's ready, I'll offer you a cup.

Have I mentioned lately how much I appreciate my virtual friends?

You guys are awesome!

The weather is beautiful... amazing really.

If this computer were a laptop, I'd be blogging from my back deck.

This past Friday it was cold and rainy and we had to turn on the heat,

On Sunday it was 85 and humid and we needed the AC.

so confused...

Who knows what the future will hold, but I'm pretty sure that winter has given way to Spring

and maybe Spring is starting to turn to summer.

Not that I'm all that anxious for the crazy hot and humid weather...

At this moment, my two high schoolers are sitting in the hallway of their school waiting for classes to begin

and the two younger ones are still in their beds sound asleep.

One of the many benefits of homeschooling.

I like having this quiet time in the morning to catch up on blogs and drink my tea.

Which is ready by the way... want some?

Now that Spring break and Easter is over, it's time to get back to normal.

Only two more months of school left and only three months until we hit the road.

It's time to start sorting through all this stuff and deciding what goes to goodwill.

My kids want to have a yard sale, but that sounds like a lot of work for very little money.

Guess I should go take this tea outside and start making lists of things that need to get done.

If I don't write it down, it might not happen.

Because my mind is like a sieve and I forget everything!

Maybe I should blog my list so that you all can help remind me.

Maybe not...

Have a wonderful day today!

Love ya all!

Easter

2011-04-25T07:46:00.000-04:00

I hope your Easter was filled with big smiles...

Bright colors...

And lots of fun!

How we spent our Spring Break...

2011-04-23T08:53:00.000-04:00

One of the best parts of this 365 project is being able to look back on each picture

and know exactly what was going on that day and that week.

I look forward to looking at a whole year's worth of these pictures.

Never has a year of my life been so well documented!

This week was Spring Break, so we ignored the gas prices and hit the road.

(I'm trying to get in as much time with my extended family as I can before we head west.)

We spent Saturday celebrating my niece's 9th birthday. (106)

My favorite moment of the whole day was when both my sister and I got a good look at the group of girls that were attending the party.

I think we were both surprised to realize that these were little girls, but a group of pre-teens!

They all looked sooooo old.

Took pictures of men in skirts on Sunday, (107)

but this little guy totally stole the show!

Too cute!

We got lots of cuddle time with Delilah. (108)

But maybe not enough...

I got to take pictures of someone other than Julia. (109, 110)

Now we're back home to our normal routine which, thankfully,

includes wonderful things like horses and popcorn. (111,112)

And blogging....

Week 15!

2011-04-16T10:08:00.000-04:00

Gotta make this quick since I'm visiting my sister and we're heading out for a birthday party soon.

You know I'll be taking all sorts of pictures this weekend now that I have my nieces and nephew to follow around with my camera. :)

Day 99

Day 100! Deep conversations

Day 101: When will I get tired of taking pictures of the moon? The world may never know.

Day 102: Hey, Julia go climb a tree so I can take your picture.

Day 103: Dogwood taken with the iphone using instagram... love it!

Day 104: The sun really does shine....

Day 105: Traffic in DC??? Say it ain't so!

When life gets rough, land somewhere soft...

2011-04-15T09:55:00.000-04:00

Sometimes it just doesn't matter what you do.

You could be doing everything right,

but someone or something decides to change your plans.

Everything comes to a screeching halt...

Everything goes topsy-turvy...

and hopefully, you have a soft place to land.

No I don't have a picture of the landing,

because by that time I had the camera down and was busy checking on my baby,

who did have a soft place to land

and only her pride and maybe her confidence was injured.

But she thinks the pictures are funny.

Smile???????????

2011-04-13T08:34:00.000-04:00

I didn't tell her to smile.

I didn't ask her to say "Cheese."

So there is no reason for these awful grimaces other than the simple fact that she

just. didn't. want to. cooperate!

Disjointed thoughts and old pictures

2011-04-12T08:47:00.002-04:00

Good morning.

I'm sitting here with my cup of tea fighting the overwhelming urge to crawl back into bed.
So sleepy....

Yesterday was another warm Monday followed directly by a rainy Tuesday.
(We seem to have a bit of a trend going.)

Outside my window a squirrel just jumped off the fence and onto my neighbor's magnolia tree causing the faded blooms to fall to the ground.
The grass is getting greener and higher.
Someone is going to have to mow that... I just don't know who that will be.

