My Sacred Life
Day 28

Ooops, my bad, I'm two days late with answers to the lovely Lisa's Manic Monday. Here's what she has for us this week:

Which personality trait has gotten you into the most trouble? [hahaha HOW appropriate!] Probably my procrastination. Or my lackadaisicalness (my, that's a long word) as pertains to things I don't like doing.

If you had to gain 10 pounds what would you eat to gain the weight? HAHAHA...like THAT will ever happen!!! Anyway...I'd eat lots of pasta and bread. *rolls eyes at Lisa*

How is your private self different from your public self? It's not...I'm pretty much the same privately as publicly inasmuch as what you see is what you get. I mean...I don't walk around braless (much) publicly, and I certainly don't pee in public (much) or engage in wild sex (anymore) in public, but other than that...

---------------------------

Thanks to a suggestion from Michelle, I asked my boss for some Mondays & Fridays off in Decemeber, and she graciously agreed. So I'm off two Mondays, the 3rd & the 10th and three Fridays, 14th 21st and 28th! Woohoo!

Last night, I went to see The Song Remains The Same, an old Led Zeppelin movie, which was playing at a few theaters in the area. It was definitely hokey in some parts, but the concert parts were amazing. My friend said anyone who could watch Page and Plant and not be turned on was dead inside...I totally agree! Those boys were HOT! Watching the intensity on Page's face as he fingers fly over his guitar...*fans self*. WOW!

My Sacred Life
Day 27

Took a day off from work today...I'm still depressed that I have 60 hours...60 HOURS of vacation time left. First time EVER I've not used it all up. Sigh...

So anyway, I got the tree up, lit and tinseled...not sure if I'm going to put on any other decorations other than crystal icicles. Doing good for having said I wasn't going to put it up this year :-)

Woke up at 330 am ... do you all know how QUIET it is between 330 & 430? FREAKY quiet, that's how quiet!

Red berries

My Sacred Life
Day 26

SarcasticMom came up with Weekly Winners, and here's how you play:

Every Sunday, post your favorite photographs on your blog. It doesn't matter what they are of - just whichever ones are your favs from the previous week (Sunday - Saturday).

[The only photos I absolutely do not want linked to this Meme are pornographic photos or otherwise extremely graphic photos (such as death/violence, etc.). You will get banned for this, and yes, I will be checking. Please, just use your good taste and common sense.]

So here are the rest of my favs from last week (I love this idea!!!)

It looks like the sage is covered in diamonds...I love this picture!

Prepared veggies, waiting to be cooked

Cappuccino, cannoli, anisette & water...delish!

Fresh rosemary, I just love the smell!

Funny Bones, my favorite snack cake. They were in the vending machine at work...I just HAD to ... yes, I know they're VERY bad.

My Sacred Life
Day 25
it's the Charlie Brown arrangement ;-)

What a weekend! I bought a bunch of books, almost finished one, saw a movie, went shopping, took some pictures, met friends...I was social! Hey...it happens every now and then LOL! I almost went shopping today again, but I thought a nice, peaceful walk in the woods was in order. The dogs and I had a great time, and I picked some pine needles to spruce (pun intended) up the place.

Did you have a good weekend?

Grab the Scavenger Hunt code. Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

My Sacred Life
Day 24

This is the 85th Saturday Photo Hunt; the theme is "Hot";

Hot is what I wish it was...22 degrees outside, brrrrr!!! I'm going to bake a cake, just for the heat from the oven. I'd roast a chicken, except for all that leftover turkey and ham. But the pies ARE gone...so cake it is!

My Sacred Life
Day 23

Left the house at 9:30 am and didn't slow down til about 11:30 PM...phew, what a day! Met Michelle at Barnes & Noble, bought four books, had a cup of coffee and a chat, and headed to Megan's to pick her up. Drove to Medford, hopped on the T and headed to Faneuil Hall, where we wandered and took pictures and had lunch at Wagamama.

Then we walked around and took more pictures and headed to the North End where we had cappuccino and drinks and dessert. Sufficiently warmed, we walked over to the Four Seasons, where we ended the evening with a cheese plate, a martini and a nice glass of Sancerre.

Ahhhh...Christmas time in Boston!

My Sacred Life
Day 22

We had a great day today. I cooked and washed, cooked and washed, and I still had a sinkful of dishes after the meal.

Wolf, of course, could barely contain himself with all the delicious smells. I staged this photo when I was done cooking. Isn't he so cute?!

After eating, we vegged out in front of the tv and watched the latest Die Hard flick...lots of spectacular crashes, good plot. I give it a thumbs up.

If you celebrate Thanksgiving, i hope it was filled with good food and excellent company.

Ahhh...another day off tomorrow AND it's a payday! Life is good :-)

My Sacred Life
Day 21

On my walk with Wolf this morning, I noticed little areas of snow left over from yesterday's brushing and thought it looked beautiful! It was almost as if I'd been transported to a place where the plants were covered with glittering diamonds.

Imagine that!

Got almost all the ingredients for tomorrow's big meal...except two of the most important: chestnuts and cranberry sauce!!! So I'll have to brave the stores again today.

For those of you that celebrate Thanksgiving, are you ready?

It's Wednesday and you know what that means...time for What Is It Wednesday! Have you played?

My Sacred Life
Day 20

There's something about the first snow of the season that's magical. It makes me giggle and want to go out and make snow angels! It's pretty with the autumn colors shining through.

Which picture do you like best? It's the same one, with different photoshop techniques applied.

It's snowing!!!

