Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Remember!

I thought I had wrapping paper the other day before a birthday party, but when I got home I only had baby shower or wedding paper. I decided to use newspaper!

My friend told me she did this for Christmas the year before last, and got accused of being stingy. BUT, since I work at a newspaper, I figured it was totally appropriate. I thought it was so clever. Newspaper is the perfect precut size, plus, I recycled! Who doesn't like
sustainability?


Here is the present.
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It even had a bow!
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I don't think he even noticed!
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Tree-nsformation!

Our big tree was finally trimmed... a little more than I expected, but Gary says I'll be surprised how fast he grows back. We'll see. He did need it. Every time it would storm a huge branch would be in our yard the next day. It was only a matter of time before a branch hit the house or messed something up.

The "after" picture. I don't actually have a before picture, but I might try to find one.
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It was almost double to have the guys take the branches... so we decided to save the expense and do this part ourselves. What a fun weekend project! That's sarcastic, in case you couldn't tell.
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Roses are Red 2.23.11

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Canon EOS 40D.

2.22.11

Squirrel

Monday, February 21, 2011

Sign of Spring? 2.21.11

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Is this moss one of the first signs that spring is coming? I hope so!
Fugifilm FinePix Z30.
P.S. I promise to try to get some better photos by the end of the week. I just haven't been photographically motivated, or inspired. I've been more photographically exhausted, if that makes sense. Not in a bad way, just, bleh, discouraged.

Spa Party! 2-20-11

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Don't mind that this mast put a freakin' chemical burn on both mine and Heidi's faces.
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Sunday, February 20, 2011

Class A Consequences 2.19.11

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And I accidentally cut off the bottom, so I thought today there would be two photos, just so you can see it...

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Yep... it says "10 Class-A Consequences."

Fun in the Sun! 2.18.11

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Fugifilm FinePix Z30

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Photo of the Day- 2.17.11

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A windy afternoon made these flags fly. Wow. That sentence pretty much sucks, but I'm tired - give me a break.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Chuck E. Cheese

For Valentine's Day G's family decided to take the kids to Chuck E. Cheeses, you know, where a kid can be a kid.

We went the weekend before V-day and Chuck E. Cheeses was insanely packed. Literally, half the machines didn't work. Luckilly, the kids didn't notice and they had a great time.

After leaving, Vincent asked if he could see Grammy. I told him we'll see and he said "But, I want to tell her I changed my name!" me: "Oh yeah? What is your new name?" Vin: "Chuck E. Cheese!"

Later, he said he wouldn't change his name until he had decorated his room, or put Chuck E. Cheese stickers all over the walls, and put the tattoos all over his belly. After he had done those things... I think he decided against changing his name. We were calling him Chuck E. Cheese and he would say "I haven't changed my name just yet!" I'm not really sure what he was hanging on to there.

Anyway, we still call him Vincent.

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It was hard to get pictures with all the people!

Pretty Snow and Ice

While it wasn't fun to drive in, miserable actually, the snow and ice from the recent storms was really pretty and fun to photograph. I decided to share a few photos while the weather is beautiful outside. I wouldn't want too much snow at once. Enjoy.

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When the Moon Hits the Sky- 2.16.11

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The moon was framed by these tree branches this afternoon. The sun was beginning to set, but it was still light outside.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day!

Last night, me and my two valentines went to Bugsy's on Main, a 1920's themed restaurant with delectable food.
Online Photo of the outside of the building.
Of course, it being Valentine's Day, there were no seats in the restaurant without reservations. Our choices were to go to the bar, which is nice, but I wasn't going to go sit in a bar with Vincent even if it is nice, or there were some seats in the basement.

"Let's leave," I said, but G thought we should at least check out the basement.
Once we got down there we did decide to stay. The atmosphere wasn't quite as nice as upstairs, but it fit the theme and was surprisingly cozy. There weren't candles on the tables or chair covers, like upstairs, but there were linens and it looked nice. Also, there was only one other table when we got down there — which was kind of nice since one valentine doesn't seem to have an inside voice.