My radio/tv station that normally plays pretty current music is having an 80's flashback.
"Hey now, hey now. Don't dream it's over...."
Strange.

(Gotta love these kids)

Google tells me that it's the fiftieth anniversary of the first human spaceflight. Go Yuri!

I also think that this is the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War.
Oh, hey... I just looked it up. Sure enough, it is.
The only reason that even crossed my mind is very simply the fact that I live in Virginia and while I was dropping the kids off at school this morning the local radio show was asking Civil War trivia questions. Now... I know Virginians love them some Civil War history, but that struck me as odd until I did the math.

I'm not a fan of Civil War history.

My week in iphone pictures

2011-04-09T10:19:00.000-04:00

I've been learning to love my iphone,

so I thought it would be fun to do something a little different with my daily pictures.

92: Sunset

93: Rainy day activities

94: Warm days and picnic dinners

95: Gray skies go away

96: Tell me again why I decided to clean out my closet?

97: Old fashioned fun

98: A late night trip to the mailbox

No... the quality isn't the same as it would be with my "big" camera,

and I most certainly haven't gone totally to the "dark side",

but it is fun to play with.

Quiet blog/ busy brain

2011-04-08T11:10:00.000-04:00

While it's been quiet here on the blog,

it's been awfully noisy inside of my head.

There's a lot to think about.

I've been looking into my crystal ball trying to see the future.

Sometimes it's quite murky, but some things are more vivid than others.

One thing that was made perfectly clear is that the kids are getting older

and will continue to get older.

(I, on the other hand, will not!)

And I'm just glad that I have them here to enjoy each day.

82 to 52 in 24!

2011-04-05T08:52:00.000-04:00

If you were to join me for coffee today, you'd have to drive through some wet and windy weather.

It's 52 degrees and rainy today.

That by itself wouldn't be so unusual for a Spring day,

but after yesterday's weather

it's a bit stunning.

Thirty degrees warmer, sunny and wonderful.

The kind of weather that compels you to break out your sunglasses

and flip flops

And to have a picnic dinner.

We enjoyed the flowers that had suddenly bloomed in this warmth.

And played a bit of frisbee.

Today, I think we'll huddle inside,

drink some warm drinks,

play a board game

and maybe watch a movie.

Week 13 of Project 365

2011-04-02T09:33:00.000-04:00

After 13 weeks of playing along with the 365 project,

I still haven't figured out how I want to display my pictures.

This seriously wastes more of my time than it should as I sit and stare and try to decide.

I need a life.

Day 85, Saturday: I bought this game, Settlers of Catan, a month ago and we've played it pretty much non-stop. It's become a bit of a family obsession.

Day 86, Sunday: I had hoped to get into DC for the cherry blossoms. I had hoped to find a warm sunny day too, but I only got half of my wishes. My amazing husband (who was home for 10 days!!!) took me into DC and we braved the 30 degree weather and the snow in the hopes of getting a good shot.

My pictures were underexposed and overexposed all over the place, not a single one turned out the way I hoped it would, but I had fun and learned a thing or two while I was at it.

Day 87, Monday: Previously mentioned amazing husband had to get on an airplane and go back to the ship on the West Coast.

Not really in a picture taking mood at all.

This is a sponge that we found last year on the beach in Cuba.

Day 88, Tuesday: Still not in a picture taking mood, but it was bright and sunny so I got out there anyway and I'm glad I did.

Love this picture and the others I took as I wandered around my yard.

Day 89, Wednesday: Gray days make for difficult pictures, but I had Quincy stand just inside the doorway and used what little light I had.

Day 90, Thursday: I love this picture. Love it, love it, love it.

It was taken with my iphone, just a quick shot,

but a pretty accurate representation of what my school day looks like.

Day 91, Friday: All the formals that the kids go to give me an excellent excuse to take pictures.

And it's one of the few times that Kevin is willing to stand still and smile at the camera.

Seeing the light...

2011-04-01T10:08:00.001-04:00

I may have once thought that photoshop was not for me.

(That may have been because I didn't know how to use it.)

But I'm slowly figuring it out

and this edit is the thing that finally made me see how awesome it could be.

In all honesty, the edited picture looks more like the reality that I saw on the day.

And what I wanted was a realistic edit... so there we go.

