Merlot's musings

Back to school

2011-01-04T18:14:00.000-05:00

Today Zach had to go back to school. As sad as I was to see him go, it was nice to have some peace in the house again. He and Owen constantly get into bickering/arguing fits over whose turn it is for the computer, TV, sitting next to mom, you name it. But he's my pal and I miss him when he's gone.

Today is an even numbered day, so the photo is of Owen. He's been on a huge puzzle kick lately. I'm thrilled that he's not breaking things or pouring oil into furniture, but the puzzles all over the floor have been a bit frustrating, especially with Holly shedding all over the place. It is still better than the terrorist activities he had previously filled his time with, though. No doubt about it.

Here he his working a 48 piece puzzle. The 24 piece ones are "easy, mom!" and the 50ish piece ones take a little time. 100 piece require help from Dad. I went ahead and bought a puzzle game for the computer b/c it has several puzzles and you can change the number of pieces from about 6 to 9000 (not kidding) so I figure those will help keep him busy for a while. Since the 30 or so physical puzzles we now have are still not enough.

It's January 3rd!

2011-01-04T18:09:00.000-05:00

And guess what? I was supposed to take a photo of Zachary today. And I never got around to it! Surprise! I know you're shocked. However, as I am typing this on January 4th, I took the liberty of taking my Zach photos today and I'll post them here. He was getting ready for karate and we decided to do a couple of action shots in front of the non-dismantled Christmas tree. Some of them really cracked me up, as I'd hit the shutter button before I should have to get the right shot. And then Owen decided to try his hand at kicking like Wubby.

January 2nd

2011-01-04T17:47:00.000-05:00

Since today is an even numbered day, it's a day for photos of Owen. He's getting so big ♥ In the first one, he looks like his usual mischievous self. The second one, I don't really know that kid. In the third he's half crying begging me to "Stop doing that!"

Happy New Year!

2011-01-04T17:45:00.002-05:00

Ok, I know what you are probably thinking. That is, if you have read much of this blog in the past 2 years. You're probably thinking "Wow, another new year, she's going to try that photo 365 crap again. WHATever." Well, I have news for you. I am NOT doing the photo 365 again, I know better than to set myself up after two epic fails. However, I am going to try and blog more consistently. I also made a half-assed promise to myself to take more photos of the boys. So I asked Zach if he prefers odd or even numbers. He picked odd, SO that means I want to TRY and take a photo of him on every odd numbered day and one of Owen on every even-numbered day. But I'm not going to beat myself up if I miss some here and there. Just like today.

But I DID take one photo. The date is 1/1/11 and my house number is 1111. So I just had to take a picture of the clock at 11:11. Please excuse the dust. I swear, the dust in my house breeds like bunnies with an irrational fear of extinction.

Oops...

2010-12-02T21:26:00.001-05:00

I mentioned our pool turtles in the post below, but didn't have the photos in that folder showing them. So here they are (from the day we started filling)! And one of Owen ♥

Slightly less undone

2010-12-02T21:21:00.000-05:00

Ok, if you read this in chronolgical order, this will make sense. But since this blog posts newer posts on top, then it's not crazy to assume you've seen THIS post before the one below it, so I'll explain. I posted mid-construction pics down there, and here I'll see if I can dig up some slightly more completed photos of the pool and kitchen.

When we decided to go ahead and do the kitchen, I started looking at cabinet samples. I had no idea how many wood choices there were. When I came across hickory, I knew what I had to do. There are a few times in life when you are faced with 'choices' but in reality, you know there is no choice. You might hem and haw and struggle with yourself, trying to rationalize an alternative, but in your gut you KNOW what you have to do. This is a minor example of that. When I was much, much younger, I used to spend time with my grandfather, aka Boom-pa, picking hickory nuts. I have no other memory of hickory (nuts) other than relating them to him, picking them, eating them, traipsing through the trees and kicking up the leaves... I had no clue there were cabinets made of hickory. But it's so beautiful, so variegated, so natural looking. Simple and clean. So I had to get Boom-pa cabinets. I figured I'd either wait and do the kitchen another time, or find a way to pay for the hickory b/c I KNEW that if I got something else, it would eat at me and bug me.

Thankfully, Kevin has learned this about me and insisted we do it. We both loved the same style, so we took the leap. And I adore my Boom-pa cabinets. No matter what, I will always think of him when I look at them. He is one of the very best men who has ever lived. He's currently still in Iowa with his son's family (thanks Joe and Bonnie!) but has had to move to a nursing facility. His dream is to go back to his beloved WV, so any good thoughts or prayers for him to make that trip before his time here is over would be greatly appreciated.

Our pool has 4 very cute turtle mosaics on the bottom. One for each of us. I love them, too ♥

Sandy, this one's for you...

2010-12-02T21:06:00.000-05:00

My sister Sharon recently mentioned to me that Sandy had been asking about the blog...had I moved it somewhere else? Sandy is, for all intents and purposes, Sharon's mother-in-law. Not legally, perhaps, but in heart she is. I know it will happen some day, but who's counting? (Has it been 5 years Sharon? I can't even remember). Anyway, I think Terry and Sandy are top notch folks and I'm honored that Sandy even bothers to check this place out. And a little ashamed that Sharon had to say "Ummm, I think she's just been...uhhh...busy. Or something."

So, a brief-ish recap. Holy sh*t. I can't believe it's been since AUGUST. Yikes. Once I gave myself permission to 'give up' so to speak, I just avoided thinking about it. Busy, yes, but not THAT busy. Sheesh.

The pool is done. It's very cute. During the pool remodel, we also did a kitchen remodel. Fun days, let me tell you. Fun fun fun. Back yard totally fenced off, strange folks in or outside of my house for many days, couldn't let Holly outside off leash EVER, no place to let Owen run free, no kitchen sink for many days, unforseen problems and expenses and AAUGGGHHHH. Owen decided he was Mr. Anxiety and started refusing to even SEE Grammy and Grandaddy, let alone go to their house, no more happy days at Tumbleweeds only Mommy mommy mommy mommy MOMMY!!! Did I say it was fun? The poor guy who knocked on the back door one morning when I thought I was safe in my short little bathrobe tucked away inside but OH NO I had to go out and inspect the paver pattern...Fun? Cabinet installers measuring and nailing and sawing and drilling and sawdust flying. Cat footprints tracking dust all over the new stove and brown couches. Drywall dude making a HUGE mess with popcorn splattering all over my dryer, armoire, floor, chairs, walls, you name it. So much fun. I swear, if that cabinet installer had left my front door hanging wide open ONE MORE TIME I was gonna cut his legs off, or something. And of course the a/c died AGAIN during all of this. PLEASE Owen go to Grammy's, mommy is about to go crazy....

But it's done. So done. So very done, in fact, that I don't want to finish the final details. But I'm sure I will, maybe 2 or 5 or 10 years from now. And since it's not DONE done, the kitchen 'final' photos haven't been taken. Nor have the pool photos, for that matter. But here you can see some of the 'progress'. Oh yeah, did I mention that Owen decided to 'help' paint the house? Apparently he loved that mustardy yellow that I put in the kitchen. I caught him just before he rolled the dog.

I Heart Sunglasses

2010-08-17T17:51:00.000-04:00

Those of you who read this blog have seen this photo before, but I couldn't resist posting it again for the I ♥ Faces theme this week...Sunglasses! I was wracking my brain, trying to see if I could remember having a decent photo of someone wearing shades, and my brain was trying to sift through memories of beach days, did I have a camera, do I even HAVE any besides that one I took of Owen and it had bad flash shadowing....Anyhow, I was browsing through my files and this one stopped me and I knew I had to use it.

I had told Zach to clean his room and a few minutes later I turned around to see this vision in black...my own little Terminator. I guess cleaning his room was being put off in favor of dress up, but how could I not laugh? His facial expression just puts it over the top.

Head on over to I ♥ Faces and to see more!

Surprise!

2010-08-09T12:06:00.002-04:00

Time for I ♥ Faces again! I haven't done this in a while, but this week's theme is Surprise! and I just LOVE this picture--Zach and cousin Sophia having a grand old time playing with the water hose when we were visiting in WV. I brings back such fun memories and makes me homesick, wishing I could relive those summer days when we were kids running free through the hills and picking blackberries and getting dirty and running from pretend bad guys.

But I really love the surprised look on Zach and Sophia's triumphant grin as she blasts him full in the face.

Number 2 took my camera

2010-08-09T09:50:00.000-04:00

...and took this photo of us. I love it in spite of Zach's face, maybe even because of it. Later as we drove home, I snapped a picture of some stormy clouds in a reddening sky.

Now that summer's almost over...

2010-08-09T09:44:00.001-04:00

what are we doing? Putting in a pool. What timing, eh? C'est la vie. The process started a couple of months ago, actually, when we decided to see if we could qualify for a loan/refinance/whatever and contacted the pool company to discuss the possibility. Well, it all went through and we now have a huge hole in our backyard! I can't believe it. When we bought this house, one of my main criteria was 'NO POOL!' b/c I was terrified of trying to keep my eyes on then-baby Zachary. But he's quite the fish now, and Owen's getting pretty adept at the whole water thing (he swims underwater and can make his way to the edges of the pool) so it seems like my fears aren't quite so founded anymore. And Kevin is most excited about the interest rate we managed to snag.

They say it will take about 8 weeks to finish. It's going to be a trashed yard for a long time. The tree is our sweet Magnolia, which had to be chopped down. Zachary cried over that. It's been his climbing tree. The swingset/playset also had to be torn down. The bucket of water is the continuous flow from a sump pump in the bottom of the hole, it's below the water line so they have to keep pumping until the pool is built and filled with water to counter the pressure.

My Baby is Three!

2010-08-09T09:36:00.000-04:00

Hard to believe so much time has gone by. My little monkey has grown up so much, and he has such a fun sparkling amazing albeit superiorly stubborn personality.