My Sacred Life
Day 19

Since I enjoy this meme so much, I'm making it a part of "My Sacred Life". Yes, I didn't take a picture of it...but rules are made to be broken, no? Anyway, here's Manic Monday, hosted by Lisa and this is what she has for us this week:

What is your least favorite day of the week and why? I'd have to say Monday. After two days off from work, it's always a bit of a sticky wicket to get back into the work frame of mind.

What's the best way to end the day? Downing an ice cold martini? Tempting though that might be, the best way to end each day is to lay in bed and read for a bit. It's soothing and gives me my needed quiet time.

Which animal would you have left out of the ark? Skunks!!! They're beautiful, but OMG the stink!

My Sacred Life
Day 18

And I'm in the mood for a meme...luckily, Claudia tagged me :-)

7 random and/or weird facts about me:

1. I love mint chocolate chip ice cream...but it has to be white, not green.
2. It takes me forever to finish a bottle of diet coke...if I ever come to visit you, you'll find a bottle or three in your fridge (small ones, not a 2 liter).
3. I'll try tasting almost anything food related, which is how I put natto, sea urchin roe & chitlins in my mouth (not at the same time, and my rating is: yuck, yuck & yuck!)
4. It's impossible for me not to personalize my workspace, as anyone who's ever seen my office can attest to (think the Captain Jack Sparrow cardboard standup is overdoing it?).
5. If I love a movie, I can watch it over and over and over. Same thing for music...it takes a really, REALLY long time, if ever, for me to get sick of either of these things.
6. I enjoy the attention my dog, Wolf (seen above), gets when we're out walking, because I HATE/DETEST/CAN NOT STAND to be the center of attention and would much rather any attention be on someone else.
7. I can only learn about things that interest me...ask me about the stock market or how cars work and I'll yawn and fall asleep (believe me, I wish those things DID interest me), but ask me about the different kinds of olive oil, how many races of Elves there are, or what Snape's mother's name is, and I'll rattle it off in a second.

These are the rules:
1. Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know that they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

And as we all know how I feel about rules, seven of you consider yourself tagged if you'd like to play along!

Thanks, Claudia, I was wondering what I'd write about today!

Grab the Scavenger Hunt code. Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

My Sacred Life
Day 17

This is the 84th Saturday Photo Hunt; the theme is "I love...";

I love brussels sprouts and pinecones, old recipes and salty chocolate, smiling dogs and traveling, a good cup of coffee, cool shoes, and of course, photography!

And I love my cousin who is celebrating a birthday today out on a cruise ship! Go wish her a happy birthday, if you so desire :-) Happy Birthday, Maribeth!!! Love you!

Today's entry inspired by Mrs. G!

My Sacred Life
Day 16

1. Tomatoes: Freshly picked from the garden, nothing better! These tomatoes are in my garden right now; the lovely Laura says if I pick them and put them in a paper bag, they'll ripen. We shall see!

2. Birthdays! Speaking of Laura, today is her birthday! Go wish her a happy one, please, if you're so inclined.

3. Laughter: This commercial had me laughing so hard! I love to laugh; it seems to me fun is vastly underrated in life.

4. Friends. These particular friends celebrated their 20th year since college graduation last year...and kindly let me tag along :-)

5. Grilled cheese sandwiches: Especially with bacon and tomato...comfort food extraordinaire!

6. Angel Perfume by Thierry Mugler. I know it's supposed to be a sweet, foody scent...but on me it smells like Christmas trees as well :-)

7. The ocean. The scent, the sound, the power...it rejuvenates me!

What are some of your favorite things?

My Sacred Life
Day 15

Stop!!!

Last thing I knew it was Halloween (which snuck up on me) and now...now it's a week before Thanksgiving!!! Granted, Thanksgiving is a week early this year...but still. I didn't realize turkey day was fast approaching until last night either. People doing their Thursday thirteens were talking about being thankful (and I was thinking how much I enjoyed the positive vibes). But it wasn't until I came upon one blog that spelled it out by saying that next Thursday was the day that I realized it. No WONDER my brother, who visited last night, said: "See you on Thanksgiving."

Can I wake up now and join humanity? Sheeeesh!

My Sacred Life
Day 14

I want a new drug
One that does what it should
One that won't make me feel too bad
One that won't make me feel too good

I went to see my new doctor this past Monday...0730, in my world, the @$$ crack of dawn. This is the first time we've met, and oh my...the news is NOT good, people.

I gained 20 pounds in six months. TWENTY. POUNDS. And I was fat before! Holy COW and I do mean COW. So my doctor and I, we talked about this weight gain. I said I know I should eat better and work out, but I can't bring myself to do either. She asked why and I said...um...I don't know? Standard answer for when I really don't want to delve deeper into why. But she picked and prodded, no easy task when it comes to me; a typical Cancerian with a THICK shell and very accustomed to side stepping and burying my head.

Here's the truth: I know I need to lose weight...but I'm embarrassed to go to the gym. Why? Cause I'm fat & ugly and I figure the people at the gym will laugh at me. They will laugh and snicker and think to themselves: "Why does she want to lose weight? She's so ugly it doesn't matter if she's 100 pounds or 300 pounds. Ugly is ugly." Yup. That's what I think.

I'd like to be able to think that people would think to themselves *sounds of crickets chirping*, i.e., they're not thinking of me at all, which is probably the case...and maybe this new medication will help.

Cause you know what? Ugly or not, my weight is not healthy and I'm of an age now where I need to really do something about it. So maybe I can go to the gym with the attitude that I need to lose weight to be healthy...yeah, that's it!

Wish me luck?

Also, don't forget...it's Wednesday and you know what that means...time for What Is It Wednesday! Have you played?

