Visitors since 10/1/2010
Brian received his second "professional" (ie, paid) haircut this weekend.
We have a similar trimmer at home, but the stylists have much better "finishing" tools (to get the sides and back shaved).
The overall experience took 5 minutes, and we liked the results:
I love the friendships I've cultivated through this and my photography blog. And when one of those friends honors me with a blog award, I'm even more grateful for relationships and inspiration found through this medium.
I've known Lee for several years now, and we've met in real life (and will get together later this year - so excited about that!). She's awarded me the Stylish Blogger Award. How cool is that! Backtracking through the other award recipients, I've been linked to some great new blogs - another bonus to the award.
I understand that having a teen in the house means a transition in interests. Instead of the constant hum of Disney Channel, we now endure TLC (What Not to Wear, The Cake Boss and Say Yes to the Dress). Nancy Drew mysteries have been replaced by The Clique Series and best sellers like The Lovely Bones.
So imagine my surprise when Erica wanted to buy these:
Apparently all the rage among teens - the cuddly and soft Pillow Pets. Yes - glorified, over-sized stuffed animals, quite similar to the 100 stuffed animals I sold at last year's garage sale.
"But it's a pillow" Erica tells me. "And they are SO soft".
I acquiesce and let her buy two. She's named the horse "Casey" because he looks like her favorite horse at the Stable. And that's Zoe the Zebra [again, named by Erica]. I'm glad there's still a little bit of "kid" in that teen head.
There's still lots of silliness between teen friends, too:
As the two of them get ready to play volleyball in the snow:
Technically, more than the weekend -
Thursday night - a full moon with snow means a cool exposure of the backyard:
Friday - it's retro day at Middle school.
Saturday -
It's cold outside and snowy, but I managed a 3 mile run after a Cage Fitness class. Running while the snow is falling is so peaceful.
The tulips are starting to fade -
I finished up the last of the photos from July's Italy trip. The pictures from Florence (Firenze) may be found here, on Flickr.
Sunday - The cats make a little bit of a fuss while watching the birds outside. They won't go outside, though - it's too cold!
Erica enjoyed dumplings for lunch (leftovers from last night's takeout)
Hope you had a great (and warm) weekend!
It’s already the third week of January, the snow is falling (yet again) and tomorrow the temperatures will drop below zero. Welcome to winter on the prairie. Even the birds have to deal with the snow and ice.
Taken outside the orthodontist office on Monday, January 10th – Brian had a retainer check up (he needs to wear it more, so we’ll have to monitor that a little more).
Later that evening, Sammy got up high above the refrigerator in the kitchen. He and Hannah were playing a bit of “tag”:
Fast forward a couple of days, and we’ve got 6” of fresh snow on the ground, and Scott bought these from the store:
Just what the kids need – caffeine and real sugar!
That night, I made some crepes for Erica:
On Friday, I hosted book club at the house. What a busy day! So busy that I didn’t take pictures, but my friend, Kellie (who is doing her own Project 365 this year) did:
I made rum cake (of course) and we discussed The Happiness Project (my selection).
On Saturday, January 15, I took Erica to the mall – she needed new jeans [the ones she bought in the fall are “too cold” – that’s because they have holes in them – that’s why buying jeans with holes in them is really not the best idea…..].
Apparently, Aeropostale has been surpassed by the America Eagle store:
And later, Sammy decided to snuggle on her lap.
There’s no shortage of cat games tonight:
On Sunday, I decided to take my own advice concerning finding photographic inspiration during the winter months and bought a bouquet of tulips to photograph.
And instead of wasting time playing Angry Birds (seriously, I need a 12 step addiction program), I wasted time photographing stemware:
I promised Erica I would hang her new window blinds today. Out come the power tools – the Makita drill set I bought Scott for Christmas in 2009.
It’s a great drill (not too big) so I quickly completed this project.
Monday morning, Martin Luther King Jr. day, and the kids have the day off. I guess I have the “morning off” too, as I don’t have to drag the kids out of bed and drive them to school. Instead, I leisurely prepared for the day and played around with my iPhone camera and the Hipstamatic app:
Tuesday – kids are back to school. I have violin lessons in the afternoon – starting the 2nd movement of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto – very pretty. Later that night, Brian and I sweat things out at Cage Fitness Class.
Wednesday morning and I’m still taking photos of the tulips.
The kids persuaded me to get them sandwiches from Panera on Wednesday night. Wow, the Christmas lights are still up in the Olde Farm Shops.
But I have to admit, they are kind of festive….
I just had to post this picture I took of Rascal last Sunday, basking in the sun.
She's looking good for a 17 year old kitty, and I always approach each year like it could be her last (although Scott says she's going to outlive us all, just to spite the new cats we keep adding to our family).
We've been blessed with abundant sunshine, making it "seem" warmer. But the temperatures have been right on par with previous years, which means it is COLD out there!
So, what's been going on?
We went out and purchased a treadmill:
...which was used heavily by the kids for about two days. Erica was the requester, but Scott and I have used it more than she has. I figure now I don't have any excuse not to run (even though I'll be hitting the pavement unless there is serious ice and / or single digits outside).
It's been sunny outside:
Scott and Brian set up the big tent in the basement last night (Friday). They camped out there with Sammy.
A small amount of snow (about 1") fell last night and provided Brian with some afternoon entertainment today.
We are watching football now, and I am learning to use Lightroom 3 to organize and process my pictures. I have been using the 50mm lens since mid-December, forcing myself to work within the constrains of the fixed focal length.
The kids are back to school again, complaining a bit about the homework, and having to get up early. They don't know how easy they have it!
I think I am ahead of schedule, having created the 8x10 layouts for our yearly wall calendar. Like last year, I'll create the calendar on Shutterfly.
I thought I was all done, but I didn't realize that I can add little pictures to specific dates on the calendar grid - you know, like a picture of Rascal on her birthday, or a picture of Scott and I on our anniversary. So, it's back to the photo archives to search for more pictures to upload to Shutterfly. It will only delay things by one day (those who receive these calendars every year can rest assured they will receive one by the middle of January).
Brian and I stayed up to welcome in the New Year. He was very excited (an understatement, really) and set up at least two count down clocks until he realized the TV show all displayed them.
Once the clock counted down, he jumped all over the place and danced on the floor.
At 1am, I drove out to church to pick up Erica from her New Year's Eve celebration. I was really tired, but she was completely awake. I suspect we will experience some groggy mornings as the kids adjust their body clocks back to "school schedule".
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Later on, during the "normal waking hours of the day" - we took down the Christmas Tree and decorations. I finally "wiped" our old PC - we've been using the new PC for over a month now and no longer need the other computer.
I also cleaned out the unused toys in the basement - toys that haven't been played with in years. A bit of a trip down memory lane, remembering when the kids wanted to play with their toy dinosaurs and horses. But it was good to get the broken toys out and the other toys organized to sell at a garage sale. Cleaning and purging - all appropriate in the new year.
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And so I've finished up another year of taking daily pictures.
In 2011, I plan to change things a little. I probably won't take a picture every day and post every day - after two years of posting to two blogs, I feel I need a little break. I might just post weekly instead, at least for the month of January.
For those just starting a Project 365, good for you! I found the project to be very rewarding.
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