The upstairs, minus tableloths and candles. Online Photo.

We've been to Bugsy's before, but for Valentine's Day there was a special menu with items you don't normally see.

The menu included a choice of:
Soup- Roasted Red Pepper and Roasted Cauliflower Bisque
or Sweetheart Salad- Mixed Greens with Strawberries, Blueberries, Pecans, and Provel. Drizzled with a Raspberry Vinaigrette

a Choice of:
Chicken Cordon Bleu Penne with Ham, Swiss ,and Fresh Herbs in a White Wine Cream Sauce
Pan Seared Corvina topped with caperBeurre Rosé sauce
6oz Tuscan Filet of Beef Tenderloin with mushrooms, artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, and feta roasted overtop
10 oz Grilled Pork Chop with a forest mushroom sauce
Muskovi Duck Breast with a White Port and Huckleberry reduction

and Choice of:
Chocolate covered Strawberry Mousse or
Key lime Crème Brule

I chose the sweetheart salad, beef tenderloin and chocolate covered strawberry mousse. Gary chose the soup, duck and mousse. We shared with Vincent because he usually doesn't eat very well, so he got duck and tenderloin.

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Both meals were served with fresh green beans and some delicious smashed potatoes that tasted a little garlicky.

Before our meal we were presented with a long stemmed red rose. Service was excellent and the food was delicious. I was going to get more pictures, but I always feel awkward photographing my food with others around... and by the time we got our food there were a few other tables.


My Rose
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Eating the srawberry from dessert.
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A Guy and a Pup 2.15.11

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Fugifilm FinePix Z30

Changes

When you're seeing things through a child's eyes, events seem to last a lifetime. Driving 15 minutes seems like it takes an hour, waiting for birthdays seemed long enough to identify half birthdays and even proudly say "I'm five - and a half!" As a child, I never understood why people said "time flies" or talked about how fast things had changed.

Now that I'm older and I have a child of my own, I think it's fair to say time passes way faster than you'd like it to. Sometimes things pass so quickly that you don't even realize you should be enjoying them. It's easy to get so wrapped up in the daily grind that you don't realize that your life is passing you by.

Just yesterday, I was waiting for a sweet little bundle of joy to be born. I wasn't sure what I was having, but I was sure that he or she was stubborn! At 10 days past due, with a huge baby, the doctor decided a cesarian section would be best. In the hospital, I held my baby boy. He was a few hours old, or new I should say. He was the most beautiful baby in the world, with dark hair and bright blue eyes.

But those baby days have passed. He's 4, and every day is an adventure. He's creative and smart, and he likes to tell stories. He loves reading, writing, drawing and working on spelling (of course, look at his mom). He likes trains, movies and he loves his dog poppa got him for his third birthday. This morning he was dancing with her. She with a pathetic little "help me" look and he had a look of sheer joy. The simple things in life can sometimes be the best.

Gary and I both loved staying home with Vincent, and we're glad we had the opportunity for one of us to be home with him for the first four years of his life. But things are changing. Gary and I both have day jobs now and our "baby" is getting ready to start kindergarten (not this fall, but next).

We thought the best option for him would be preschool, but when we looked there weren't any openings. He is in daycare now and really likes it. He puts a smile on the teacher's faces with his cute statements (Like when they were singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and he blurted out "Now let's do some rock and roll!"), his smarts (like when they were doing letter recognition-which he already knows- and he named something "puppy" and wrote it on the project, perfectly) and his creativity (like his story about Papa finding a giant sweet heart with a telescope on top of his van and sharing it with Memaw, and his cute artwork).

Yesterday the preschool called. There is an opening for this summer. Today we will pick up paperwork and start working on it. All I can say is, God, how time flies.

cutiepie

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