I can't give specifics as to how I did it.

(I didn't keep track.)

But for those who want to know...

I sharpened Julia

I think I used a soft light, or maybe a boosting action. (??)

And I added a slight vignette.

I think??

Vibrant colors!

2011-03-30T11:33:00.000-04:00

It's gray and dreary outside.

I'm sleepy and the weather isn't helping.

Zzzzzzzzz

Fortunately I got out in yesterday's bright sunshine to take a few pictures.

(They're all SOOC other than a couple of crops.)

Pretty....

I'm loving the pinks against the blue sky and green grass.

I hope those blues skies come back soon.

Project 365: Week 12

2011-03-26T09:45:00.000-04:00

This week was rather light on the creative picture taking.

But I got a shot of the "supermoon"

Recorded our first cook-out of the season.

Found some newly formed leaves.

Took iphone shots while bowling and doing laundry.

Got proof that Quincy really does work hard on her Spanish homework

(not that there was ever any doubt.)

And... hmmm....

Got a picture of a picture that wasn't on the camera just reflected in the screen.

(???)

Shoot and edit!!

2011-03-24T07:32:00.000-04:00

I haven't been playing along with Ashley's shoot and edit for two reasons.

Reason #1. I'm still trying to get over the whole "can't post a picture twice" thing.

I'm going to therapy for it three times a week and I'm starting to get over it

No I'm not going to therapy and well... I'm not really over it either, but I'll move on...

Reason #2. Anytime anyone says anything about photoshop it pretty much sounds like Charlie Brown's teacher, "wah wah wah wah wah"

All the words reach my ears (or my eyes in most cases) but my brain does not process them.

However.... after owning pse8 for over a year now (!!!) I finally decided to buckle down and figure it out.

Focus.... all I need to do is focus.....

Ergh.

Shockingly, things started to make a little more sense.

I figured a few things out on my own, then I went to Ashley's blog and realized that the words were starting to penetrate my brain.

I was able to follow her tips and a light bulb went off and I finally really understood not only what an action is, but how they work.

Very cool.

(Thank you, Ashley!)

And just in time too.

I'm doing this 365 project ( a picture a day)

and although I had taken a few pics on a particular day, none were particularly great.

I saw one that had some promise and decided to play with it in photoshop.

Now don't ask me what I did.

I haven't a clue really.

I just tried this and that until I came up with something I was happy with.

I can tell you that I cropped it... but that's kind of obvious isn't it.

Anyhow, I'm pretty happy that I was able to take a not so great picture and turn it into something I kind of liked.

Now I'm still all about taking the absolute best picture possible while still in the camera,
but I'm seeing the benefit of an edit here and there.

Also.... I'm really wanting to use textures.

But I haven't figured that out yet.

You Capture: Youth

2011-03-23T11:02:00.000-04:00

Spring's young buds

Give way to showy flowers

With all the brightness and exuberance of youth.

On my mind...

2011-03-21T08:17:00.000-04:00

Outside my window... I'm enjoying a thunder and lightning show, or at least I was, I think it's dying down now.

I am thinking... About my plans for the day. I'm thinking about switching it up a bit and having some fun with the kids. Hmmm... what to do....

I am thankful for... having my husband home this week. Yay!!

I'm wearing... jeans and a purple t-shirt. The purple is the exact shade of my kid's school colors. Go school spirit! (Or something like that... I'm so not a cheerleader.)

I am remembering... learning to enjoy a good thunderstorm as a kid. I don't ever remember being afraid of them. When a storm rolled in and everyone else ran inside, my whole family would be on the (covered) front porch watching the lightning streak through the sky.

I am creating...pictures... lots of pictures. And I'm learning to edit them in photoshop, finally!!!

I am going... to start creating some definite plans for my trip across country. Until now, everything has been a little vague, but I'm ready to start planning definite dates for each of my stops.

I am reading... Actually, I'm not. I can read and read and read and devour every book out there and then I suddenly hit a dry spell. This is definitely a dry spell. Not to say that I'm not trying. I keep picking up books, reading a page and putting it away.

Song that is playing over and over in my head... How about a few variations on Singing in the Rain

The original... and my favorite.

The Glee mashup with Umbrella (which I think Gene Kelly would totally love.)

And the one that makes me giggle...

oh.. and Usher did a fun remake too.