My Sacred Life
Day 13

Coming home last night I was flipping through the radio stations...do you know they're playing Christmas songs already??! I like to start listening the day after Thanksgiving...when I start decorating the house for Christmas. Although...I did listen all the way home!

And speaking of Christmas...I'd really like to do all my Christmas shopping on Etsy this year. Please take a look at Etsy :: Showcase and see if anything catches your eye. Then let me know! You'll have til December 7th. Because I'll pick one random person to send something to. Or maybe two...possibly three, cause I'm a fan of odd numbers. My way of spreading the holiday cheer :-)

Just keep it under $50.00, wouldja? Waaaaaaaaaay under ;-)

That is all.

My Sacred Life
Day 12

Because I had such fun at the beach yesterday, I thought I'd include another picture from it, one that others seemed to like very much, as well.

Since I enjoy this meme so much, I'm making it a part of "My Sacred Life". Yes, I didn't take a picture of it...but rules are made to be broken, no? Anyway, here's Manic Monday, hosted by Lisa and this is what she has for us this week:

What family traditions or customs would you most like to see preserved? Funny you asked this...I was just talking to my cousin last night about our family tradition of having plum pudding for Thanksgiving. It was always on the table, made with love by my aunt (her mom) and it's not quite to everyone's taste, but we LOVE it.

What do you feel is the least sexy part of the body? Nostrils. GAG.

What keeps you awake at night? Why? (This could be worries, recurring thoughts, pain or any other distraction. Read into this any way you wish.) Not much LOL! I usually don't have a difficult time sleeping. Call me well-adjusted if you must. ;-)

My Sacred Life
Day 11

Wolf and I headed up to the beach today; Dad had mentioned he'd heard on the news the waves were really big...wow! They sure WERE! Surfers are pretty much a rarity around here as the waves are never big enough for them. This guy had a hard time getting past the crashing waves to join his three buddies. Wolf did NOT appreciate seeing someone in the water; in fact, ALL the dogs I saw on the beach barked their heads off at him LOL!

Mmmm...the house smells so good, I'm baking orange marmalade spice cake. Co-workers will be happy tomorrow!

Happy Veterans Day to all veterans :-)

My Sacred Life
Day 10

I spent the day shopping for wedding gowns with my friend, Megan. She tried on...oh about 10 or 12 all told...but I think she fell in love with number three. I can't describe it other than to say her face just lit up when she looked in the mirror...she looked like a princess in it! There was one other she liked a lot, too...but the service at the second store, after the SUPERB service we had at the first, might have colored the experience a bit.

Afterwards, we had dinner at a Mexican place, played trivia at the bar, and I stopped for this shot on the way home. Far from perfect, but I like the lights reflected in the river.

Hope you had a great day, too!

My Sacred Life
Day 9

Last night I was restless. Not in the mood to read, or watch tv, or talk, or sleep. I should've hopped in the car and driven to the beach...but it never occurred to me.

I watched a bit of ER...and it brought back such horrid memories of living with my first ex-husband. He was an alcoholic...somewhat controlled as he'd've had to have been in order to function in the military. Prior to him joining the military, though, I can remember nights where he'd call me in a panic to tell me he didn't know where his car was. First time it happened, I thought it was stolen. Then I realized he'd gotten so drunk he didn't remember where he left his car...a good thing given how drunk he'd been at one bar or another.

So this morning, even though I got up late, I decided to take Wolf for a walk, clear my head and whatnot.

I saw this milkpod fluff and thought it looked rather angelic.

I felt much better when I got home :-)

My Sacred Life
Day 8

It was sooooooooo cold this morning! I almost didn't bring a camera with me on my morning walk with Wolf. My purse, where I usually keep my small HP, wasn't willing to give up its contents (i.e., couldn't find the damn camera). So I grabbed Dad's small Canon and off I went.

I don't really care for the freezing cold...anything below 40 is too cold to me. But I'll put up with it because I really dig the four seasons in New England! I like my summers hot, my winters cold, my autumns chilly and my springs filled with the promise of sunshine and warmth.

Wolf, however, would like it to be snowy and cold 365 days a year. Weirdo!

My Sacred Life
Day 7

I really didn't want to go to work today. Ever have one of those days? I finally dragged myself into the shower, got ready and drove to work. Once there, however, I found I didn't want to get out of the car. So I started reading a book I picked up a couple days ago, The Problem with Murmur Lee by Connie May Fowler. I can tell, just from the first few pages, it's gonna be a good'un. After finishing the first chapter...still not in the mood to go in, so I put my seat all the way back and stared out of the moon roof and then the windows...looking out at the world. This is what I saw. Not so bad...and I heard the birds chirping, the leaves skittering across the parking lot, blown by the wind...and finally felt good enough to go inside.

Oh and don't forget...it's Wednesday! Have you played?

My Sacred Life
Day 6

I love rainy days...as long as they don't equal a month, as it did in Japan. All June, all rain, all the time. After awhile, ANY sound you love would get a bit irksome if you heard it all day and night EVERY day and night.

But...I woke up this morning, early for me (6:40 am MaryEllen!!!) and decided to catch up a bit on my reading. How comfortable to be in a nice warm bed, snuggling with a plush shiba inu, listening to the rain fall just outside your window and reading a good book...ahhhh.

When it rains, it brings back memories of walking a mile to school in a raincoat and rubbers (hey, it's what we called 'em back then), splashing through the puddles. For some reason, it's also a bit of a melancholy memory...not sure why...maybe all that walking?

Do you like rainy days? Do they bring back memories for you? Wanna share?

Need a bit of Halloween scariness to help you get in the mood for tomorrow? Hope this helps!!!

BooOOOOOooooooo!!!