It's been a while

2010-08-09T08:45:00.004-04:00

...since I took a photo 'just because'. I'm seriously sliding backwards on my skills and goals. Aaiieeee. Dios mio. I actually have a project in mind that I need to get working on, but my brain is stalled out on how to actually go about it. However, I took this one today with that project in mind, even if it's not exactly what I want to eventually do.

Happy Birthday Zachary!

2010-08-09T08:42:00.000-04:00

Ahh the joys of a Christmas baby. Zach was born on December 22, so I figure he's close enough to call him a Christmas baby, right? Regardless, it makes for a tough time getting kids together for a birthday party. School is letting out, people are going on vacation, not to mention already being overloaded with presents and candy and sweets and ahhhh. It's just too much all at once.

So we have a summer party. It's worked out well for the past couple of years. This time he chose the rock climbing gym, a place he's been many times with Daddy. Afterward everyone came back to the house and partied down to Just Dance on the Wii, ate food, built with Lego and enjoyed our favorite party game, Nick.

I don't like widows

2010-08-09T08:35:00.000-04:00

Black widows, brown widows...I do NOT like them. I don't really like any spider, but I know they have a purpose and I tolerate them and usually don't even kill them if I find them in the house. But you slap a little red hourglass on the belly and my thoughts change drastically. I found this large mama in the garage and I seriously got nauseated with awful heebie jeebies. When I found more on the back porch/patio furniture, and then yet another building a web off my FREAKING MUDFLAP on my CAR I about lost it. In and around my herb pots, on the play equipment...I was living Arachnophobia for a while. And while we did kill every single one we found, along with egg sacs, I know there are likely more lurking, and I'm slowly coming to terms with the fact. I'm no longer on a hunt and kill mission, I'll be more careful dealing with low lying wood, pots, etc, but I no longer jump out of my skin thinking about it. And I can view these photos without feeling the need to puke.

Btw, these are 2 brown widows, even though the larger one is very dark and the bottom one is practically white. Apparently they are very timid and don't try to protect their web, so bites from them aren't that likely. However, I don't really want to test that bit of knowledge.

New friends!

2010-08-07T11:16:00.000-04:00

A new family has moved into the area and we are so excited! The mom and I sort of 'knew' each other from a parenting message board where we have both been members for a few years. When she posted asking about possibly moving to this area, I couldn't believe it. And before I knew it, they were here! Literally a mile from my house. Crazy. But we got to meet them and they are super cool and the girls are just as gorgeous in real life as they are in the photos I've seen. We hope we get to play with them lots. They have a great pool ;)

Life's a Beach

2010-08-07T10:55:00.000-04:00

When I was a kid, my brother said this a few times until my mom made him stop. She said something about it sounding like something else, but I really couldn't figure out what she was talking about. To me, it meant that life was going by smooth and easy with sunny days and good times. Oh well.

But life IS smooth and easy and sunny and full of good times on this day. We got to the beach and OMG there was an actual nice lazy bit of wave action and some flat sand and I have LONGED for an opportunity like this. Where the water makes a mirror on the sand, it's just gorgeous. Usually it's a bit rougher and the sand not so packed. I played with some filters and color effects. But don't you just love my dancing boy?

Digging toes in the sand, smearing Dad with more sand, prying a small crab from his hidey hole...a perfect day to say "Life's a Beach".

The 4th of July

2010-08-07T10:46:00.000-04:00

We went to the house of a friend of ours who lives on the river, giving us a great view of the Melbourne Causeway fireworks show. I took about a MEEEEELION photos, but I narrowed it down to 3 of my favorites.

Happy Father's Day!

2010-08-07T10:41:00.000-04:00

My boys have a Dad who works hard, gives all he has and always makes time to play with his boys. He gets up early with Owen letting Mom sleep in almost every day, changes poopy diapers, washes dishes and occasionally scrubs a toilet. He's awesome with the vacuum cleaner, lets Holly burn through rollerblading wheels like no tomorrow and loves us with all his heart. We love you, too, Daddy!

Animals

2010-08-07T10:25:00.000-04:00

Just a few pics of a caterpillar, Zach played with him for a bit while I practiced getting up close and personal. Oh, how I long for a macro...

And then there's Holly, so big now. And so pretty.

Happy Birthday to Grammy and Granddaddy!

2010-08-07T10:21:00.001-04:00

Zach decided that Grammy and Granddaddy "would REALLY love a meal cooked for them by their grandchild!" so he did. He made chicken pot pies (individual ones) using a recipe that we perfected the week before, baked mac and cheese with 5 cheeses, salad, and caramel custard for dessert. I tried to take photos of the whole process, but I fell short (sigh) mostly because I had to keep putting the camera down to help out a little. But dinner was super tasty and we all had a great time and Zach learned how painful your feet get after a day in the kitchen :)

Caramelizing the sugar, getting the egg yolks ready for the custard, double checking the recipe and chopping veggies for the salad and the pot pies...looking like a professional chef ♥

We bought a cow!

2010-08-07T10:03:00.000-04:00

Well, half a cow. And before you get that gory picture in your mind, it wasn't half of a full standing cow. It was the meat from half a butchered cow. A GRASS FED cow! I've been doing research on the health benefits and from what I can tell, the meat that comes from a cow eating as nature intended is a lot better for us than the meat from a feed lot cow. And buying it in bulk saves a LOT of money since grass fed ground beef alone runs about 8.00/lb.

Since I have the advantage of typing this about 2 months after the fact, I'll give a little review. I LOVE the meat. The flavor is crazy incredible. It tastes like I've added seasonings or bouillon or something. I don't, however, have the best methods of cooking it figured out. It is tougher (steaks and roasts) than regular store-bought beef. Not hard to handle if you crock-pot it or braise it. But for a nice rare steak, well the T-bones I cooked still took a bit of chewing and they were pretty bloody. The tenderloins were nice, though *drool* The one thing I don't like is the fat content. It's supposedly leaner meat, but this beef definitely had some padding. The fats are where the benefits are (more omega-3's) but still, fat is fat and too much isn't good for you. I find myself trimming a good chunk off most cuts to remove the clumps of fat, and skimming the surface of the crock pot liquid to remove more. Just more work, basically. But it sure is tasty!

Anyone local who might be interested, we bought from Deep Roots Meat and they are at the Brevard Farmer's Market at Wickham Park on Thursday afternoons. Swing by and buy something to get a taste of the goodness!

I guess it's time...

2010-08-07T09:52:00.000-04:00

to get back on the horse. The figurative, blogging horse that is. I don't even know where to start, what photos did I last upload, every time I think about getting on here I get overwhelmed with all that NEEDS done to really play catch-up. So I figured I'll just get on here, post some photos, and go from there :) Btw, if you are on my Facebook page, none of this is new. Yeehaw!

Ok, these are from a fun day at the Mayhews' house. Owen is getting to really be good in the water...he'll be swimming soon!

My Dearest Boom-pa

2010-06-18T22:02:00.002-04:00

I hope this finds you well. From what I've read, you've been extra tired lately, and to be honest, I can't blame you. You've been alive and well for a pretty long time now, I guess you'd need a little extra rest right about now.

But I want you to know, you are loved.

You and Granny haven't been able to come to FL for a while now, and now I realize how much I took that time for granted. A young 20 something girl doesn't need her grandparents checking in, but an almost 40 yr old with young boys of her own sure wishes her Granny and Boom-pa were nearby. Heck, I remember when Granny was 45 yrs old. I can't imagine being a grandparent at that age.

I remember spending the night at your house, dressed in an 'angel' shirt. That would be a Boom-pa t-shirt, so big on an itty bitty girl that the sleeves would drape and hang like the wings of an angel. And while wearing that shirt, I would crawl into bed between you and Granny and marvel at the light she had on her side of the bed, allowing her to read. But you were sleeping! What an amazing arrangement...together, but different. At that time, so hard to fathom.

When you would come to visit us, it was like a cloud of peace settled over our household. I'm sure you know there was a bit of stress, to say the least, but when Granny and Boom-pa were coming, everything was set aside. Now I suspect maybe it wasn't, but from a child's eye, it was a holiday. Rusty and I would go out and climb the rusted horse's gate in order to get the first glimpse of your car. Then we'd scramble down and go running into the house shouting "They're HERE! They're HERE!" Nothing could go wrong. Granny and Boom-pa were HERE and that's all that mattered. An umbrella of happiness and contentment settled over us. It was like a breath of clean, fresh air.

I remember one time, a few of us (Rusty, Mindy and myself, maybe?) were staying over and you and Granny went off to church on a Wednesday evening. We balked at the idea, claiming religious differences (although I'm sure it was more to do with the fact that we were just tired of going to church period) and as a result you were taking us to see Dave and Cindy for the evening. However, we had left certain messages on the hallway chalkboard. Which we had to point out to you, because you didn't see them. And as a result, you and Granny told us how being up front and honest could be to our benefit. If we want something, we should just ask you. So, Rusty and I decided to test you by asking for a camera. Which taught us another lesson...the answer won't always be 'Yes'.

I mostly remember being on your shoulders. I know it was exhilarating, yet frightening. I'd clasp my hands around your head, afraid I'd tip backward and fall off. But you would calmly tell me that you couldn't see if I held you like that, take my hands off your eyes and hold them, and we'd have the best time while I was on top of the world.

I remember your garden. I remember sliding down your back hill. I remember Uncle Joe with a canoe in the river down there. I remember being up a tree and thinking "It won't hurt TOO bad if I jump down!" and your telling me that it probably would. I remember the chestnut trees in the back yard and the swingset I fell off of, getting chestnut burs in my knees. I know Granny helped pull them out. I remember flying over your head as you flipped us through the air and somehow, miraculously, we always landed on our feet.

I remember your hands and the piece of shrapnel I always played with.