Noticing that... All this rain is bringing lots of pretty green and new flower buds. We aren't at full Spring bloom yet, but I'm loving the new growth.

A picture I would like to share...may as well add my moon shot to the mix. My facebook feed was FULL of full moon pics on Saturday. :) You know I was out there taking pictures just like everyone else!

Week 11 of my 365

2011-03-19T07:18:00.003-04:00

This has been such an easy week to keep up with the "picture a day" thing.

The weather has been wonderful and warm.

We've been able to play outside.

And the very first flowers are starting to bloom.

It's a good week.

Day 71 (Saturday): One of our first real warm days that was dry enough for us to get out.

I took Julia location hunting and found a great new place to take pictures.

Not that you can see it here, because my favorite picture is this close up of her face.

Day72: Bubbles!! We spent a good portion of the day hanging out on the back deck blowing bubbles.

Day 73: Julia found some fun pi day activities to do around the house.

Day 74: Some days need big erasers (not that this one was so bad, but it's the only picture that I took.)

Day 75: We celebrated St. Patricks day a day early with a little shepherds pie.

Day 76: The first Daffodils! and sun!

Day 77: Faithful forsythia letting us know that Spring is here!

The magic dress, part 1

2011-03-18T09:48:00.001-04:00

Once upon a time... oh, so long ago,

Dan and I took our kids (only three of them at the time) to Disney World for the first time.

It was wonderful.

It truly lived up to it's reputation of being "the happiest place on earth."

After three days of riding rides, watching shows and window shopping,

I realized that my then 4yo hadn't asked for a thing.

Nothing.

(The same couldn't be said for her 6yo brother.)

I wanted her to have something special,

maybe a stuffed animal or a little toy to bring home,

so I directed her to a shop and asked her if there was anything there that she would like to buy.

She took her time looking at all there was to offer

but once she saw this Snow White dress

there was no question.

She wanted the dress!

I have to admit that when I looked at the price tag

my generous offer to buy her anything suddenly seemed a little extravagant.

Eighty dollars for a dress?!

Eighty dollars for a dress-up outfit?!?

We were a young family and eighty dollars seemed like the moon,

but that's what I wanted to give her.

She had been so good and all I wanted was to give her the moon.

Or maybe an eighty dollar Snow White dress.

So we bought it and a few accessories...

what's a few more dollars?!?

We had one more day left at Disney,

so when she woke up and asked me if she could wear the dress

I was happy to say yes.

(May as well get our money's worth out of that thing!)

We hadn't gone more than ten feet past the main gate of the Magic Kingdom when a little girl no older than Quincy herself, approached us and asked if Quincy would sign an autograph book.

I looked questioningly at the girl's mother, then shrugged and helped my 4yo sign both her name and in parentheses, Snow White.

I think both Quincy and I were a little stunned, but we moved on.

I looked up and noticed that there were long, long lines wrapped all around the main courtyard.

Lines of people waiting to hug, pose for pictures with, or get autographs from Disney characters.

I said right then and there that there was NO way I was going to waste our last day at Disney

waiting on lines to hug anyone...

unless...

maybe,

Snow White.

We continued down Main Street and out of the corner of my eye,

I saw a flash of yellow.

Snow White and several of her dwarfs were down one of the side alleys.

Suddenly, I became one of those crazy parents.

I grabbed Quincy by the hand and practically ran down the alley

only to watch as Snow White slipped behind one of those mysterious doors to the unknown.

Noooooo!

Happy and his handler were still out.

"Please," I ask the handler "is there any way Snow White can come out for just one more picture?"

Happy's handler gently shot me down, but then assured me that she would be back in just 15 minutes.

15 minutes?

Not a problem.

We can wait 15 minutes!

I spent time talking to the handler, asking about her job and other Disney related things.

Happy and Bashful took turns taking pictures with the kids

and dancing with mini-Snow White.

More tourists stopped Quincy and asked if she would pose for a picture with them.

Uh... sure, I guess?

Quincy didn't quite know what to make of it, but she was a trooper and went along with it all.

At one point, Happy and his handler took a moment and went "behind the wall."

Moments later, the handler (I wish I knew her name) came back and said to me,

"Snow White would like to know if your daughter would like to walk down Main Street with her and the dwarves."

Uhhhh... YES!