Do you know where your path will lead? Do you know WHERE you want it to lead?

1. Day 18 Customer, 2. Day 20 spider spaghetti, 3. Day 20 pirate drink, 4. Day 21 Devils Den

Do you see it?

Now, if I could just remember what I was going to search for!!!

Mel wasn't feeling well and missed a few days, so here are the shots from the 10th til today. She's feeling better, now, though!

1. Day 12 family, 2. Day 13 waiter and buffett, 3. Day 16 waiter and new family1, 4. Day 17 two tables, 5. Day 17 appetizers, 6. Day 17 kids

Pirates!!!

My cousin, Mel, sent me pictures of the Halloween decorations at a house near hers...I asked her to send me a picture a day, so I could share them with you. This person goes all out in their Halloween decorations, eh?

1. Day One - chef; 2. Day Two - waiter; 3. Day Three - scary waiter; 4. Day Four - maitre de la table; 5. Day Five - maitre de la table and guests, 6. Day Six guests & waiter

Full scene, end of Week One

1. À hauteur de crabe..., 2. Red night, 3. 井上食堂のラーメン, 4. Pumpkin Fair @Tokyo Station, 5. little dog red barn, 6. 江ノ島, 7. Picture 116, 8. 沖縄, 9. Futcha, 10. Yokota Air Base, 11. Palm, 12. sakura @Tama-River, 13. Golden Blue, 14. Water, 15. PAD 2007 - 12 San Francisco Stairway, 16. Happy Clementine, 17. Merperson from Hogwarts Lake?, 18. where I want to be, 19. Sandollar, 20. seiyu from train platform

Julie's been doing this for awhile, then I saw
Zoot's favorites, then Amy did it, too.

After viewing the pictures I have favorited on Flickr, I realized I need to go browse a bit. Most of my favorites are of Japan, but there's tons of shots I like that friends have taken that I haven't favorited. I need to change that! I'll do another post on this, and soon!

I had a great entry for this...and the dreaded blue screen popped up on my lovely Dell laptop. Grrrrrrr!

Anyway, here's a recap: BPAL, Lurid Library, Poppets, vampires, autumn leaves, cider donuts, hooray.

That is all.

Friday, I got my hair taken care of. No, I didn't go silver. Not brave enough yet, I guess. Got a lovely shade of dark honey and platinum-y highlights.

Saturday: Went to Sephora, where they were offering free foundation consultations. I got a mini-facial from a Dr. Perricone rep; fantastic stuff, but so.damn.pricey.!!! Then a Stila rep did my makeup. Got many compliments from friends at the wedding I went to that evening, as they're not used to seeing me wear much makeup at all :-)

Michelle and me, photo taken by Michelle's husband, A

Took 200+ pictures at Krista's wedding; of course, I like only about 5 of them LOL! Since the bride & groom haven't seen any of the shots, I really shouldn't share ... but ... oh, well, here. They go from this:

to this:

and this:

with a little bit of this thrown in:

and this

"I don't know why you people are getting so dressed up, but I hope there's food involved!" - Bonbon the corgi

Sunday, I relaxed, tried to catch up on sleep, reading, cleaning, etc. My brother and I took Dad out to lunch; new-ish Italian place...NOT very good at all. Overcooked pasta, not so tasty sauce, frozen veal & fish; as my brother said, when you're served cold bread that should be served warm, you know that what's to follow won't be so good either. As none of us had come CLOSE to finishing the meal (I think the staff knew better than to ask, "Was everything ok?"), we all went for an ice cream for dessert at a local dairy farm:

(look at it with your head tilted to the right, it won't look so much like the Leaning Tower of Pisa that way!)

Patiently waiting for his or her owners to return with ice cream!

When I got home, I finished working on the wedding photos. Phew!

How was your weekend?

I took Dad to the wedding of his "adopted" granddaughter today. As we were driving down the highway, we noticed the sky was getting dark and saw a couple flashes of lightning. Cool, right?

The wedding was outside.

Outside...by a lake.

And the wind started blowing

And no one cared :-)

Hopefully, they'll live happily ever after :-)

My new tattoo, on the left and my new future tattoo on the right

Yesterday and today were quite the days!

I got a new tattoo last night; Megan came with and got one, too! We had fun talking with John, he's such a great guy and so damn talented! And no, I don't have hepatitis, my foot is just yellow & orange from the ink!

Had dinner at the The Peddler's Daughter on the way home. Nice place, lots of drunks tho ;-)

Today I got lost going to my brother's...turned around and missed the exit I needed, and decided to go the eff home LOL! Saw a great blue heron feeding in a pond, went home, picked up Dad and my camera. Got a couple shots, the bird was too far away, so sad. Took Dad for a ride with me to Nashua, where I was going to pick up a wireless router. I also ended up getting a new phone, which has...best of all...navigational capabilities, which I MOST DEFINITELY need! I love it!

Navigated my @$$ over to Michelle's; we were going to take a bus in town, but decided against that as it was HOT AS HADES here today! We decided instead to see a movie. Went to The Blue Room first for a bite, and we loved it there so much we passed on the movie LOL! The food was fantasic, I had light fluffy little pillows of gnocchi (Michelle said they were too soft, but this non-Italian didn't know any better) that were flavored with a lemon sauce. YUM! Our waitress was incredibly, passionate about her job which was nice, VERY nice!

My phone got me home the shortest possible route, even tho I took a wrong turn, recalculating the route, she told me, I named her Jessamyn :-)

How has your weekend been so far?

Night, all!

Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.
He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety.
Finish every day and be done with it.
You have done what you could.
Some blunders and absurdities, no doubt crept in.
Forget them as soon as you can, tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely, with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense.
This new day is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on the yesterdays. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

I saw this quote recently, over here, and I want to post it somewhere were I will see it every day.

Life is short...enjoy the ride!

LEO - The Lion:
Great talker. [check]
Attractive and passionate. [check]
Laid back. [sometimes?]
Knows how to have fun. [check!]
Is really good at almost anything. [check]
Great kisser. [she says so!]
Unpredictable. [check]
Outgoing. [check]
Down to earth. [check]
Addictive. [check]
Attractive. [you already said that fer crissakes, but I guess it's worth repeating...check!]
Loud. [can be!]
Loves being in long relationships. [check]
Not one to mess with. [check!!!]
Rare to find. [check!!!]
Good when found. [check]

For your 32nd birthday, I wish you much love and happiness, oh friend o' mine! I value your friendship, and although it's been a rocky road at times, maybe that just makes our friendship all the stronger :-)

Pop over and send her some happy thoughts, won't you?

What a great long weekend! Drove up to Vermont with Diane & her girls to stay at Mo's. Betsy and her middle daugter, Audrey, joined us Sunday.

- Went to the drive-in to see Ratatouille (and to gaze at the very full moon). When's the last time you went to a drive in? SO much fun!
- Met Mo's bead lady and took a TON of pictures
- Saw a herd of miniature horses (didn't get ONE shot LOL)
- Finished a book that wasn't Harry Potter - Heat, by Bill Buford
- Went to Lake Champlain Chocolates - yum!
- Went to see the Lipizanner Stallions - beautiful animals :-)
- Watched a sunset - sigh
- Played with a puppy - what fun!
- Hung out with friends - the best!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the weekend:

Monarch in the burdocks

Rumor! Isn't she gorgeous?

Close to my favorite pic of the weekend...shot in color, looks almost black and white

Meri

Can't believe I got this shot LOL!

Love these ... "things" on a rooftop in downtown Burlington, VT.

A gorgeous onion from Betsy's Dad's garden

How was your weekend?

Last Thursday at work, I won 3 tickets to go see the Red Sox on Saturday. I gave two to my brother and father...I WAS going to go with them, but 1) I was reading the last Harry Potter book and 2) I was reading the last Harry Potter book!

I asked around to see if any friends wanted just the one ticket ($165 ticket!) and no one did. I did a mass email at work and gave the ticket to the first person who responded.

"Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd.
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,
I don't care if I never get back,
Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don't win it's a shame.
For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out,
At the old ball game."

Wolf, helping to reinforce my constant vigilance!

I read a seemingly innocent comment from someone I THOUGHT I could trust, which had a bit of a spoiler, so no more reading of comments until I'm done with the book.

Unless, of course, it's from Michelle, Michele (all of them), Megan, Laura, Lisa, Deb, Krista, Colleen, Carl or Zoot, cause I KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt I can trust them! Sorry for doubting you today, K!

Who's up for it!!!

I wish I was there right now!

Isn't he (or she) gorgeous?

***UPDATED***

No this is not an alien; yes this is a moth!

Went to Fuller Gardens (a beautiful place by the sea) today in North Hampton, NH with Megan and her Mom; I took SO many pictures! They had to drag me outa there kicking and screaming. We had lunch at Michael's Harborside...delish! Perfect day!

Remember in the movie, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azakaban, this type of flower froze when the dementors passed by? They're so pretty! The flowers, not the dementors!

I tried to log in last night to post a picture I took up in Portsmouth NH earlier in the day, and all I got was a big, blank nothing! My hosting company solved the problem, and I'm BACK! Well...I wasn't really gone, but I did have slight withdrawal symptoms :-)

Firstly, here's the pic:

teeheehee

Secondly, Megan's cousin won tickets this morning to the sneak preview of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at the local IMAX theater tomorrow night...and she VERY nicely gave me one! WOOHOO! I am JUST a bit excited *understatement*

Thirdly, I had the BEST time up at my cousin's house these last few days! She invited me up for the 4th, and to stay a few days after that, which I happily did! She and her husband graciously let me laze about, rereading OOTP and feeding me from time to time. We hiked one day, had a HOUSEFUL of dackels another and generally just had a wonderful time. Thanks, MB!!! Love ya!

PS! If you're having a hard time commenting, don't give up after one try...we're working the bugs out! If you CAN'T comment at all, please email me at fondofsnape AT gmail DOT com and let me know exactly what happens. Thanks!

I just love this picture!!!

Flower getting a poppet kiss :)

This shot was taken at my cousin, MB's house last Saturday...and I think it's perfect for the 4th of July!

During my recent trip to Vegas, Michelle Colleen's book kept mysteriously cropping up:

On the way to Vegas

Look at the statue on the left...he looks like he's craning his neck to try to read the book!

Have book, will be fanned by statues!

She was trying to COVER, not POINT TO!

EEK! Must be the part where...

Too engrossed to gamble!

Waiting for the plane, it was!

Finally weeded the garden today, wow, were there a lot of weeds!!! Replanted the basil into the garden after I made some room via the weeding and the culling of the mint, which is taking OVER LOL! The poor basil wasn't growing well in the window box, not enough room to spread out roots (I know the feeling!). The tomato plants are flowering, no 'maters yet, tho! The strawberry plants had one lovely flower, but I couldn't get a clear shot of it.

Took the dogs for a nice long walk in the woods, came back and read for a couple hours. I know...a beautiful day and I'm reading...what can I say! It's a GOOD book, Heart-Shaped Box, by Joe Hill, and no it's NOT a romance novel, but a VERY SCARY book, he's Stephen King's son and that apple didn't fall far from the tree!

