Pages

2/20/11

Feeling lazy

I have some pretty cool photos from when D & I took a little walk to our nearby park.

But with the cold, wind & rain this weekend, I'm feeling way too lazy to upload them.

In fact, today, I slept in until 7. I almost never sleep that late.

Even on the weekend.

So for now I will show you a couple pics I took with my phone using a new app "Hipstamatic".





2/15/11

Picture of the Day

john cena
Click image for larger view

2/14/11

A Morning at the Park

Yesterday, since the older two were at sleepovers, I decided D & I needed to get out and do something together.

I decided we'd go to Freestone Park in Gilbert where they have a couple ponds, a skate park and carnival rides, among other things.

We arrived about 8-8:30 in the morning and it was perfect.  The ducks were eager for the stale bread we offered and there were only about 3 people there.

We only walked about half the park (we never got over to the skate park) before it was a little after 10:00, and then the people & kids started coming.

Here is a pictorial of some of what we did in our couple hours at Freestone Park....


The carnival rides weren't opened when we arrived, (they open at 10:00am) and had a bit of an abandoned look so I edited the photos to look like an old postcard.


I have always loved the carousel. Any fair or carnival I have been to, I have to ride the carousel. I love all the different ponies, the lights, the music, the bright colors, the art around the canopy, everything!


How can you not admire and appreciate the artwork on the horses??


I've certainly seen fancier, but these are still beautiful.


Ahhh! Beauty-ful!



There was also a little train that took it's riders around the entire park.


Then we fed the ducks.  Lots of ducks....


Cute tan and white ducks....


Regal splotched ducks....


Quirky mallards....


And one huge black duck!


I don't know what kind of birds these are, but they're funny looking all lined up along the edge of the pond sunning themselves.


Gumby & Pokey came along. too!  They were a little nervous to be so close to the ducks.  They didn't want to be mistaken for a tasty treat!!


We stopped on a foot bridge to feed more ducks, and look at the waterfalls.


Gumby and Pokey wanted to be in another picture. They had to carefully balance on the bridge railing because if they fell in, there was no getting them out!

Then it was time to head home.

When we got back, D and I made red, white and pink Valentine cupcakes.

Completely from scratch.

Including the butter cream frosting!



2/10/11

Picture of the Day



john cena
Click image for larger view

2/6/11

Two stories that kinda, sorta, in a round-about-way, have to do with each other

If any of you follow me on Facebook (and you should, 'cause let's face it, more happens there than it does here!), then you saw that on Tuesday Wednesday my car died on the freeway as I drove home from work.

While I sat there waiting for Sean to rescue me, I played some Angry Birds, Hungry Shark, Jungle Crash Land, iJewels and tried to not let the plink, plink, plink, plink of the hazard lights drive me insane.

I also was bored enough to take some pictures of cars coming....




And of cars going....


BTW, what the hell is that crap on the windshield??  Looks like a bird had diarrhea!

I was pulled over next to a very exciting canal and mound of dirt with some shrubs behind a wire fence.  Don't let the excitement of the photo knock you off your chair....



Oh, look!!  It says the battery has no juice and is dead.  I guess I should've paid more attention to that before it got all the way to "No juice left and will die on the way home along the freeway".


Some day I'll learn.

Maybe.

The the sun began setting and I was to get colder.


Luckily, Sean soon arrived (after only about 30 minutes) and determined the battery was dead.  (Duh! Even with my vast lack of car knowledge, I knew that.) He tried to jump start it and I wanted to get a picture of the Police Cab on life support, but I'm way too much of a wimp to get out in the freezing cold wind to take a picture of Sean trying to revive my dead car.

Which brings me to the weather (and another kinda, sorta related story).  Like much of the country, here in Arizona we have experienced extreme (for us at least) cold weather.  Now, I know, many other states have had weather that was way more extreme than our 30° temps, but for me, anything below 60° is too cold.

I'm constantly hearing people who know me (including my husband) say I should be used to it growing up in Massachusetts.

The thing is, I was never used to the cold.

I have always hated winter.  Oh, I love the beauty of new fallen snow and can fully appreciate it.  

