OK, call me a geek. I was in the middle of writing a Wicked Wednesday post and have 2 different evenings in mind, only I couldn't come up with a clever opening for one, or a good take on events for the other when this crossed my attention span:
Yes, I got chills. Yes I am hoping to somehow, magically be transported to Orlando to witness the magic. Yes, I have asked the universe to allow this to happen.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Tableau Tuesday 9/15/09
First a couple of pictures of The Boys and their weekend sparring in the back yard:
And the Lightning and Thunder storm we awoke to on Saturday:
This is my one and only shot of the lightning:
Edited so that you can actually see the Lightning:
Monday, September 14, 2009
Monday Evening Weekend Wrap Up
Another busy-ish weekend, with some fun thrown in for good measure.
Friday was my first day of this year volunteering in the boy's class for art, and we always start the year with field trip shirts. For the 2 previous years we used sun reactive dyes, which are really very cool. If you've never even heard of them, go here and check them out! This summer I agonized over different idaes, and ran them by the other art moms (yes, this year there are 3 - totally AWESOME). One of the other art moms had a bunch of ideas, and the one that sounded the coolest was tying pennies into the shirts, then using spray bottles to paint with watered down fabric paint. I suggested we keep the kids to either warm or cool colors, and one of the teachers had us painting with watercolors ahead of time to understand warm vs. cool colors. Friday we had Kindy's and Firsts, and the shirts look great! I was exhausted! This Friday will be 2nd and 3rds which should be a bit easier. And the following week will be just a catch all for the ones that missed the first 2 weeks.
Saturday, we awoke to the dog pacing the house in abject terror over the lightning and thunder storm which started at 2am and didn't stop until after daybreak - I even got off one semi decent shot of the lightning - you'll see that tomorrow. Then, all 4 of us spent the day cleaning the house top to bottom, and everything in between. The Boys got all of their toys put away in their room, and the office/playroom. MDH cleared all of his paperwork from the kitchen table, living room, our room, and the kitchen counter. He also folded an put away his laundry and swept and vaccumed. I managed to mop, (The Oldest dusted) clean the bathrooms, clear the paperwork from our dresser and the 2 desks I occupy, and the rest of the laundry, and change linens all around. The Youngest had a soccer game at 3, which was cancelled due to the minute amount of rain in the morning. All of the cleaning was in preparation for having 2 couples over for appetizers before an 8pm dinner reservation at Simply Fondue. MDH has been friends with the men since Elementary and Junior High School, and one of the wives also went to High School with us. It was a really fun evening getting to know one another, and the food was incredible! If you've ever been to a nice (and expensive) fondue restaurant, you know what I mean. The waitress was a bit off kilter, and funny. She asked how we all knew each other and when I replied that was an interesting question, she said, "Oh, Swingers." We all started laughing hysterically, because it was completely out of the blue, and I'm still not sure whether to take it as an insult or a compliment! Of course it may have been that we were in a private room, or the proximity to the local porn shop, but still... The conversation was good, the people are really nice and fun, and the food was delicious. We didn't get home until after midnight, and The Boys were sleeping over at Oma's.
Sunday I had a slight food hangover - not having eaten rich foods in quite a while. I also was not really hungry all day. The Youngest had soccer pictures, and because all of the cleaning and laundry was already done, it was a nice relaxing day. MDH had a soccer game at night, and The Boys had baths and read. The lack of sleep from Saturday didn't catch up to me until Sunday night and this morning, when I had a hell of a time getting out of bed and getting to work!
Friday was my first day of this year volunteering in the boy's class for art, and we always start the year with field trip shirts. For the 2 previous years we used sun reactive dyes, which are really very cool. If you've never even heard of them, go here and check them out! This summer I agonized over different idaes, and ran them by the other art moms (yes, this year there are 3 - totally AWESOME). One of the other art moms had a bunch of ideas, and the one that sounded the coolest was tying pennies into the shirts, then using spray bottles to paint with watered down fabric paint. I suggested we keep the kids to either warm or cool colors, and one of the teachers had us painting with watercolors ahead of time to understand warm vs. cool colors. Friday we had Kindy's and Firsts, and the shirts look great! I was exhausted! This Friday will be 2nd and 3rds which should be a bit easier. And the following week will be just a catch all for the ones that missed the first 2 weeks.