I turned to my husband who had just returned with something to eat

and said, "Throw that away! We have to go! You need to get the video camera out!"

Slightly confused and not particularly happy to part with his breakfast,

Dan followed me as I filled him in.

The handler took Quincy's hand and led us to another side alley to another door further down Main Street

where we met up with Snow White herself and all seven of the dwarves.

Snow White took time to admire Quincy's dress

and the ruby ring that was obviously a ruby from the dwarves' mine.

The dwarves were quite impressed,

but Dopey was particularly taken with our mini-SW.

Dan ran ahead with the video camera

(I think that's him on the left.)

and I stayed alongside snapping as many pictures as I could

while still pushing a stroller and guiding my 6yo.

Once we arrived at the designated stopping point,

Snow White took lots of time posing for pictures with her mini-me.

And was sure to call over the two handsome princes.

Quincy got a bit of the VIP treatment and was directed to the front of all of the dwarves lines.

This did not endear us to the mom's that were waiting on line and that we were effectively cutting in front of.

We went from dwarf to dwarf hugging and taking pictures

until I could no longer bear the daggers being shot at me from the eyes of those moms

We hadn't visited Grumpy yet, but I didn't think that would matter.

I gathered Quincy and the rest of my clan and said that it was time to go.

Dopey caught wind of this and came running for one last hug.

When we finally had a moment out of the whirlwind

and a chance to regroup as a family,

I asked Quincy what she thought of all that.

You know what that stinker said???

"I didn't get to hug Grumpy!"

Really?

So, Quincy, I'm sorry and for many years I had a teensy bit of guilt,

but after seeing that last photo,

I realize that it was actually Dopey's fault.

He blocked us from Grumpy!

I'm sure of it.

So now my mother guilt is appeased and I will happily blame Dopey.

(Thank you Dopester!)

My mini me...

2011-03-15T13:56:00.001-04:00

I was cleaning? cooking? putting dishes away? I don't remember.

I was busy doing kitchen-y things when I looked over at Julia and smiled.

She had appropriated my camera and was taking part in a little photo challenge that I had created for her.

I couldn't help thinking... like mother, like daughter.

You might notice Julia's new temporary tattoo.

We've been hanging onto that baby since October!
Had to wait until pi day to sport our new pi tattoos.
(I have one too...)
:)

To hear more about our pi day activities
and to see the results of Julia's photo challenge,
let me direct you to Julia's blog.

And maybe, if you go there, could you leave a comment for her?
It would make her day!

A bubble parade...

2011-03-14T14:49:00.000-04:00

An endless line of bubbles trailed behind us as we walked through the neighborhood yesterday,

bringing smiles to the otherwise shy and retiring neighbors.

As one teenage boy said, "Holy Bubbles!"

(This picture was taken with my iphone using the instagram app.)

To my friends in the frozen north...

2011-03-13T15:17:00.000-04:00

I found spring!

And I bottled it...

And it can be yours for just three easy payments of $19.99!!

Call me.

Normal is good...

2011-03-12T08:47:00.000-05:00

This week has been pretty "normal" to the point of being boring,

but as I look at all that happened in Japan yesterday

I find myself quite grateful for normal and boring.

I cannot even imagine how long it will be before they reach any sense of normalcy.

Saturday (Day 64) was one of the more exciting days.

It was the first time that I got to watch my son and his friends compete in a drill competition.

They did awesome!

Day 65: Julia hamming it up for the camera. This is the best picture I got that day.

All the others were pics of Q-tips...

seriously...

Day 66: A little school work while sporting an awesome level ring.

I got soooo many comments asking where we got the ring.

We bought it at a museum gift shop,

but lucky for you, there was a website etched into the side of the ring.

Here it is...

Carolyn Forsman Conversation Piece Jewelry

Day 67: The best cut flowers ever!

These alstroemeria last for weeks!

And they come in lots of great colors.

Day 68: A very gray day, so I took gray pictures.

Day 69: Spring rains!!!

That was a serious downpour,

but so worth it for all the green grass it left behind.

Day 70: A brief blue break in the clouds and lots of pretty buds on the tree.

What a drip!

2011-03-10T22:24:00.000-05:00

We got to the barn only to have the

girls riding lessons get rained out.

Yikes!

That's a lot of rain!

One of these things is not like the other...