From inside a comfortably heated house or car.

But don't expect me to like it.  Or "be used to it".  That ain't ever gonna happen.

Growing up, we lived next to a river (which I later learned, when I moved away to the "big city" was actually a creek) and every summer we (and when I say "we" I mean everyone but me) would dam it up so we (and here I mean me, once it hit 80°) could swim in it.

This usually happened the second the temperature hit 60°.  All the neighborhood kids, and my siblings, were peeling away their jeans and sweatshirts and throwing on shorts, tanks and swim suits.

I was still in my jeans and long sleeved tops.  Laying in the sun to warm up.

We also lived about 30 minutes from two very popular New England ski slopes.  In all of my 21 years living there, the closest I've come to putting foot on one of those slopes, was the one winter I worked in the upper lodge and had to walk across the bunny trail to get there.  

My mother didn't help any, either.  She had this insane policy that everyday we needed to go outside for "fresh air".  (Now, as a mother myself, I know it was just so she could get us kids out of her hair for an hour and get things done.) During the summer, spring and even fall I really didn't mind.  As long as I had a book and a patch of sun to sit in, I was okay with it.

But in the winter?  My mother literally had to shove me out the door. 

Literally.

My hate for going out in the winter began with getting dressed to go out.  I spent an hour getting into a thermal top, long johns, jeans, long sleeve tee, sweatshirt, snow suit, TWO pairs of socks, wool socks over that, fleece lined boots, TWO pairs of mittens, a knit hat (I hated hats. They always messed up my hair and made it really static-y.) and scarf.  All that only to freeze after 10 minutes out in the snow and cold.

And it didn't help when my little brother thought it'd be funny to pin me down and hold my face in the snow for as long as possible.  How I managed to get away without frost bite is a mystery to me.

2/1/11

Randomness

I have a lot to tell you and one thing pretty much has nothing to do with the other.  Just things that've been happening and things I've had rumbling around in my head.

So here goes...


First let me just say - DAMN!!! It's windy out today!

Since our two back to back home shows, I've been really busy at work.  I like being busy.  Busy means money.

This afternoon a couple, who saw our sales rep nearly a year ago for an entry door, came by the shop.  I closed them for almost $6800.00.

Animal Planet's The Haunted is a freaky show.

I bought cinnamon rolls on Saturday for a treat.  I posted it on Facebook and Aunt Randi asked if I made them. It got me to thinking about making some.  I looked in my cookbook for a recipe and found one that looks pretty easy. Maybe one day the girls and I can have a baking day....





Tomorrow and Thursday is S's Senior Dance Solo Concert.  Reality that my baby is this || close to graduation is starting to sink in.



This past weekend was S's last Saturday practice.  Ever.


Yesterday morning we said good bye to R's goldfish, Beyonce.  He committed suicide during the night by jumping out of his bowl. We will miss him.



Right now I am coloring my hair.  I think it will be burgundy.  Maybe.

Nearly 2 weeks ago, we transferred D to the Jr High right next to our complex.  She hates it.



I am loving my Police Cab.  Except when drivers in front of me think it's an unmarked police car and slow waaaaay down.  I also tend to drive too fast now.  Which is not a good thing and I have to check myself every so often.




Sunday night we had a movie night and I rented 3 movies; Easy A (not bad), Charlie St. Cloud (I cried), and Toy Story 3 (I liked 1 & 2 better).

Best line from Easy A:
"Is there an Olive here?"
"There's a whole jar of them in the fridge!"

Best line from Toy Story 3:
"I know we've just met. Aw, heck - you don't know me from GI Joe. But when I look at you I feel like we were...made for each other."

I still have no clue what the little red button on the dash of my police cab does....



Does a Cadillac Escalade come in any other color than black?  Seams like every time I see one, it's black.

Yesterday I got a raise of $2.75/hour.  YEAH me!!

I also have more responsibilities.

I love my iPhone! 

Now I'm going to end this and go wash out my hair.  Then I'm going to watch Animal Planet's The Haunted.

Because it's so freaky.

Picture of the Day


john cena
Click image for larger view