Saturday, we awoke to the dog pacing the house in abject terror over the lightning and thunder storm which started at 2am and didn't stop until after daybreak - I even got off one semi decent shot of the lightning - you'll see that tomorrow. Then, all 4 of us spent the day cleaning the house top to bottom, and everything in between. The Boys got all of their toys put away in their room, and the office/playroom. MDH cleared all of his paperwork from the kitchen table, living room, our room, and the kitchen counter. He also folded an put away his laundry and swept and vaccumed. I managed to mop, (The Oldest dusted) clean the bathrooms, clear the paperwork from our dresser and the 2 desks I occupy, and the rest of the laundry, and change linens all around. The Youngest had a soccer game at 3, which was cancelled due to the minute amount of rain in the morning. All of the cleaning was in preparation for having 2 couples over for appetizers before an 8pm dinner reservation at Simply Fondue. MDH has been friends with the men since Elementary and Junior High School, and one of the wives also went to High School with us. It was a really fun evening getting to know one another, and the food was incredible! If you've ever been to a nice (and expensive) fondue restaurant, you know what I mean. The waitress was a bit off kilter, and funny. She asked how we all knew each other and when I replied that was an interesting question, she said, "Oh, Swingers." We all started laughing hysterically, because it was completely out of the blue, and I'm still not sure whether to take it as an insult or a compliment! Of course it may have been that we were in a private room, or the proximity to the local porn shop, but still... The conversation was good, the people are really nice and fun, and the food was delicious. We didn't get home until after midnight, and The Boys were sleeping over at Oma's.
Sunday I had a slight food hangover - not having eaten rich foods in quite a while. I also was not really hungry all day. The Youngest had soccer pictures, and because all of the cleaning and laundry was already done, it was a nice relaxing day. MDH had a soccer game at night, and The Boys had baths and read. The lack of sleep from Saturday didn't catch up to me until Sunday night and this morning, when I had a hell of a time getting out of bed and getting to work!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
My Town Shoot Out - Aged and Weathered
This week, Pauline of The Paddock suggested the topic "Aged and Weathered". I encourage you to go and see everyone's contributions here!
I'm digging into the archives for this week. This cross is in the Dublin Cemetery, and I really love the rust, and the design.
This Is an Elephant at the Oakland Zoo. doesn't get much more weathered than that!
Have a good weekend all!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Monday Evening Weekend Wrap Up and a bit of Tableau Tuesday
These are the boys on the first day of school: 
And my AWESOME lunch from my garden:
OK, now for the LONG weekend report. The boys had Friday and Monday off, so they got a 4 day weekend. I didn't get to Friday's Shoot out because there was a proliferation of activity here. The Boys had a couple of friends over, and they had lunch and hung out while their mom and I worked on a new Blog for their school. She ran errands while the kids played, and I worked. A client came by to pick up their wedding album, and ask that I shoot a portfolio of their daughter. I tried to work on my photo website, but am still locked out. The mom came back, and they all went home. The neighbors came over to play until dinner, and dinner was simple - Kielbasa, Peppers and Onions. Oh, and while the girls were here all the kids were writing and rehearsing a play when The Oldest ran in to say that the tree in the backyard was falling. I didn't believe him, but told them all if they heard a big crack to run as fast as they could. Sure enough about 10 minutes later, they all ran in panicked and screaming. I looked out the back door in time to witness the ancient oak split in two, and the half over our yard falling in slow motion. In the end it covered about half of the yard, and there was no way it could have been saved.