I remember your grace and dignity and strength. I remember your love, forgiveness and compassion. I think of you as the best and greatest man I have ever known, or could know, as well as the best person I could strive to be. And I also know that you would say "Beth, you should strive to be Christ-like". But, Boom-pa, you are the best example of Christ-like that I have ever seen. And I am so blessed and honored that you are my grandfather. And I love you.

PS...Thanks for teaching me to put peanut butter on pancakes.
And for teaching me to drive a stick shift and not freaking out when I lost the window in your Rabbit.

School's out for the summer!

2010-06-04T20:57:00.000-04:00

So what do you do with a super smart boy ready to go into the 4th grade? Seriously, smart. He made straight A's the entire year, not a single B on that kid's report card. Way to go, Zach! So proud of you ♥

He's been at me a lot recently to let him cook more. Making his own tea and scrambled eggs isn't cutting it anymore. So I let him help me make a cake, and then he got to try his hand with the pasta cutter. I need to put my feet up and let him do the dirty work around here ;) And I need to learn how to work with fondant...but the taste is all that really matters, right?

Ta-dah!

2010-06-04T20:45:00.000-04:00

Have I ever mentioned that Owen is a bit of a handful? No? Are you SURE?

Ok, I see you are being facetious.

Owen keeps my busy. Even when I'm sleeping, I'm wondering in my head what he's up to and the minute wakefulness is near, my brain is practically jumping out of my body to check and make sure he's safe. And make sure the house and all inhabitants are safe as well.

Potty training is going well. He goes in, sits on the potty and does his thing, climbs up and washes his hands, and comes out. Well, that's what he WAS doing. He's decided to change things up a bit. These photos were taken a few days apart and you can see why I realized I had to put the childproof knob cover back on the bathroom door. It's not so much that I don't agree on the cleaning powers of detangler for glass, but the sink is a bit high off the tile floor for a bitty boy to fall and crack his head on. Sigh.

I'm not sure I totally approve of his dance-wear, either, but we have time to discuss that.

May 20 = Elmo Day

2010-06-04T18:47:00.000-04:00

Can you believe it's been a year? A whole year since we lost Elmo. We still miss him. Yes, we have Holly and we love her but at the same time she reminds us of the things we didn't realize were so special about Elmo. He was an awesome dog, the most gentle you could ever imagine. We were so blessed to have him.

A rare occurrence...

2010-06-04T18:45:00.000-04:00

Owen falling asleep on the couch. Unsolicited sleep, sleep that didn't require at least SOME amount of effort, not to mention the massive amount of effort it often takes...SLEEPING in an open, public, active area. Ahhhhh. How peaceful. Can I take a nap now?

Happy Anniversary!

2010-06-04T18:40:00.000-04:00

11 years married...whew...made it past 10. Whodathunk? Thanks for putting up with me, Honey!

We went out with some friends, as well as Sharon and Jerad. Met a new friend whose family is moving to the area soon (hope we didn't scare them off!) and had an overall great time. Btw, Beth + alcohol + camera = RUN! Thanks, guys! ♥

Butterflies!!

2010-06-04T17:26:00.000-04:00

Do you remember back in jr. high, or whatever grade it was, when you learned about potential energy? It was a rather abstract concept for young minds to grasp, but something we seem to understand much better as we get older.

Well, I have a potential swarm of butterflies here. Come, butterflies, come!

Back to Mother's Day...

2010-06-04T16:45:00.002-04:00

I think it was on Mother's Day that this particular session of blogger procrastination began. Of course, I have gone way beyond the scope of procrastination, I'm pretty sure a new word should be created to encompass the magnitude of putting-off that I have accomplished. Probethination? Procrastibethan? Bethasstination? Hmmm. Not sure if those work very well.

On Mother's Day, I was having a nice ho-hum day, Kev was working and the boys were driving me crazy and we had no big plans. I just wanted a lazy day. Then my brother called, he had some issues going on and needed to vent and wanted to spare our mother since it was Mother's Day. He has schizophrenia and the fact that he was able to see and empathize with how his actions might affect others and act accordingly made my heart melt. He's really had a tough go of things, but so have many of my siblings. I can't believe my heart is still functional, it's puddled around my feet so many times.

Then later my mom called. I saw the caller ID and thought she'd heard from my aforementioned brother. But instead, she was frantic and crying and breathless saying she was in the ER with Danny, her husband, and his heart had stopped and they were shocking him. My heart about stopped at that point. Danny had just had a questionable epsisode a week or 2 prior and was waiting on follow-up testing, but now there was no question. He was having a heart attack. I got to speak with the nurse who explained that he kept going into V-fib but once shocked, he was returning to a normal sinus rhythm, which was good news. The bad news was that it wouldn't last, he'd return to V-fib and need shocked again.

So Mother's Day spiraled down into a flurry of phone calls while I tried to notify family members and do what I could to help my mom (which was basically trying to explain medical jargon), while crossing my fingers and praying that Danny would be ok. Being in FL with them up in KY really ties my hands, not that being there would really have changed things much. Miraculously, the long story short is that he came out of it with no major damage. They air-lifted him to a larger hospital (after giving him a clot-dissolving medication) where the doctor was able to take him directly into the cath lab and insert a stent into the closed vessel. He was home a few days later.

Thus I missed posting that day, which then rolled into the next and the next and voila! It's almost a month later.

In the interim, I've been trying to make healthy 'yotes'. That's what Owen calls yogurt, although he is getting more adept at saying the actual word :( Fresh berries, mangoes, whatever I can throw together in the blender with some organic yogurt. It's usually so thick that we have to water it down with milk, and I'm having issues with getting it through his sippy cup. But we're working on it.

Can you give a girl something more than "More Roses"?

2010-06-04T15:40:00.003-04:00

That was posted on my Facebook wall a few days ago. I wrote the author back b/c I was thoroughly confused, and thought for sure some weird spambot had hacked her account, leaving bizarre messages that must surely have some subliminal mind control, just waiting for me to download a virus to my computer. Srsly. But no, she was just hinting that I needed to update my blog. Hmmm. How embarassed was I? LOL...so Kelly, this is for you!

Grammy just left with both my little monkeys and boy I'm about ready to crack a bottle wine to celebrate. As I'm typing this on June 4th, school has been out for 2 weeks today, and both boys at home all day long is pretty much pure chaos. I'm tired.

These pics were taken on May 8 or 9, I believe. Owen is still a little fruit maniac, and here he was totally enjoying some watermelon. As well as taking tips from Zach on the finer points of swing set play time. The funny thing is, as messy as Owen gets eating juicy, sticky, drippy or whatever kinds of foods, he freaks out when he's done (and sometimes before he's finished) saying "Wash hands! Wash hands! My shirt's wet!" and pulls off his clothes b/c there is NO way he's going to wear clothes that are inappropriately wet. Bathing suit wet? Fine. Other clothes wet? Hell no.

More roses!

2010-05-08T14:02:00.001-04:00

I got a little rose plant today! Aunt Karen and Uncle Dennis sent it as a Mother's day gift and it's so cute. The blooms are the most gorgeous deep pink. I hope I don't kill it. When I called to say thanks, Karen did admit she was a bit cautious when ordering, but decided to risk it anyway :) The poor little flower heads are bent, I think a day in a shipping box made them sad, but hopefully they'll look up at the sun again soon. They are outside with my happy herbs and I'm going to get them some liquid seaweed. That stuff perks everything right up. It's like crack for plants.

May 6

2010-05-08T13:59:00.000-04:00

Hey look, Aunt Karen! I haven't killed THIS one off yet!

It's a running joke that I tend to kill off my plants, and granted they do have a tough existence under my watch. She's brought me 2 oregano plants (Italian, not Greek) and both have died, as have a multitude of other herbs. I figure they just like being in her magical garden so much that when she brings them to me, they die of homesickness.

Here's a rose that looks pretty happy. Granted, I bought it b/c the one she gave me died. Surprise surprise. I guess this one is grateful it has a home aside from Lowe's.

May 5

2010-05-08T13:55:00.000-04:00

It's teacher appreciation week :) Each day the kids bring in some small item for the teacher, and tomorrow's thing is a 'hand made thank-you card'. So Zach and I dug out some of my cardstock and crafty stuff. He wrote the cutest note inside, telling her 'thanks for not giving up on me'. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, because he had such a tough time at the beginning of the year coming home miserable and wanting to quit going to that school, that class, anything to have a different teacher. So I felt like HE didn't give up on HER. But it has all ended well, she truly did push him to be a better student and didn't let him have it easy just because the thinking part wasn't a challenge for him. And he realizes that, which is the best part of it all. He thinks she is probably the best teacher he's had so far.

Green is the color of life

2010-05-08T12:43:00.000-04:00

May 4...got some pics of greenery from the yard. Not the kind of greenery that is decorative or for landscape purposes, but the kind of greenery that makes me happy inside.

My mom asked about the Elmo tree, so I took some photos of it. Poor thing. But it's hanging on! You can see in the second photo the almost fatal blow it sustained when Kevin accidentally dropped a branch while trimming a palm tree above. I finally bought some more liquid seaweed fertilizer and ALL the plants love it. Including both trees. My poor tomatoes that I planted in January have withstood the freeze, and are finally starting to have some little fruits to show as well. Now if I could just keep the squirrels out of them, I may actually have a couple to eat in a week or two. I can't believe how 'old' the plants are, certainly past the time span for expected tomato production.

I bought 2 other tomato plants recently and they have already gotten as big or bigger than the initial two, and have babies as well. It's so nice to see things growing and alive.

May 3

2010-05-08T12:35:00.004-04:00

I guess May 1 and May 2 were in the big ol' photo dump below. Lightroom is set up as the default for taking photos off my camera chip, and I should really change that b/c once they are in the catalog it's a pain to move/delete them. So everything got put into my April folder, apparently, as my May folder starts with May 3.

Anywhooo...