2011-03-09T08:02:00.000-05:00

Chipped nail polish (a color for each nail)

a level ring

and fractions.

If you ask Julia, she might say that some things in life are more fun than fractions,
but I can enjoy a good math equation from time to time.

Which reminds me...
Monday 3/14 is Pi day!!
Celebrate accordingly!
:)

Because teenagers are so cute when they're happy...

2011-03-07T12:57:00.000-05:00

Can you guess what overall place they took in this weekend's competition?

So... what did you do this week?

2011-03-05T11:22:00.000-05:00

We kept ourselves pretty busy.

On Saturday, while Quincy attended an art class in DC, Julia, Grant and I visited a few museums.

Dorothy's ruby slippers are pretty and all, but those red shoes that I tried on a couple of weeks ago are far cuter!

(Although, probably not appropriate for a little girl who wears gingham dresses.)

On Sunday, we found some signs of spring popping up.

Yay! Spring!

The clouds rolled in on Monday, but the weather was so warm that the kids didn't want to come inside

so I let them run around in the mud and the pouring rain.

On Tuesday... more spring!

Yay! again!

I didn't have much time to take pictures or enjoy the weather on Wednesday because we were cleaning, cleaning, cleaning!!

Except, of course, I forgot to dust the one thing that I took a picture of!

Geez...

The cold weather came back on Thursday, just in time for riding lessons.

The girls don't mind much, all of that hard work keeps them warm,

but just sitting and watching the lesson is cold!

And finally, on Friday... we played Settlers of Catan with Natalie.

Julia won.

The ambition of little dictators

2011-03-04T08:23:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time...

There was a little boy who, though he was no more than four years old,

had the soul of an emperor.

Sadly, his closest friends and family members were all a bit older than him in years and when the time came to annex the worlds lands and incorporate them into their own realms, he often got only what they had left over or were gracious enough to hand over.

The boys discussed this annexation as they played on what might seem to you to be just an ordinary swing set placed behind an ordinary ranch style home on a small corner of an ordinary cattle farm in West Virginia, but for them it was a platform for ruling the world. Their mother (a rather ordinary mother) was inside this home, enjoying the peace and quiet and using the time to get a few chores done when she heard sounds of distress. The siren-like sound of a four year old who wasn't getting what he wanted. As he burst through the door, his mother asked him, "Grant, what's the matter?"

She could tell that it was quite upsetting and that it most likely had something to do with the two eight year old boys that he had been playing with, but she couldn't possibly imagine what it was.

"Grant, what's wrong?"

Wail, sob, sob, sob..."I want ROME!!!"

"I'm sorry, honey, you want what?"

Sob, sniffle, sob, sob.... "I want Rome! but they won't let me have it!"

Oh, dear... what's a mother to do? Certainly, there is a temptation to tell the older boys to give the little one what he wants, but they did lay claim to it first.

And as one of the boys mentioned, "You don't get to be the ruler of the world by giving away all of your land."

He had a point.

So mommy held her little Napoleon and comforted and soothed him with these words, "Don't worry, just wait until you're a little older, then you can be president. Then you can have anything you want."

It may not have made sense and it may not be true, but to her ambitious little ruler, it was exactly what he needed to hear.

Well... sort of...

Somewhere deep inside, I think that he still would have liked to have taken over Rome.

Do you have blogging rules?

2011-03-02T09:22:00.001-05:00

I do...

They're all in my head and I don't feel like they need to apply to other bloggers

and sometimes I break them

(with a certain degree of stress and anxiety),

but I have them.

Sometimes they help me keep this blogging life in order,

sometimes they're just silly and maybe a bit restrictive.

Here are the two good ones...

1. Never ever write anything that you don't want your mother, mother-in-law, father, sister, husband or kids to read.

This one is a pretty hard and fast rule, can't break this one.

I suppose I could if I had a "secret" blog, but I don't

and I do not need real life issues to come from my blogging life mis-steps.

Having said that....

2. Be real

I really, really want to be myself.

I'm not a Pollyanna in real life and I'm not going to be here.

I don't preach here or elsewhere.

I don't claim to be an expert on anything really... motherhood, photography, military spouse-dom

so you probably won't get a lot of posts full of advice on those fronts,

but a word of "wisdom" here and there might find it's way to the blog.

(I'm also no expert on blogging and I feel like I'm both preaching and giving advice here. Erggghh!)