I wanted to take some shots of some jewelry I'd gotten for my birthday, so set everything up on the picnic table. Noticed a bird fly out of the bush behind the table and thought...oooh, I bet there's a nest, and I was right!

I'll try for a better photo in coming days, but I hope I don't upset her too much! I just tried for a shot from in the house, and I thought I was being quiet, but she flew away!

I had a fantastic day yesterday, thanks to MB, Michelle, MB's hubby and Emily, the girl next door, literally LOL!

On the way to MB's

It's not a meteor ... it's bird poop!

Waiting for the M/S Mt. Washington

We were first in line! (MB on the left, and Michelle)

Lovely sailboat on Lake Winnipesaukee

Michelle being attacked by vicious dackels

MB and I enjoyed the view from the porch with a nice warm cuppa!

Emily, hard at work

Thanks to MB, Hubby, Michelle and Emily for a fantastic end to my birthday month!!!

Squeeeee! I came home today to find some poppets decided to move in with me!

Don't worry, little sad poppet, the next book will be out in just a few weeks!

I'm back! Miss me? Lots to say, no time to say it, dang work! Here's some pics to tide you over til I can tell you about fabu Vegas (one word: HOT!!!).

LOVE was fantastic! I want to go back with my cousin to see it again, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and Yellow Submarine had the best special effects!!!

There were tattoos (henna, not permanent!):

MaryEllen sent me some lovely flowers!

Deb & Laura sent me some delicious cookies, specifically tailored to my loves!

And pickles, yummy deli pickles!

I missed you all; more later, I promise!

Sunday: Had a great time with my brother and Dad for Father's Day. We took Dad up to Brown's for lobsters, steamers and a fisherman's platter. Yum! Dad racked up the presents: a new camera, three shirts and some shower gel so he'll smell good for those chicks at the Senior Center. Go, Dad! My brother also gave me an early birthday present, enough cash to either get a REALLY good massage or hire a gigolo for a couple hours. His instructions on the birthday card were too clear about that, altho they WERE clear on the type of guy I should as for (no, I'm NOT tell you what it said!)

Sunday evening: Not so good...Wolf had a seizure :-( Freaked me right the hell out, as you might imagine. It didn't last more than a minute and afterward he was a bit wobbly, but 10 minutes later he wanted to go for a walk and then eat. So today, he was off to the vet's. Had a complete physical and blood work and I should get the results tomorrow. The vet said that any number of things could cause a seizure and I told her this was the first one I'd ever seen him have. He seems to be feeling well now, so we'll see.

I didn't get to work til 1 or so, and of course, since I'm off Thursday and Friday, I had a TON of stuff to do. Made the day fly by, that's for sure. Met up with Megan after work so she could do some clothes shopping for Vegas and I found the coolest headbands and flip flops (a girl can never have too many flip flops, yanno!).

Megan stared at me appraisingly and said that she loves my new curly hair, and that it is "me". I feel like it is too, and maybe I can become more like myself than I have been these last few years.

More good news: my friend Diane invited me, along with another friend, Mo to dinner and a sleep over at her house Wednesday night, and we're all going to take a limo to the airport at the crack of dawn Thursday. Start the vacation off right, says I!

It's my birthday week, ya'll!

He likes to share, has a wicked sense of humor, eats anything, had the most adorable blond curls as a baby, enjoys his family, likes photography, loves animals and served in WWII...ladies, anyone interested? ;-)

This picture just makes me smile:

Does it make you smile, too?

Just one bite, matey!

Walked right by this guy in the algae pond...he was standing stock still and I thought he was a rock at first; all I saw was his body! His legs were totally underwater and I didn't notice his neck and head. I got quite the crowd around me, everyone shushing their kids so as to not scare the bird away:

More shots on flickr, if you're interested!

I also got the garden into shape, planted the tomatoes and found a new strawberry plant amongst the mint! I had to trim the sage that grew back from last year; here's a shot of its lovely flowers:

I went over to Megan's Friday night, and while waiting for her to come home, I sat out in her backyard, reading, sipping my ice coffee...and of course, taking pictures. This lovely flower is a peony:

Moments before had ants crawling all over it! I think they saw the camera and got really camera shy ;-) Course I had to look up WHY ants were all over these flowers, and here 'tis:

Ants are attracted to sap-like secretions produced by flower buds. While they are common on many cultivars, the presence of ants does not enhance pollination, nor does it harm the plant.

Hmmm...cool!

She and I went to the mall so I could return a belt and get my glasses fixed. Damn, I should've taken a picture of what happened to the lenses in my new glasses; they had stress lines at the top and bottom! Not so much that I could tell while they were on, but still.

Then we had dinner at Lui Lui, an Italian place with so so martinis and great cheap margaritas (2 bucks, y'all). Spur of the moment we decided to go see Ocean's 13; my first of those movies. It was very entertaining!

Today I did some shopping; decided to FINALLY use the Sephora card a friend gave to me for my birthday last year. I got some Bare Escentuals eye liner and some Too Faced Lash Injection mascara. LOVE the eye liner, haven't tried the mascara yet. I'll do a review over at A Girl Must Shop about it soon.

I wanted to get Decleor's Aromessence Neroli Comforting Concentrate (it has petitgrain, neroli, sage, parsley, and sandalwood essential oils in a hazelnut oil base) after reading about it at Sephora.com, but the store didn't have any. They, did, however have samples of it, as well as the Aromessence Angelique Nourishing Concentrate For Dry Skin, which I had wanted to try, too (this one has angelica, chamomile, geranium and rosemary essential oils in an avocado, hazelnut and wheatgerm oil base). I heart Sephora :-) To apply, you put one drop on each of your first three fingertips (hahaha I spelled it fingertits first, too much Laura influence); touch them to the first three fingertips on your other hand, and gently massage it onto your face. Then you moisturize as normal. Can't wait to try it tomorrow morning!