Saturday, our dear friends gave us tickets to the 144th annual Scottish Games. We were there all day and had fun wandering around to all of the vendors, watching the heavy games - even a perfect score on a caber toss. The Pipe bands were awesome, and the birds of prey were inspiring. The sheep dogs were really fun to watch, espeially the really angry sheep that turned on the dog! We met up with several friends and got to visit with people we do not see nearly often enough. I was also really good about food choices, not surprising since I'm vegetarian, and meat pies and fish and chips were the popular food stands with lines hours long. We stayed for the Caledonian Club dinner, and The Boys had such a blast, while MDH and I were exhausted!
Sunday was the day to cut down the tree. The neighbor on who's property the tree is growning helped MDH cut and haul 3 truck and trailer loads to the dumps for shredding into mulch. It took all day, and The Boys followed with rakes, getting up twigs and leaves. I spent the day running errands for tree cutting. Replacing the chain saw blade (twice), getting a new hitch pin for the trailer, and waiting to grocery shop, which I finally did get to. I also managed to fold and put away the laundry.
MDH cutting down the end of the tree:
A soon to be displaced ant - one of many:
Monday I needed a break. MDH's dad flew to town to pick up his RV, and we had a nice visit. I talked to my mom on the phone - also a nice visit. Although The Oldest chose that time of day to pull the first molar out of his mouth. There was alot of blood, making me a bit queasy. Mom said it was just karma getting back at me... Another client came by to finalize her book, and the neighbors came over to play. The Youngest had soccer practice, and I had a meeting for Halloween Fun Night. MDH made dinner while we were gone. Dishes done, and I sat down to start this post - and I finally completed it at 11:40...
Friday, September 4, 2009
I Had This already Written
Of course, that was at 5:30 this morning, while lying in bed, and because I fell back asleep at 6:00, I've forgotten most of what I was going to say. Rest assured, it was hilarious and pithy.
Why was I up at such an ungodly hour? Well, some neighborhood delinquent decided at 2:00 AM to race his/her mini bike up and down my street. As. Fast. As. Possible. Of course, because there was likely some sort of drug involved in that brilliant decision making process, one of the riders crashed into something down the street. I'm still not exactly sure what was crashed into, and there were no sirens, so probably their own house/trailer/truck. As the same, or maybe another rider raced up and down the street a few more times, I was thankful that my cat was sleeping (ok she was also awake at this point), on my feet. I turned to MDH and asked if he was awake - he was. Then my mind was awake and on its own journey, thinking about the things I've seen this week to make me smile, chuckle, or laugh out loud. And now I'm going to give those to you in the hope that you can have a smile or two.
I will get my 'My Town Shoot Out' up a bit later, because I have some folks coming over today, and I have the pics I want to use, but have to dig them out of the archives first.
First up, I may be really late to the party on this one, AND I don't have twitter (because no one gives a rat's ass what I'm doing at every moment of my day, and if they do, they are stalkers), but this has been making me laugh every day this week.
I found this at another blog, and was thinking how kind that they also included templates for shaving your hair down there.
This guy has been making me laugh with his take on office politics, and I've felt the same way more than once!
And finally, this was found by MDH, and passed along to me - warning, there are some images here that made me queasy, and some that actually made me laugh so hard, I thought I would pee!
TTFN!
Why was I up at such an ungodly hour? Well, some neighborhood delinquent decided at 2:00 AM to race his/her mini bike up and down my street. As. Fast. As. Possible. Of course, because there was likely some sort of drug involved in that brilliant decision making process, one of the riders crashed into something down the street. I'm still not exactly sure what was crashed into, and there were no sirens, so probably their own house/trailer/truck. As the same, or maybe another rider raced up and down the street a few more times, I was thankful that my cat was sleeping (ok she was also awake at this point), on my feet. I turned to MDH and asked if he was awake - he was. Then my mind was awake and on its own journey, thinking about the things I've seen this week to make me smile, chuckle, or laugh out loud. And now I'm going to give those to you in the hope that you can have a smile or two.
I will get my 'My Town Shoot Out' up a bit later, because I have some folks coming over today, and I have the pics I want to use, but have to dig them out of the archives first.