Today I went to the little produce place and bought a big bag full of plum tomatoes and made tomato basil soup from scratch. I've only made it from canned tomatoes before, so this was new for me. I also made a quick loaf of artisan bread and dinner was a scrumptious bowl of soup and a grilled cheddar/smoked turkey sandwich on the fresh bread.

Cooking like this, while very rewarding, is very time consuming. Not to mention messy, b/c I'm not an organized cook. However, I feel like it's the best for us, and quite frankly I think a everyone would be better off if they want back to basics. Just today I read an article about the new concerns regarding chemicals in our bodies and the cancer risks, as they aren't tested as stringently as they probably should be and people would be prudent to avoid them where possible. Those canned tomatoes? Cans are coated in a sort of plastic layer inside, with the same chemicals in it which are now being banned in many plastic baby bottles (http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine-archive/december-2009/food/bpa/overview/bisphenol-a-ov.htm).

So many of our conveniences that have simplified our lives and provided us so much free time are turning out to be dangerous and harmful. "Oh, I did it that way all my life and I/my family/my kids are JUST FINE!" Well yeah, maybe they are. But it doesn't mean that they aren't harboring some issues that could crop up down the road, or be passed on to their kids--toxin buildup, DNA damage, etc. Sometimes these things take so many years to surface, and by then the damage is pretty widespread. Newborns are already being contaminated in utero, with up to 300 chemicals/contaminants being found in cord blood.

I'm tempted to run off and build a hut next to a fresh water supply source, plant my own garden and raise my own cows and chickens. But that's not realistic...and I know I will intentionally buy, eat, and feed my kids some things that could be considered 'risky' simply because there is no feasible way that I can turn a full 180 degrees from the way society is right now, and still function. However, I will do my best whenever I can to find the healthier, safer way to do things. Because my boys are depending on me to keep them safe. And as I continue to learn, I will continue to change the way I do things, that's just the nature of life.

Whew, it hasn't been quite a whole month...

2010-05-08T12:09:00.003-04:00

I feel like that would be the kiss of death for this year on the blog LOL. I tell you, that stupid bug/bronchits/whatever really did a number on me. After taking so long to get some energy back, I was in a horrible rut of non-productiveness, and could barely make myself even grab the camera.

Lots of stuff has happened...Zach did Crystal's walk again this year (even donating 13.00 of his own moolah). The kids in his class all liked his book and he was on cloud nine the day he came home after presenting it to the class. He may even be in the running for an award with it...we are both holding our breath.

Harmony still owns my bed.

We camped out in the back yard.

We went to Melbourne Beach's Founder's Day. Some vendor saw me walking around w/my camera and asked me to take his photo, so I did. I also got Sharon chowing down on something tasty.

There are a ton of photos here, so be patient. I am now trying to get back into the one-a-day, which you'll probably realize before you read this, since they will be posted above.

I forgot...

2010-04-19T09:44:00.001-04:00

...to make a post dedicated to Zach's book. So happy it's done, and it will be here a week before it's even due...SCORE! He's really proud of it. He wrote up a full page of brainstorming for the basic idea, then wrote about 4 pages of the actual book (notebook paper, single lined) adding in more details. Then he drew the pictures with pencil, I scanned them in and gave him a quick tutorial in Photoshop, showing him how to choose colors, adjust paintbrush size, color opacity, etc, and let him go. He colored them all and is just tickled pink at how much work he put into this thing.

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1272973

I think the 'preview' option will actually let you read the whole book, due to its short length, but you'll miss out on the 'about the author' page. Which is pretty cute ;)

Hello again...

2010-04-19T09:30:00.001-04:00

This seems to be becoming a bad habit, and this early in the year? Not good.... I have honestly been sick this time, though. For realz, yo. I actually broke down and went to the walk in clinic yesterday and walked back out with a script for a Z-pack and some codeine to help with the cough that's keeping me (and Kevin!) up during the night. I really wish he'd given me something for this nasty sore throat, but hey, I should look on the bright side and be thankful for a bit of weight loss, as a result of not wanting to eat. Ouch.

Here are a few pics of Owen having fun in the bath. And for those of you not reading my Facebook, here's a short Owen story:
Last Tuesday, the only day this past week when I actually had any energy, I was in my room cleaning up our bathroom. I had left him sitting on the couch in the family room watching Thomas the Tank Engine on TV. He was semi-clothed, but acceptable, in a T-shirt and cute little toddler undies. And I'd set him up with a bowl of snacks, some Nature's Valley graham cracker sticks. Good to go for a little while, giving me the freedom to clean for a little bit and not worry about what he might be getting into. But alas, I should know by now that he is NEVER without another card up his sleeve. He came marching into my room, carrying his bowl, and his underwear was nowhere to be found. Rather than graham sticks in the bowl, it was now full of pee. I guess he didn't feel like trekking SO FAR to the bathroom. Little fart.

It's a good thing he's cute.

In the last photo, he was 'playing' some game on the Wii. Zach was actually playing the game behind him on the couch, but Owen was holding on to the nunchuck and whenever Zach would move or score a point, Owen would scream and dance around "I did it! I did it!"

No excuses

2010-04-11T19:45:00.000-04:00

I guess I have just been lazy. Well, maybe ONE excuse or two. Easter week/weekend had me pretty busy, and Zach's book project for school was a higher priority since he wanted to get it 'published'. And I haven't been feeling very inspired. Le sigh. BUT...Easter was fun, his book is done and now I'm sick so it's the perfect time to post, right? Zach actually got sick the very first day of his spring break, he started out with a fever which progressed to sore throat, congestion, snotty nose, etc...something new every day. For 2 weeks plus. Owen is snotty and coughing and now I have laryngitis, mild fever, super blah-ness, etc. Fun fun.

I did take pics, just not every day, and I had full intentions of posting updates. But you know what they say about the road to Hell, right? So I tossed those intentions out the window.

I do have one cute story to tell...the day after Easter I took a day 'off'. Didn't change out of pajamas, told dh I was taking a day off and didn't do ANYTHING productive. I caught up on the prior week's tv shows, played some Wii, spent some time in bed reading...ahhhh. When Zach came home from school and saw me curled up in bed with a book, he was worried I might be sick. I assure him I wasn't, but he insisted on handing me his little notepad and a pencil with instructions to write down anything I might need and he'd get it for me. So just for fun, I made an entry. Nectar.

"What the ....? How do I get NECTAR?" He pondered on it a bit and while he was trying to figure out what to do, I wrote down another pressing need. Taipan anti-venin. Yeah, google it.

He brought me some juice for the nectar. Not bad. He glanced at the paper. "TAIPAN ANTI-VENIN? How ...What....HUH?" I gave him free reign of my spice cabinet, a bit regrettably I might add. It's a mess now. But he concocted something that would probably kill the snake, even if it didn't cure the bite.

Number 3...four drops of dragon blood. He didn't even question me this time. He promptly came back and deposited 4 strawberries in my lap. "The blood is frozen." Wow, Nicely done! I was impressed.

Then fourth on the list I had requested two lizard toenails. Not too much time passed by before he came back in the room, hands behind his back. "It was a very large lizard" he explained, and pulled out two tan colored oval cookies. Btw, if you have never eaten Biscoff cookies, you are missing out. I had them a few times on flights and they are heavenly little crumbly brown sugar and gingery tasting morsels. Divine. I even googled them after a flight once, but could only find them sold in bulk. But I recently found them in Publix, so I had to indulge myself. Never did I consider they might actually be giant lizard toenails.

The kid is way smarter and more creative than I could ever hope to be. Love you most, Zach!
Here are some pics. Not gonna bother with dates and such, just have fun with 'em.

Practice makes perfect

2010-04-01T19:52:00.001-04:00

Well, I'll probably never hit perfection, but that's no reason to not practice is it? Kevin made me promise to take down my backdrop/setup from the garage before this weekend, as we are expecting company and will need to put his car in there to make more space. Sigh. But as luck would have it, our neighbors have grandchildren visiting now and then and I happened to notice their cute little granddaughter riding her bike outside today. Score! I ran over and asked if she would come and play with me aka allow me to take photos of her. My own boys were at Grammy's house today, so I had freedom to do what I pleased without fear of total house destruction and injured children.

She is just too adorable. AND she loved to pose. It was nice b/c I was able to focus the camera, check the settings, make changes and such instead of rushing to click photos before someone got hurt, ran out of the frame, started crying, or otherwise. I need to get them printed at a reputable place b/c the quickie prints from Walmart had awful coloring problems and I don't know if it's my computer (b/c they look fine here!) or just cheap printing.

I added a copyright to protect her, don't want anyone grabbing her photos for unsavory purposes :)

March 30

2010-04-01T19:43:00.000-04:00

Can you believe March is almost over? Crazy!
Here are a couple pics of Owen, loving on Tessa (who seems rather dubious about the whole thing) and again being rather pissed off at me. I can't recall what caused his minor heartbreak, but he has forgiven me. I still get the best kisses and hugs and snuggles from this little guy. Every morning he wakes up early and comes to our bed where he wraps himself up with me, like he just can't get close enough (although screaming for "Dee! Juice!" which Daddy gets for him) and puts his arms around my neck, my head, my face...whatever he can accomplish. It's just too sweet.

March 29

2010-04-01T19:38:00.000-04:00

I don't remember much about this day, other than what my photos tell me. Owen loves having Daddy play with him outside and they ride the swing together. Later Zach and I colored eggs, doing that thing where you use a 'clear' crayon to write on them so that the dye doesn't stick in certain spots. He made one in memory of Misha and Elmo. I didn't dare tell him that he misspelled Misha. He's such a sweet boy, and he misses them both.