I also stopped by Aveda and got my free birthday gift; a specially blended full size bottle of body lotion. They asked me some questions, found out I'm a fire element and gave me a choice of three scents; one was a patchouli combination, the second was a sandalwood combination, the third was rose & ylang ylang. To my surprise, I liked the rose one best! Hmmm...weird!

Made chicken for dinner, marinated in pineapple juice, mango hot sauce and mustard...yum! Combined it with pineapple/cilantro brown rice and broccoli. Still trying to eat good...not succeeding ALL the time, but more often than not, and that's good.

Hope your weekend has been great so far!

Yesterday I went to Plymouth with Michelle to evaluate some folks that want to adopt a dog. They passed with flying colors! Afterwards we ate a late lunch at Hearth & Kettle, which brought back memories for both of us; you see, we both used to spend alot of time down the Cape in the summers when we were kids and both of us used to eat at Hearth & Kettle with our parents as a treat.

Since we'd brought Wolf with us, even though it was chilly and foggy, we decided to talk a quick walk around Plymouth Harbor. It was too foggy to get a shot of the Mayflower...which brought my ancestors to New England, but I did manage a shot of Plymouth Rock, the (very small) landing spot of the Pilgrims in 1620, as well as some shots of the harbor.

All in all, it was a good day and a fitting ending to a great weekend!

Hope you all had a great weekend, too :-)

Tonight I went to Newburyport with Megan and Jim, in the pouring rain, complete with fierce thunder and lightning! It eased up by the time we got there, tho, which was good as we ended up walking a bit to get to Aquatini. I had a extra dirty martini and some oysters and shared a cheese plate with Megan. Perfect! Afterwards we drove to Plum Island, sat out on the rocks and watched the lightning far off in the distance and talked. Magical!

Here's a flower that's growing in my front yard; enjoy!

ahhhh, the weekend! A glorious, nice long weekend filled with just the right amount of things to do! Truth be told...maybe TOO much, but I'm not complaining!

Friday I went over to Megan's; we headed up to Nashua to do some shopping and have dinner. Got some free POTC temporary tattoos, which made my night!

Saturday, I did some shopping, made dinner for Dad and headed over to Megan's for a cook out. She had the BEST black bean and mango salad; I'll post the recipe soon! She and Jim, her fiance, invited some folks over and we sat around outside, eating and drinking and talking. Fun! They grilled, in addition to other things, some eggplant, which is my new favorite thing to eat!

Mango-y goodness!

Sunday, I took Wolf for a walk in the woods and ran into Megan & her friend, Kristin there; took Dad out for breakfast at the Owl; then Michelle came over and we went back to the woods with Max in tow.

We saw two turtles on our walk, isn't this little guy adorable?

That evening, I took my friend Diane out for dinner (Melting Pot...eh...except for the chocolate fondue, THAT was awesome) and a movie (POTC 3; she had a hard time following it, then gave up and just delighted in the piratey hotness that is Captain Jack Sparrow). She savored getting out without the kids and being surprised; I enjoyed surprising her AND our impromptu stop at the Container Store, which I'd always wanted to go to!

Monday, up early to get ready to go to MB's for the day! Michelle came along with Dad, the dogs and me and we had a relaxing, delicious, puppy filled day that even included a bit of shopping at the oh so awesome annual Memorial Day craft fair.

Puppylove!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Without some sadness, we'd never know how good happiness is. Without some ugliness...we'd never realize beauty.

Never mind the fact that Spring is counted as the whole months of March, April, and May in the Northern Hemisphere that it officially begins on the Vernal Equinox (March 20th or 21st and lasts until the Summer Solstice (June 21st or 22nd in the Northern Hemisphere; spring to me is when the lilacs blossom!

I don't know about you, but I could use some brightness in my life right about now! Please enjoy these lovely flowers; one of the girls at work got a bouquet last week and she let me photograph them :-)

Happy May Day everyone!

This is the view I was greeted with when I woke up. Enough, already!

The cherry blossoms hit their peak last week in DC...but I still found a few lingering blossoms to shoot! More about the weekend to come, I just wanted to share this hard earned picture :-)

Hope you all had a great weekend!

I've had this donut bed for awhile...and for some reason he didn't like it. But he kept scratching the braided rug to get comfy last night so I brought it downstairs. He climbed in and boom! He was out like a light!

After work, I met a coworker for a walk around a pond in the next town over from where we work. Lauren had told me about this place, but I never imagined how beautiful, or how BIG it was! We walked for about an hour; we saw ducks and geese and swans, fishermen, bird dogs, and rollerbladers, oh my!

It was quite windy and the water was wicked choppy, but it added to the beauty of the place.

I'll be taking Wolf and Max there this weekend, if the weather holds :-)

This is the reason I wanted to take a photography class. I KNOW this should be crisper and clearer...I should've used manual and not auto focus. I wanted the whole flower in focus, but because the bottom part juts out more than the top, I need to take that into consideration.

There were SO many orchids of every color and type at the show. I was in heaven wandering around taking pictures. Ran into a coworker there and she politely waited til I was done before she said hi.

Also on the work front, I got my own office today! To say I'm happy, well...it's a bit of an understatement. I'm NOT anti-social, but I do love my alone time, my quiet time...and I wasn't getting any of that sharing an office will what will hopefully be my last office mate. She and I are total opposites...I'm sure we'd get along in a social setting, just not sharing a space 8 hours a day.