(Rules are stupid.)

Okay so that was a bit of a fail...

is there any way to dust after the picture has been taken??

why didn't I dust??

Here are some more stupid rules.

(Seriously, these are the ones that I think only apply to me.)

(I never judge another person's blog because they don't play by my imaginary rules.)

I don't like to publish a post without pictures
I don't like to post old pictures. If they're more than a week old and I haven't put them on the blog, they'll probably just sit in my archives for eternity. (Unless, there's some photo challenge that that particular picture fits perfectly, but that rarely happens.)
I really, really want to respond to each and every comment that I receive. This isn't the stupid part... I like this one, but I don't like the pressure that I put on myself if I don't have the time to respond to each comment.
I don't like to enter blogging link-ups if I can't check out everyone else's links.

(Or at least a good portion of the other links... )

(I've broken that rule a lot this week... it's been a busy week.)

Oh, and here's one of my dumber ones... I don't like to post a picture more than once. This really messes with my head, especially now that I'm doing a 365 project. It gives me the twitches.

And really... I know that it's stupid!

Another week...

2011-02-26T19:47:00.000-05:00

Some days it's so easy to pick up the camera,

others.... not so much.

I had a lot of "not so much" days this week, but I managed

and I have 56 days completed out of 365!

Day 50 was, quite obviously, Grant's birthday. Lots of pictures were taken that day.

Day 51 was spent hanging out at home and playing with Grant's new game.

Day 52 was a day for taking absolutely ridiculous pictures, none were great, but lots were silly and fun. :)

Day 53, I went out of my box and made a new recipe for salsa verde. YUM!

Thanks for the recipe, Leslie!!

On Day 54, Julia and I played with a few new iphone apps.

This picture kills me. I love it, but she looks soooo grown up.

That face!

Yikes...

On Day 55, we celebrated Natalie, Kevin and Quincy's accomplishment...

getting a brand new Key Club up and running at their high school.

Day 56... flowers.

'nuff said.

Legos, Lincoln Logs and Liquid diets?

2011-02-23T14:56:00.001-05:00

Legos are awesome.

I'm pretty sure that it doesn't matter whether you are four, fourteen or forty,

there's a good chance that you'll feel the same.

In this case, my newly turned 14 year old, spent his birthday at a lego building exhibit at the National Building Museum.

There were large lego buildings to admire...

And a room full of loose legos to create his own architectural wonders.

This kept him, his sister and his 19yo friend quite happy for quite a while.

(Despite the fact that we have thousands upon thousands of our own legos at home that haven't been handled and or licked by the masses of children that have visited that exhibit previously!)

(Thank God for hand sanitizer.)

Later that evening, the waiters at the local Mexican restaurant surprised him with a song,

a sombrero, and a scoop of ice cream lit with a single candle.

He was so stunned that he began to eat while the candle was still lit.

"Uh, Grant? Are you going to blow it out?"

Grant has always had a knack for asking for unique birthday gifts.

One year it was a bust of Beethoven,

another year it was a couch.

This year he wanted lincoln logs (he's still a little boy at heart)

and

a blender.

Yes.... a blender.

Perhaps he wants to start a liquid diet?

Or maybe he just wants to make shakes and smoothies in his spare time...

one can never know what is going on inside of that mind of his. :)

But I love the way he thinks!!

Happy 14th Birthday!!

I'm linking this to You Capture as their theme this week is the letter "L".

Oh, February, my fickle friend...

2011-02-22T08:05:00.001-05:00

On Friday, you gave me this...

Flip flops and warmth

Today, just four days later, I get this from you...

Snow? Why?

It's not much snow... barely enough to cover the ground, so I can't complain too much,
but really, February, why must you tease us so?

An Indigo Surprise

2011-02-20T15:01:00.001-05:00

This week's Project 64 color was indigo.

At first I thought it was going to be tricky,

but then I took a look around my house and realized that I probably have an excessive amount of that color.

(I guess I like it.)

I had all sorts of plans to drag out some dishes and other such things,

but when I was going through some pictures that I took this week,

this one popped out at me.

Indigo!

I had taken a picture of indigo without even realizing it.

That indigo... it's such a sneaky color! :)

(Does anyone else think of Inigo Montoya every time you see the word "indigo"?)

(Hello! My name is Inigo Montoya...)