Brokeback Beach

2010-04-01T19:34:00.000-04:00

Today one of Kevin's friends from 'way back in the day' came over. Steve was actually in our wedding, and he's local to this area, but somehow he and Kevin never seem to manage an actual get-together. A miracle occurred today, all the planets aligned, something, and Steve walked in our front door. After I picked Kevin up off the floor (just kidding) they had a nice little chat before Steve dashed off to spread good cheer elsewhere. But not before Kevin got in a few choice photos. We'll use them to blackmail Steve into visiting more often.

March 27

2010-03-31T19:52:00.000-04:00

I almost didn't get a photo today. I was either really busy or really tired and feeling like throwing in the towel (probably more tired than busy, to be honest) but I did quickly snap this one. Unfortunately the reflections from the door got in the way, but it's still cute.

March 26

2010-03-31T19:49:00.000-04:00

So far behind, behind, behind....I'm typing this on the 31st and I have no clue what I did on the 26 so off I am again to my nifty little 'Pictures' file to see what I put in there...
Oooohhhh yeah, I remember. It was late and I went outside with Zach to experiment with some night time shots. The first one was taken pointed up at the sky and I seriously have no clue what all those little colorful dashes are. Are they all stars? I had a slow shutter and there is consistent motion tracking on all of them. The large sperm looking one actually WAS a star that I was focused on, did the camera capture all kinds of minute stars I didn't notice, simply b/c I allowed it to stay open so long? Why all the colors? Is the computer confused? I haven't the slightest idea, but I thought it was cool so I put it here.

I Heart Black and White Drama

2010-03-29T08:53:00.001-04:00

I once again face the dilemma of 'what photo would be good for I ♥ Faces' challenge this week?' The theme is dramatic black and white and since I typically box myself in to the 'face in the middle of the viewfinder!' mindset, I know I don't have many that would exude drama, no matter the color scale. I am working on that, though, I swear.

I found one of my niece and sister-in-law which I really like, and it looked very nice in b/w as well. Some bit of moody mystery in that one...but then I converted this one and decided it was THE ONE. I just love it. I love how his little romper stripes mimic the pattern of the stairs. I love his fearless attitude...the open stairs don't scare him! I love how the light at the top merges with the white of the stairs, making them seem to go on forever, up to Heaven perhaps, contrasting with the darkness below. I hope you all like it, too :)

Don't forget to head on over to I ♥ Faces to see some amazing dramatic black and white photos!

March 25

2010-03-28T10:27:00.000-04:00

Today at Zach's school they had a field day of sorts, a couple of hours playing games outdoors competing against other classes. I got a chance to go and take photos since Kevin was home and able to hang with Owen...Score! Unfortunately Owen refused to nap which made the rest of the day interesting, but c'est la vie.

Here's a shot of the balloon toss :) The kids had a blast and the PE teacher did a great job of putting it all together.

March 24 - Happy Birthday Aunt Karen!

2010-03-28T10:15:00.001-04:00

In honor of you, I had a moment of photographic silence. Or a whole day. Well, ok, I was just lazy and didn't take a photo.

March 23

2010-03-28T10:09:00.000-04:00

Hmmm...what did I do today? Let me upload a pic and I'll come right back...Oh, ok...yeah, I went outside and took pics all around the Misha tree, a little lime tree that is suddenly covered in buds waiting to blossom. I swear, barely any leaves on this thing but tons of little white almost-flowers.

March 22

2010-03-28T10:01:00.000-04:00

So the backdrop is done, now I just need a couple of cute little boys, spring clothes, a basket and some eggs and we'll have a great shoot, right? Not. Sigh. Oh well. At least they're cute, even if they don't like to cooperate. More camera issues, too, stupid grainy photos and bad lighting.

Playing catch-up...March 21

2010-03-28T09:57:00.000-04:00

I am so far behind, I'll have to upload photos and check the date to see what even goes here LOL.
---Oh yeah! I remember. I finally got my 'backdrop' or whatever set up. It wasn't as easy as I'd expected. And I got up and got busy on it even before taking a shower. How's that bed head looking? Yeehaw.

I Heart Angles

2010-03-23T17:16:00.001-04:00

I wasn't sure what I was going to do for this challenge. I have a couple of photos that I thought I might use, I considered trying to take some photos specifically for this challenge and I even entertained the idea of SKIPPING the challenge. *gasp* It's easy to say "My pics are never good enough to win anyway" but if I keep thinking that way, and not taking photos, I'll never get better, right?

So I had finally set up a small faux wall/studio/whatchamacallit in the garage (don't worry honey, I'll take it down soon! I promise!) and tried to take some pics of the boys with a bit of an Easter feel. White shirts, plastic eggs, basket, yada yada. It didn't go very well. I wasn't getting good crisp shots and neither boy was really wanting to cooperate. Never mind looking at the camera or each other, just STAY THERE! Owen was falling back into the seamless paper, Zach's head was too high, Owen was running off the floor, Zach wouldn't let Owen kiss him, and on and on. I finally gave up.

The boys, thrilled to be free from mommy's photo mania, grabbed the lollipops I'd been bribing them with, and climbed onto the car. I was sitting in the floor of the garage and looked up...voila. Turned the camera back on and snapped this photo. Yeah, the lighting isn't the best, but I love it. My boys. Don't forget to click for a larger version :)

Head on over to I ♥ Faces and check out all the other creatively angled shots!

March 20...a Multitude of Mommy Mistakes

2010-03-21T15:25:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was a crappy day, I'd had a gazillion plans to do fun things with the new remote and seamless paper I had ordered for photo backdrops, gotten Zach's approval for some fun staged pictures, etc. But my body apparently didn't think it wanted to play along, so instead I ended up at the doc's office instead, doubling up my Toprol. Yippee. Now I really feel old.

So today I was ready for good times with the boys. We started off at the 'truck show', for lack of a better name. It was really, really cool. All sorts of trucks and even cars and other riding contraptions were put on display and the kids got to get on/in/play with, honk horns, turn on police car lights, etc...a huge free for all. Garbage truck, electric truck, bulldozers, bus/trolley, and on and on...Zachary had a blast getting Dad on the police video while Owen twisted the screen all around to get a better look. And of course there was popcorn, lemonade, cotton candy and hot dogs...perfect way to start the day, right? So being the nice mommy that I am, I let the boys junk it up. Then Owen headed to Grammy's house for naptime while Zach, Kev and I headed to the fair.

I had packed my wallet and camera in a back pack, b/c I thought it would be easier to tote around than a purse, and besides, my purse weighs about 2.3 tons. Without a camera. However, this choice to leave the purse behind ended up being mistake number 2. Mistake number 1 happened much earlier, unbeknownst to me, and I even had a chance to rectify it when we stopped home to get clean clothes for Owen. But mommy was on a roll.

At the fair, Zach was informed that he was now in charge and it was he was 'calling the shots'. He played games, went through a few fun houses, ate an egg roll and drank an Orange Crush. Looked at the animals, inspected a few preserved fish floating in jars and was even given permission to eat 'deep fried eclairs' although I DID manage to suggest he rethink that decision and he opted for the non-fried version. Still going strong, he was looking around for more games to play (although mommy said NO we are NOT taking home any goldfish!) and after a successful ride on the Dizzy Dragons, mommy made the biggest mistake of all.

"Hey Zach! Let's go ride the swings!" You know, the swings that go around in a wide circle and are just a gentle sort of ride that lift you into the air so you can relax and feel like you are flying? Yeah, these swings weren't quite like that. He took some convincing b/c they looked a little harsh, swinging almost sideways and going kind of fast, but mommy was sure they wouldn't be as bad as they looked.

He got on. They started up. He started laughing nervously, then screaming and being a bit dramatic. After a minute or two mommy realized "Ugh, this thing is really fast and REALLY sideways. I hope it doesn't last too long." Then mommy realized Zach wasn't making ANY noise. He was in the swing in front of her, and he was sitting very stiff, holding his head fighting the forces pulling it down. She knew. She KNEW. It all hit her, how very messed up it really was. This is a kid with known motion sickness. A kid who left the house without taking motion sickness medication, even though mommy knew what sorts of things to expect from a FAIR. A kid who could rely on mom to carry motion sickness medication in her purse...you know, the purse she left behind? A kid who just scarfed an egg roll, an orange crush and 3 miniature eclairs, on the heels of chips and cotton candy. And she forced him onto the swings of death! THE longest ride at that damned fair.

OMG. He couldn't even stand up when that thing finally stopped. I think he would have cried if he'd had enough energy, he was just too miserably to do much more than moan. I helped him climb piggy back style onto Kevin's back where he asked to just go home. And he said he was NEVER going to the fair. Ever again.

At least mommy's mistake of no sunscreen didn't affect him nearly as badly as it did mommy and daddy.

Got my remote!

2010-03-21T14:59:00.000-04:00

And what do YOU get? A nice shot of the front of my shirt--taken from across the room with my new handy dandy remote. Good times!

March 18

2010-03-18T18:28:00.001-04:00

I'm still feeling really frustrated with most of my photos, no matter how much I adjust the settings, or listen to the light meter telling me it has enough light, most of them are grainy. And omg, the amount of digital noise on the one I had at 1600 ISO. So today, I went into the garage and set up two lights and the backdrop, grabbed the boys and a couple of lollipops and started shooting.

Overall, I'd say the results were better than I'm used to getting but I STILL had a lot of grain in several of them. I don't know if it's an issue of shaking (even with shutter speed of 400?) or what. But as far as 'indoors' goes, this is where I'll get the most light. It faces north just like the living room (largest windows) which isn't super bright, but the fluorescent standing lights did help a bit. Gah.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

2010-03-17T21:05:00.001-04:00

It really annoys me when people say St. Paddy's Day. His name wasn't Padrick. Well, maybe it was. I'm not up on the Irish to English translation. But as far as we know, it was PaTrick. Hence, Patty's day. /off soapbox

I helped Zach set up a trap to catch a leprechaun. Rumor has it, if you can trick him into a bucket or some such receptacle, he is 'trapped' and according to the magical rules they live by, the leprechaun must leave his gold in payment in order to gain his freedom and avoid being seen by human eyes. This year we put the bucket and shiny trinkets in Zach's room (since Owen tends to wake and wander the house in the wee morning hours) and I DID warn him that by doing so, the leprechaun might blame him personally and play some pranks on him.