I don't know if I mentioned it here, but I'm taking a photography class, Digital Photography II. The class description goes like this:

This course will explore the world of digital photography and how it differs from (and is sometimes the same as) film photography. The class will get photo assignments each week. Bring in digital photos which we will view on our projector, and discuss the merits and problems of the work. The class will be much like the film photography classes we have, but the medium here is digital. Since photo enhancing, adjusting, and retouching are part of the kit of tools available to the digital photographer, we will be using Adobe Photoshop and its magical kit of tools to help correct and adjust our photos where needed. However, the primary thrust of the class will be photographic techniques, with mechanical enhancements as an added, but secondary, attraction.

Last Thursday was the second class, and the first where we had homework. Our assignment was to bring in no more than 8 portrait shots and he would critique them.

He had a criticism on only one picture, the one of the woman holding the orange. He said that as she seems to be offering the orange to the viewer, it needed to be in focus, too. I agree!

This Thursday, our homework is "Portraits, non-human" and he wants us to use macro. I went to the flower show in Boston on Saturday...guess what my subject will be?

So there's been alot going on lately and I haven't really had a chance to talk about any of it.

Thursday: Dad was able to come home from the hospital, and we also got a diagnosis; he has Parkinson's disease, in the early stages. His doctor has prescribed a medication and we'll see what happens. I'm, of course, hoping for the best! The diagnosis does explain a lot; his soft speech, his shuffling gate, his shaky hands. I thought it was just aging. Ah, me.

I also started an eight week photography class on Thursday. The guy teaching it seems knowledgeable and talented and I learned a bit just during the first lesson. Our homework is to do a portrait for the next class, not more than eight pictures. I asked him if the subject had to be human; he kind of scoffed at me and said he didn't want to see cutesy pics of people's pets. Now, c'mon...is THIS cutesy?

Friday at work, one of the VPs mentioned to me that I was going to CA for a month for work. I was like...um...huh? What? When? In typical fashion, no one had mentioned it to me. And it has to do with the aspect of my job I resigned from. Of course, the person they hired to do that has an elderly mother she takes care of so she can't do it. Well guess what? Neither can I! Haysus, it's NOT my job anymore and I have an elderly father to take care of! Anyway, after he said something, I went to my boss and she said she knew about it, but had told the higher ups she couldn't do without me for a month. My company being what it is, I'm sure they could care less. But you know what? If they want me to go, they're going to have to arrange for someone to come in and watch Dad, pay for kenneling the dogs cause Dad can't watch them and fly me back and forth to Vegas from CA because of course this coincides with my Vegas trip for my birthday.

Yesterday I made a boiled dinner in honor of St. Patrick's day and mostly sat around watching movies. I have a sinus infection on top of everything else that's going on and the right side of my face is a bit swollen. I also got a blister on my foot from wearing a new pair of shoes. It was healing fine until Wolf accidently stepped on it, and now...ouch! It just hurts like hell and I can't put a shoe on. No walking around in flip flops outside for me, not in the foot of snow we just got! I did slip on a pair of Ugg boots and did a bit of shoveling yesterday. I mean, if I don't do it, it won't get done and if something happens to Dad there has to be a path to the house, you know?

My cousin Maribeth and her hubby sent Dad a beautiful bouquet of flowers yesterday; it arrived before I shoveled, so they left it with the neighbors next door, who were nice enough to deliver it later.

They smell even better than they look!

Last night, Wolf noticed something outside and I saw him out of the corner of my eye staring intently. So I looked and saw what I thought was a cat, at first, just sitting there. Then it started running and I thought...wow, that's a weasel! So I looked it up online and found that weasels are a brownish color and this animal was black. Looked further and discovered what I saw was an American mink! Amazing the things you see in your own back yard!

To all my Irish friends, I hope you had a fantastic day today and that you're not too hung over tomorrow!

Day 54 from Project 365; salty chocolate - man, was it good!

Things have been a bit stressful lately; Dad blacked out or fainted in the bathroom Thursday and came to on the floor...where he stayed for 4 or 5 hours until I came home from work. Apparently, he didn't have the strength to get up. Of course, I ended up working late that night and didn't get home til 7, and even then didn't know he was on the floor til I heard a repeated banging noise.

I helped him up and put him in bed. He slept for a few hours and when he woke up, I gave him something to eat, as he probably hadn't eaten since noon time.

Took off the next day from work to keep an eye on him, all the while trying to talk him into going to the ER just to get checked out.

Saturday, Michelle came over for a bit so I could take a shower; I was afraid to leave him alone. My brother came by, too, and finally convinced Dad to go to the ER. They went around 3; after waiting there three hours, he was finally seen. They did blood tests, urine tests, an EKG and a CAT scan...only thing they found was a UTI, but I think the fact that he blacked out and didn't remember it prompted them to admit him.

Yesterday, they were concerned that he seemed a bit out of it (which is kinda normal for Dad) and so did an MRI. Haven't got the results yet, and he's still in the hospital.

So, yeah...I needed some chocolate.

Ocean Lady sent this to me:

Yes, it's THAT cold today!

Had dinner at The Burren last night with Pat (shepherd's pie and guinness, YUM!); then we headed over to see the movie, Venus, at the Capitol in Arlington. A fantastic movie, go see it if you have the chance. At first it made me laugh, but by the end, oh how sad. Beautiful, tho!

I don't know whether this theater has recently changed hands or what, but the last two movies I've seen there, the sound has sucked bullocks. And last night there were people walking in and out, in and out...very distracting. Think I'll stick to the Somerville Theater from now on.