First up, I may be really late to the party on this one, AND I don't have twitter (because no one gives a rat's ass what I'm doing at every moment of my day, and if they do, they are stalkers), but this has been making me laugh every day this week.
I found this at another blog, and was thinking how kind that they also included templates for shaving your hair down there.
This guy has been making me laugh with his take on office politics, and I've felt the same way more than once!
And finally, this was found by MDH, and passed along to me - warning, there are some images here that made me queasy, and some that actually made me laugh so hard, I thought I would pee!
TTFN!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Sigh
This time of year is always a bit weird for me. As a kid I loved going back to school - I loved school in general, was a smart assed teacher's pet most of the time, led protests against teachers and the administration, and generally enjoyed myself, even though I felt like an outsider most of the time. At work, the summer and fall have no different feel at all. It's kind of anti-climactic. There really isn't anything to look forward to. Oh sure, vacation time is great, but when you have no plans to go anywhere, again, no high point there.
I've recently started a weight loss program, the aim being to stick around this earthly realm longer than if I were fat and unhealthy. Instead of sitting during The Boy's activities, I walk. I drink more water, and log everything I eat. I’ve cut back in small ways, and it has made a difference, hopefully to lower my Blood Pressure as well.
I've also taken on the responsibility to figure out a budget. MDH and I are particularly bad at this, but I figure, if I log everything we spend, we should be able to at least SEE where it all goes, and maybe in a couple of months be able to make some small changes that will also lower my blood pressure and stress level related to money.
Over the last three days, I picked at least 100 pounds of apples off of our tree, peeled, cored, and sliced them and made applesauce and 19 apple pie fillings which are now sitting in a freezer. I made one of the pies last night (really a galette) and the filling turned out quite yummy! I didn't measure, just did it all by eye and smell and taste, so I'm sure they will all be different, which is kind of exciting! AND I'm not feeling so wasteful, AND I may be able to trade some for other things from friends - kind of cool.
I've been working on a blog for The Boy's school and not really sure whether I can do what I want without making everyone authors for all of the blogs. Does anyone know, off hand if I can make one Blog the parent of others, so that I can send one invitation, and have those same people auto approve for the child blogs? I'll be searching Blogger news and buzz later, but if anyone has successfully done this, please let me know. The issue is that I want them all to be invitation only, as to preserve the privacy of the students.
Work is actually getting better, as a new person has offered to help with the things I hate to do - so I should be happier soon!
I've recently started a weight loss program, the aim being to stick around this earthly realm longer than if I were fat and unhealthy. Instead of sitting during The Boy's activities, I walk. I drink more water, and log everything I eat. I’ve cut back in small ways, and it has made a difference, hopefully to lower my Blood Pressure as well.
I've also taken on the responsibility to figure out a budget. MDH and I are particularly bad at this, but I figure, if I log everything we spend, we should be able to at least SEE where it all goes, and maybe in a couple of months be able to make some small changes that will also lower my blood pressure and stress level related to money.
Over the last three days, I picked at least 100 pounds of apples off of our tree, peeled, cored, and sliced them and made applesauce and 19 apple pie fillings which are now sitting in a freezer. I made one of the pies last night (really a galette) and the filling turned out quite yummy! I didn't measure, just did it all by eye and smell and taste, so I'm sure they will all be different, which is kind of exciting! AND I'm not feeling so wasteful, AND I may be able to trade some for other things from friends - kind of cool.
I've been working on a blog for The Boy's school and not really sure whether I can do what I want without making everyone authors for all of the blogs. Does anyone know, off hand if I can make one Blog the parent of others, so that I can send one invitation, and have those same people auto approve for the child blogs? I'll be searching Blogger news and buzz later, but if anyone has successfully done this, please let me know. The issue is that I want them all to be invitation only, as to preserve the privacy of the students.
Work is actually getting better, as a new person has offered to help with the things I hate to do - so I should be happier soon!
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