Nasty little bugger. Dirty footprints AND green pee?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

March 16

2010-03-17T20:59:00.001-04:00

He said he wanted it shorter, even before I cut it over a week ago. I told him I needed to let go in stages, and he seemed to understand. So this evening, I finished the cut. Of course, NOW he thinks he should just shave it completely.

He's just too grown up.

The Ides of March

2010-03-15T19:54:00.000-04:00

The 15th of March, can't believe we're halfway through it already. Today I played around trying to get better photos with my 85mm lens, I'm so frustrated that most of what I take is grainy. Not sure what the problem is. Even when my light meter says I'm good to go, the details just aren't crisp. However, I had fun adjusting these in lightroom, going for an overexposed look, just something different. Trying to find my groove. So happy being outside :) My cutie pie.

March 14

2010-03-15T19:48:00.000-04:00

Owen has become a bonafide outdoors addict. The boy just can't STAND to be in the house anymore, unless of course he's glued to the computer building robots or matching cards or laughing at LOL cats. Today while Zach and Kevin went to the gym (rock climbing) I sat outdoors and just grinned nonstop at his unbridled joy, running free and climbing on "Owen's playground" as he calls the swingset, playing in the sandbox and throwing balls for Holly to fetch, cackling gleefully when she'd run crazy to catch it.

Of course, he has to do everything his own way. One swing is meant for flying on your belly and spinning in circles, while the other is for standing up and dancing. I put my foot down when he thinks the bar at the top of the fort is meant for holding while he flings his body out over the ladder. I don't even try to take pics of that crazy move, I'm too busy having a heart attack while I run to stop him.

March 13

2010-03-15T19:42:00.000-04:00

Today Sharon drove down for a quick visit...the boys are always so excited when she comes by and who can blame them? She spoils them rotten and plays games with them and has a hard time telling them 'no'. Unfortunately, she had some homework to take care of while she was here, and Zach just could NOT tear himself away from her. He did his best to help her and finally settled for doing his own math problems. "Mom, give me a HARD one!" Here they are hanging out at the table, discussing the finer points of multiplication, algebra and geometry.

I Heart Bundled up Faces

2010-03-15T10:01:00.002-04:00

This week's theme at I ♥ Faces is 'Bundled Up'. Now true, it has been a bit colder in FL this year, but we don't typically 'bundle up' very often, and I don't know if putting on pants instead of shorts and shoes instead of barefoot really counts. HOWEVER, I did make a short trip to WV in January to see my ailing grandfather (who is doing much better now!) along with my sister Sharon and I got to see the most beautiful snowfall. I will never tire of the magic and peacefulness of snow falling, it just shushes the world. I know all you folks up north are probably sick of snow, but I just love this photo. Not exactly the best 'bundling up' but hey, she IS wearing a real coat! (Mine, actually, which reminds me...Sharon, give it back!)

Go check out all the amazing Bundled Up photos over at I ♥ Faces!

March 12

2010-03-14T09:45:00.001-04:00

I am cheating today...it has been non-stop rain and gloom and wet damp air, I didn't take a photo for today. I DID manage to get 45 minutes on the Machine of Death, though, so that's pretty good.

These photos were taken by Kevin Roberts, photographer extraordinaire, aka #2. Aren't my boys just the best?

March 11

2010-03-14T09:39:00.000-04:00

Rain. rain. go away...just a rainy, dreary day. Owen saw his toy truck laying in the grass getting rained on and he was fairly distraught, and I thought it made a perfect picture of the day. Just gray and dull. And wet.

But then I started trying for more cat pics and caught these two cute ones. Can't you see how THRILLED Harmony is to have Owen coming after her yet again?

Wubby eats a tree!

2010-03-14T09:33:00.000-04:00

That's what Owen said when he saw this photo. Our little garden yielded some extremely tasty broccoli. I only bought one plant (which actually turned into 2) because I wasn't sure how well it would grow. So I got one nice sized floret and Zach ate it. He loves broccoli.

March 9

2010-03-14T09:30:00.000-04:00

We decided to buy a piece of exercise equipment since I'm apparently unable to drag my lazy butt out of the house frequently enough to make my gym membership at all worthwhile. It arrived on Monday and let me say HOLY COW. If this thing doesn't get me in shape, then nothing will.

Even Owen is feeling inspired.

March what? I think it's the 8th...

2010-03-09T19:26:00.000-05:00

And since I'm posting this on the 9th, that would be yesterday. But you should be used to time traveling with the way I keep up with this thing *snicker*

What did I do yesterday? Not much, actually. I did try and get another cat photo for the PW challenge, and I really liked the lighting of this but I had to crank it up to an ISO of 1600 and DAMN there was a lot of digital noise :( Even in the smaller resized version it's pretty obvious. Oh well. I do like the colors.

I Heart Faces - JUMP!

2010-03-09T08:42:00.003-05:00

It's supposed to be 'Jump for Joy!' but SOMEONE wasn't feeling very joyful. I did manage to elicit this funky pseudo pinched up smile while he seems like he's ready to karate-kick my face. Ahhh...what it takes to make boys happy sometimes.

Head on over to I ♥ Faces and check out some gorgeous joyful jumps!

So that's supposed to be spinach, huh?

2010-03-08T18:05:00.000-05:00

Today we spent a lot of time outside, it was gorgeously sunny and just warm enough that you weren't chilled as long as you stayed moving. We biked to Lowe's yesterday evening (gasp chug cough wheeze) and picked up a few more plants for our little garden, and today I sent Kevin back to get more dirt to fill in a bit more of the raised bed.

And this SPINACH! I planted it just before we got all the freeze warnings and crazy cold temps. It has just flourished. I finally googled yesterday to see if I could find out what kind it is b/c it looks nothing like the spinach I find in the grocery store. It appears to be 'Giant Winter Spinach' which SURPRISE is very hardy and handles the frost. It's definitely got the giant part down pat.

March 6

2010-03-08T17:59:00.000-05:00

My little baby is growing up so fast :( Hair all slicked back fresh from a bath, ready to go to Grammy's house. And loving his 'Ay-tow bat-pat!' (Diego backpack)

Harmony...still working on a good photo for the PW.

March 5

2010-03-08T17:56:00.000-05:00

Zach is having fun getting used to his new 'do. He was so excited to go to karate this evening without his headband, which Kyoshi had insisted on to keep his hair out of his face. Freedom! Just before class, he went out and monkeyed around on the swingset and was just in awe of the fact that his hat didn't fall off.

And here's a little crystal cat, I was messing around taking cat photos for the Pioneer Woman's challenge, and I'm debating on entering this one LOL.

March 4

2010-03-05T15:07:00.000-05:00

Oh what a headache I've had today. I think it must have been a migraine, but I discounted the possibility for a while because I always have an aura before I get a migraine. But this headache started in my sleep so how the heck would I have seen an aura? Anyway, the pain was pretty relentless so I sort of just slugged around the house all day. HOWEVER...it ended well because we had a photo session with #2 this afternoon and I think he got some really great shots! I can't wait to see them. It was just the boys and Grammy and Grandaddy, thank goodness. I don't think I could have made myself look decent to save my life.

Anyway, Zach has been wanting me to cut his hair. I asked him to wait until after the photo shoot b/c I love his hair, it really suits his personality and I wanted to make sure we had a good photo of him with it because there's a good chance it will never get back to quite this state. He's just so handsome and I love the 'rogue' look he has with that hair. But alas, it IS his hair, so this evening we lopped it off. The photo lighting was horrendous (post shower, poor kid) and even with some adjusting it looks wonky.

Here's my hansome young man ♥

March 3

2010-03-05T15:00:00.000-05:00

For some reason, Owen seems to think 4:30 is a great time to wake up and eat. This innocent little face? Found wandering the house early this a.m. with a banana, and sitting at the dining room table with a box of cereal the day prior. The scary part is that neither time did he come to our room first. I need to find a way to keep him from roaming the house when he wakes up at night because the potential destruction just terrifies me.

Happy Birthday Hope!

2010-03-02T20:12:00.000-05:00

Believe it or not, I have your birthday gift sitting on my dresser, awaiting an envelope for mailing. The only unbelievable part is that I actually have it already ;)

Today was a super blustery day. I took the boys out after dinner and they ran around letting the wind whip through their hair. Owen loved it. Until he decided he had to 'Pee pee! PEE PEE!' and ripped his pants and diaper off out in the cul de sac and I had to hurry and whisk him back inside.

Happy March!

2010-03-01T13:52:00.000-05:00

It has been a pretty cold winter here for us, and I guess pretty much everyone else as well. I have never seen the bougainvillea lose leaves and flowers and look so DEAD. I mean these things are all over the place, growing huge and tall and they look like nature's curtains, cascading long flower covered limbs vibrant with color...some are pink, some purple, some red and every shade in between. Even white. But now they look pitiful...I did manage to find a single bloom on this plant in our back yard.

You know what they say...

2010-03-01T13:49:00.000-05:00

Three heads are better than one. Or something like that. Owen spent most of the day (Feb. 28) playing with these blocks. I had some like this when I was little, they were called Bristle Blocks. I guess that's not such a fun, kid friendly name because that isn't what they are called now! I can't even remember the name. At least they have some cute faces :)

February 27

2010-02-27T21:07:00.001-05:00

I can't believe February is almost over. Time goes by faster the older you get, and it seems to be an exponential increase in speed.

There is a gorgeous full moon out tonight, and of course I had to try and take photos of it. I don't know why I think it will be any different, so many times, the same camera and same lenses, but it has a definite pull for me.

Tonight I grabbed a couple of quick shots as the moon was shining in a nice clear dark sky. Then I decided I wanted to try and get some with the tripod and try to create an HDR photo. But when I came back outside, the sky was full of clouds, obscuring the moon. But it was sooooo gorgeous, the light coming out around the clouds. I took so many photos, using different settings and the moon and clouds move so fast, you just wish time could stand still...

Of course, Owen and then Holly followed me outside. Somehow this big nasty dog toy made its way into the house. Did I say dog toy? I apparently meant to say toddler toy. There is something crazy about this thing, it makes dogs and toddlers go insane. Holly rips through the house if she has access to this thing inside, and Owen went a little manic spinning it around. Then he decided he didn't need the toy, he could spin HIMSELF around. And fall down. Stand up. Check his footing. And start over again.

It's FRIDAY!

2010-02-27T20:51:00.000-05:00

I LOVE Fridays. They are the best day EVER. SRSLY.

Today we have dinner guests...Kirra's family is coming to have dinner with us and I was sort of stuck in small dilemma of "make my own pasta?" or "clean the bathroom?" The bathroom won out, I knew the pasta making would suck too much of my time, sad to say. I need to do it more often and get a good rhythm going.

However, dinner was fantastic, dessert was even better (just ask Mark!) and we had a great time. As evidenced by the dishes lining the counter...always an indicator that much fun was had.

Later, outside with the chimenea lit and the promise of marshmallows to come, Zach and Kirra had an impromptu karate session in the pergola. I heard her telling him that he would be her "sensei" and teach her how to do karate. It was so sweet watching them. Unfortunately I was under the influence of a few glasses of wine by then and not fully capable of operating a camera. But here's a shot:

February 25

2010-02-27T20:41:00.001-05:00

Today is Thursday, right? I can't keep them straight. Anyway, not much of note today except that when I had the Roomba running it went under my computer desk and got caught up on the cords. No biggie, I set it free and then blocked the access. But later I realized Oh CRAP my laptop looks funky, the screen isn't as bright and sure enough the 'plugged in' light was no longer lit. But it WAS plugged in. I unplugged the cord from the computer, unplugged it from the power strip, no change. I was freaking out. What would I do without a functional cord? I can't do photos w/a dark screen but even more so, the battery is only going to last a little while. AND what would a new cord cost? I guess memories from childhood are sitting in the back of my mind, scaring the sh*t out of me when something goes wrong that costs money. 'We have no money, how will we fix it? Dad will have to rig something out to tide us over, and tiding us over always ended up lasting beyond realistic expectations...' So I feel a few extra heartbeats and then hear Kevin's voice in my mind "It's only money."

It's only money. I know that sounds overly simplistic and probably naive to those who are really struggling financially right now. But the bottom line is "It's not us. It's not our boys. We are healthy, we have the two best boys in the world and we have each other and that's all that really matters".

And when I unplugged the charging unit from the power strip and let it sit for a while, it worked just fine. I guess it needed a reset after being assaulted by the Roomba.

Later, Zach came home from school and started in on his homework. I swear, I hate homework as much now, if not more, than I did when I was in school. Homework SUCKS.

February 24

2010-02-24T19:57:00.000-05:00

Oh my goodness, does this post mean I'm CAUGHT UP?

This afternoon I went out just before it started getting too dim (nasty gray overcast day) to grab something that I might be able to get a cool bokeh with. I needed some background light to turn into those cool round blurry bits of light and here's my desperation photo. The bottom swinging portion of a wind chime, currently hanging in the magnolia tree, waiting for the Elmo tree to become big and strong enough to support it. It was a little hard to capture, with the wind whipping it all over the place.

That poor Elmo tree...it's had a rough existence. Recently a branch fell on it and split the top portion of its main stem/trunk. I don't know if it will make it out of that injury, but for the sake of fate and Elmo, I certainly hope so. Elmo was the sweetest dog in the whole damned world and he deserves a permanent memorial. If we have to replace the tree, we will, but I'd REALLY like this poor little orange tree to survive.

So here's to Elmo.

February 23

2010-02-24T19:32:00.000-05:00

Look what my inlaws got me! Aka Grammy and Grandaddy (if you're Zach) or Mimi and G'ndaddy (if you're Owen). They had ordered it before my birthday but the snowstorms up north sort of screwed deliveries and such, so it just arrived. Now I know exactly what to ask for when it comes birthday or Christmas time ;) Charms, beads, baubles...anything to fill this baby up! They got me 2 birthstone beads to get started.

Thanks, Grammy and Grandaddy!

Monday, Feb. 24

2010-02-24T19:27:00.000-05:00

Today I was a little more excited about cooking dinner...I had looked up a new recipe, something I've never tried before, all because I got my birthday gift from Karen and Dennis...an enamel covered cast iron Dutch oven! I've wanted one for a long time...some of the recipes I've done that call for a Dutch oven haven't ended up so well....my oven proof pots just don't seem to cut it. And this one is so pretty...look at that red! I mean really, I should call it my cauldron, it's just begging to cook up something magical.

So I made braised shortribs, using the recipe on the Pioneer Woman's website (you should google her if you don't know who she is, I'd link but I'm lazy right now). They were AMAZING. For realz. You should see Zach's face, it just exudes heavenly bliss.

Oops. I don't think that's an accurate description of what he thinks of the meal. Oh well. Kevin and I thought it was awesome!

Sunday, February 22

2010-02-22T18:44:00.000-05:00

Ugh, all this delayed posting is getting to me. I have to keep checking the date on my computer and then counting backward to get the dates to match the photos for the post.

We got home from Karen and Dennis's (and Estela's!) and I decided my poor plants were in need of some much deserved TLC. I got some plant food mixed up and watered everything, and decided to take a photo of my sweet little spinach babies. And red cabbage babies. Don't they look cute? I've actually eaten some of the spinach already, these leaves get HUGE! Nothing like the spinach I've bought in a bag before.

Happy Birthday Alexander!

2010-02-22T18:39:00.000-05:00

This is Saturday's official post...today we went to the house of a dear friend of mine to celebrate the 9th birthday of her son, Alexander. Estela and I met waaayyy back when Zach was a few months old and Alex was a newborn. Since then, we've tried to include Estela, Ralf and Alex in our plans whenever we are able, we love their company and it doesn't happen often since we moved 2 hours away.

Anyhow, Estela went all out and overboard creating a Harry Potter themed party, including cloaks that she sewed for each child attending. *faint* Too much sewing for me, AND she used a pattern. I've tried patterns a few times, and haven't had much luck with them. The party was a great success, the kids all had a great time (oh how I wish I could have gotten better photos of 'Diagon Alley' which was in their garage, dimly lit, with Ralf as the shopkeeper selling them their 'school supplies'). After the classes and magic spells were done, the kids ran crazy playing ball, trying to ~~toss it in~~ keep it from the water. The biggest attraction, however, was the Mentos and Diet Coke display put on by Ralf.

Thanks again for inviting us, Estela! We had a blast! Hopefully I'll get the rest of the pictures to you before his next birthday ;)

I Heart Little Hands

2010-02-22T09:57:00.003-05:00

It's time for I ♥ Faces again! This week is all about 'Hands On' and the subject is, of course, Hands! As soon as I read the title for this week, I knew which photo I wanted to use. This was taken back in October, and it's Owen in the sandbox, dumping out the sand one handful at a time.

Head on over to I ♥ Faces and check out all the other sweet hand photos!

Contest!

2010-02-21T18:10:00.000-05:00

Go check it out and become a follower! She has some really cute items to give away, and time's getting short :)

Good luck to everyone, and especially to ME!

February 19

2010-02-21T17:23:00.001-05:00

Going to Aunt Karen and Uncle D's house for the weekend! Yippeeee! It's always a fun time at their house, and I always come home with about 10 extra pounds to lose. This time was no different.

Karen made a SCRUMPTIOUS rolled roast, stuffed with all sorts of goodness, slow roasted and melt-in-your mouth delicious. Steamed veggies with a rich cheese sauce, a collection of gourmet potatoes swimming in buttery goodness, a vat of mushroom gravy, home-made bread...all topped off with many glasses of wine. And the wine continued to show up in our glasses even after we went outside into the garden. I have NO idea how that happened....I mean, one minute the glass was empty, the next it was full. And we couldn't waste it, could we? Of course not! I'm pretty sure neither Karen or I ever begged for a refill...my memory is a little fuzzy, though.

Kathy, eat your heart out!

While we were outside talking, laughing and drinking to our hearts' content, Zachary was inside and we could barely force him out to the FIRE long enough to cook himself a hotdog, let alone eat a real dinner. You see, one of Dennis's friends had a buttload of Lego/Megablocks items that he needed to rid himself of. And Dennis got them, all for Zach. HUGE pieces already constructed but starting to fall apart from the moving. Zach was in H.E.A.V.E.N. He spent the entire evening rebuilding a large jet and our pyromaniac forfeited sneaking any fire play in the chimenea to stay inside and complete it.

February 18

2010-02-21T16:43:00.001-05:00

The breakfast of champions! Or rather, the breakfast of someone whose husband wasn't smart enough to hide the Reese's Pieces. Curses on him.

February 17

2010-02-21T16:42:00.000-05:00

Today I had no photo, so by evening I was gazing around the house looking for something quick and easy to shoot. These are some flowers Kevin brought home several days ago, still looking perky. I ended up crawling around the table practically, trying different blooms and different angles and different camera settings. Then I played a bit in with photoshop actions and fun stuff. This photo thing sure is time consuming.

PEAS!

2010-02-17T20:30:00.004-05:00

Owen has apparently learned the magic word. I don't think I've ever referred to it as such in his presence, I've simply demanded he repeat it as best he could once he was physically able, in order to receive the positive reinforcement in the way of cookies, candies, whatever. Psychological bribery.

Anyway, he's got it all figured out. Today, out of the blue, he added his slightly garbled "Pwease!" to every.thing.under.the.sun. I guess he figured out it really does work, maybe his brain worked out a puzzle overnight, I have no idea. But it's suddenly 'Dee-dee! Peas!' (drink, please!) or "Bites! Peas!" Or "Gapes! Peas!" or "Choo-choo Thomas! Peas!" When he's really adamant he throws in that 'L' sound that he can't quite make, it is more like a 'Y', and I can't even type it out phonetically. However, there is a definite correlation between his use of "PYEEEEZE!" and his receiving of requested goods. It's just too damned cute.

Moving on...today I made a new item, Blueberry Lemon Bread. More like a cake, or banana bread...a sweet baked item filled with fruit of choice. I had bought some blueberries to mix up Owen's fruit addiction a little, and I kept forgetting they were in the fridge and they needed to be used up asap. Zach was helping me shop last week and when I sent him back to produce for a lemon, he brought me 4. So this was a perfect recipe to deal with my excesses.

And it was TASTY! Holy cow, so good. I fully recommend it. I think the only thing I changed was adding the full pint of blueberries, minus the small handful Owen had already eaten.

I had to remove the loaf out of the pan to take a photo, and SILLY ME forgot about it. Until Owen came into the family room saying "Take? Peas?" and I was literally afraid to turn around b/c I KNEW what he'd found. Only I had expected he'd taken the small piece. Oh no. He had the big loaf portion, in his little paws, carrying it across 2 rooms to ask me for some cake.

I gave him some. And he wouldn't eat a single bite. Ok, maybe he had one. But Kevin cleaned his plate later when he arrived home from work.

ARRRGGGGHHHHHHH.

February 15

2010-02-16T08:16:00.000-05:00

You know what today is? I've been waiting for today for about 11 days now...because it was 11 days ago that I finally ordered bedding for our new bed/mattress and I have been watching and tracking the UPS delivery and it's supposed to arrive TODAY! I even kept that tracking page up on one tab of Firefox, hitting refresh and praying they'd somehow managed to move along faster than anticipated and I'd get it early, like on Saturday. But no such luck.

It's been on the truck out for delivery since 7:55am. They usually go down our road around 3:30 to 4pm. Maybe they'll get here a little sooner today? I can only wait.

So 3:30, then 4, then 5 go by. No freaking sign of the big brown truck :( How can they DO this to me? I keep checking the page, looking for something that says "Haha! We ran out of time today, you're just going to have to wait until tomorrow! Sorry, suckah!" Six o'clock, 6:30...the website says they typically deliver between 9am and 7pm. Seven comes along and creeps past...nada. My poor drab bed still sits there, waiting for that colorful makeover.

At 7:15 I heard the familiar rumble and ran to the door...sure enough there it is! The truck is parked outside the house and the UPS guy is lugging a huge box up the sidewalk. I opened the door so he could set it inside and he suddenly paused and said "Oh, I better check that this is the right address!" and I said "It BETTER be the right address!" which he seemed to think was pretty funny.

So here it is. I need some more pillows to fill the standard shams (3, they didn't have king sized shams in this style for some reason) and some pillows for the Euro shams (one of the reasons I trekked to Target on Sunday, but they were sold out grrrr) but you get the idea. It's so purty!

No, the cat does not come with the set. But she seems to approve of it :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-16T08:02:00.000-05:00

Today I actually felt human again, and had a bit of that "wow, I don't feel so sick anymore!" hyper energy so I hightailed it out of the house and was on the road at 8:30am headed to Target to get groceries and such for the Valentine's Day dinner I had planned. Grammy and Grandaddy had the boys which made it easier for me to get stuff done and I wanted to do my damnedest to get things ready for the dinner instead of postponing it due to yesterday's crappiness.

And it went well, we all had a good time and I think everything tasted good :) But the highlight of it all was that I picked up a small torch for making creme brulee...Grammy's favorite dessert. It was my first time attempting it and I was surprised by all the different recipes floating around out there. I picked one and stuck to it, it had 10 egg yolks and double the sugar of the other ones, so I may mix and match next time, because they puffed up a bit in the oven and the tops browned a good bit, which I wasn't expecting (how's that for a run-on sentence?). Then they deflated after I removed them from the oven, so they weren't quite as pretty as the restaurant version, but after we torched a nice sugary crunchy topping, they were awesome.

I let Zach hold the torch for this picture. He was in pyromania heaven.

February 13

2010-02-16T07:49:00.000-05:00

I think I am officially allergic to holidays. Or so says Kevin. I woke up today feeling like pure SH*T and only went downhill as the day progressed. Best I can tell, it was some sort of food poisoning and I'm just glad the toilet doesn't charge rent or per use b/c we'd be flat broke now if it did.

So no picture for today. I did, however, spend some time reading my camera book for dummies and learned a few new things, like the automatic exposure bracketing which seems really cool. I want to try it out. Just not today. I'd hate to accidentally drop the camera in a mad dash to the restroom. Actually, I'm just too wiped out. Going back to bed, so toodle-oo! Oh yeah, huge thanks to Grammy and Grandaddy for taking the boys and letting me feel like death in peace.

Glitter hands, glitter hands...

2010-02-16T07:42:00.000-05:00

Razzle! DAZZLE!

Oh my goodness, if you've never watched Yo Gabba Gabba, consider yourself lucky. And if you've never seen the sweater chick dressed in gold doing the glitter hands dance, then you are truly blessed.

Here are Owen's glitter hands.

February 11

2010-02-11T22:15:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day! Ok, I know it's early, but we're feeling the spirit a little sooner here b/c Uncle D and Aunt Karen sent boxes to the boys and they arrived today :D Zach was so excited when he came home from school and discovered he had a package. And it was LEGO! Holy crap, could there be anything better for a boy? He immediately forgot about the 'fossil' he'd found at school and MUST clean up (because he and his friend were going to be millionaires, you know, they were going to call National Geographic to come see this bit of dinosaur bone) all due to a car that just had to be built right away. And it was a 3-in-1 set....even better!

Owen discovered his package later b/c he was at Grammy's house while Mommy spent the day being lazy. Oops.

Oh yeah, and there's Harmony, pretty much enacting my day. Only she's got a better spot.

Owen Fits It! (Feb 10)

2010-02-11T22:10:00.001-05:00

Whenever I get the Roomba out, Owen is in heaven. He loves watching that thing. And he's learned from watching me that every now and then (and more often than I actually do it) the Roomba needs to be 'fixed'. Meaning, Mommy has to take a few things apart and remove hair and whatnot from vital parts so it can work efficiently.

Today the Roomba was running and I decided it needed to do a 'spot' clean, which is separate function. Once it's done with the area, it sounds its 'done' signal and stops running. Well, Owen decided it was broken and needed to be fixed. He managed to get the mulit-tool out of the drawer and started yelling "Owen fits it!", and of course then he proceeded to fix it.

Not my photo for the day...

2010-02-11T08:54:00.000-05:00

But I had to post this. Just don't tell Zach...

Yesterday I lost the pen to my Wacom tablet, and having had lots of wrist issues/carpal tunnel, I was FRANTIC to find it. I promised him 5 bucks if he could locate it. So he started his Detective Service and went around the house asking questions and writing things down.

Here is his documentation. Enjoy! Oh yeah, you should definitely click to enlarge :)

February 9

2010-02-10T13:04:00.000-05:00

Playing with aperture...and I think I have learned the difference between trying to take close up shots vs. using a macro lens. I don't own a macro lens and once I realized that it would probably make a huge difference, I was not quite as upset over my attempts. Using an 85mm lens to get small items with a shallow depth of field is almost impossible, unless you are using a tripod and even then it's freaking hard. You can't get very close to the subject and with the miniscule bit of camera shake is magnified exponentially. Arrrggghhhh. But I got a couple that I played around with and here you go.

So frustrated - Feb. 8

2010-02-08T17:05:00.002-05:00

I just don't have that 'thing'. That thing that lets you look at the world from a different angle and see things in a new and magical way. Things ARE the way they ARE and dammit I'm FRUSTRATED. Yes, Kevin, I know you are tired of hearing me use that word. Sigh. I see photos where some small thing is in focus, with kids or family in the blurred background and then that small item takes on huge significance and you go AHA! What an amazing shot with such perfect composition. Or the way some people can take a photo of a branch and the light is hitting just right on the dew drops, with all the glittering blurring bits of bokeh in the background making it look like a fantastical backdrop. ARRGGGHHH. My branch looks like a BRANCH and my small gadgets look like oddly misplaced bits of clutter (well, because they are) and I don't know how to find that mystical peephole that allows magic to take place in the camera lens.

My world is logical. 2 +2 = 4, even if you go around the long way and say 2 + 2 = 5 - 1 + 3 - 4 + 6 - 5....It's all just 4, no matter how you look at it and if you ask me, I'll say 4. I suck at lying (not saying I haven't tried!) because when I hear a question, I see the answer (yes, even the '4' I see a 4 in my head, only it's not the pointed kind like I have typed here) and that's what pops out of my mouth. My brain doesn't seem to know how to search around for creative possibilities, it's more like a calculator and it's so IRRITATING. There are times when a nicer, more diplomatic way of saying things would certainly be a benefit and I struggle so hard, and I'm the queen of awkward silences. I'm not good with 'buttering you up' or chit chatting with small talke or saying how wonderful something is when I think it's just average. My mom once told me when I was little that if I actually said "Yes, I like it" then that meant I must really love it.

It's hard because other people so expect you to gush and go gaga over things, but when I try it feels so FAKE. I gave you the answer, what is the logic in restating it? I suppose that's how it works with me. I don't know. But I want to find that other THING, that part that lets me express the beauty I see and feel. And I'll keep working on it.

Btw, here's my photo of the day. I love rose buds. They seem to hold such a fragile yet infinite potential, and you know they aren't quite as delicate as they look. Just bits of perfection, waiting to unfold.