April 2010

A 12-of-12 on a Monday... ick.  Oh well.  I did my best to be creative while going along with my day.  I brought my camera into some interesting places (and got a couple funny looks), but hey!  It's the 12-of-12.  I had to!

Be sure to visit Chad Darnell's page and the other 12-of-12ers, too.

8am:

We have some new "neighbors" in the area... BEAVERS!  Tho I haven't seen them yet, I have seen their handy-work.  I've been told they can take down trees like this in about 5 minutes.

Noon-ish:

LOTS of errands to run today during lunch time.  First... a trip to the doctors to get my Tetnus vaccine and PPD test.  Not fun, but I hafta get it done (for work).

This was fun... down the road from the doctor's is my favorite 'Animal' store to get food and treats for the kids.  Gus, the owners hound dog, wasn't in today, so no puppy fix during my visit.

Errands done & had about 10 minutes before I had to visit my next customer, so I stopped at this nice spot for lunch.

Evening:

The Bug checks out the goodies I bought home for him & Mackie.  They approve!

Time for a quick walk before puppy dinner & then off to swimming.

While the kids eat, I have a chance to take a peek at my three new (loaner) books!  I can't decide which one to read first... might just dive into all three at once.  :P'''

Random photo time!

This weekend the snake (Tsunami - our 9-plus foot Jungle Carpet Python) sloughed her skin (she shed).  It's an amazing thing to watch if you haven't seen it before.  She did a great job... only one tear in the whole thing.  Here she is smiling at you:

Here's a view the whole thing.  You will notice, the skin is inside out... it is pealed off like one lonnnnng sock.

When I went outside to take my "View from the Porch" photo, I couldn't help notice my Hostas... peeking out of the ground.  I LOVE all the new growth in spring.

Finally... it's off to the pool.  I haven't calculated my distance yet, but it was probably close to a mile (I hope so, at least).

The View from the Porch:

What a difference a month makes!  This shot has looked virtually identical the last two months (snow and snow)... but not today!  We've have temps in the 60s, 70s, and 80s these last few weeks so the snow is gone and the plants are poppin!  The crocuses emerged and faded in March - now the lilies, hosta, and all things green are starting to grow.  HOORAY!

March 2010

12 photos
on the 12th day

12 months of the year

Thanks, as always, to Chad Darnell, originator of the 12-of-12 Project.
Not the most exciting or creative photos this month... could it be because I woke up to rain after a BEAUTIFUL, warm, sunny day yesterday?  Hmmmm, maybe.  TGIF, everyone! 

6:30-8:30am:  Home

These aren't the sneakers I wore for my workout this morning...  but I just HAD to include them in my 12.  I bought them last weekend so I could start running/training for my first Triathlon (in July).  In addition to their very cool colors, I'm totally psyched that by buying them, a donation is made to the Komen Foundation - to fight breast cancer!

Instead of jumping in the car first thing this morning, my team had an 8am conference call, so I got to stay home for a bit.  Let's see - computer, phone, coffee, bagel - I'm ready!

My favorite boy, TaterBug, was hangin' out - giving me the sad eyes when I was on my way out the door after the call.  The good news?  Only working half a day today!

51-degrees out!  HOORAY!  
Rainy, tho.  BOO!

BTW - that's Spot, the cow, on the right

9:00am - Noon:  Buffalo, NY

I was back in Buffalo again this month.  These shots are taken in and around downtown.

City Hall

The Federal Court Building

Buffalo Savings Bank Building 

(Now M&T Bank, the Electric Tower in the background)

The Electric Tower

1:00pm: On my way home!

A TON of snow has melted these last few days - temps have been in the 40s and 50s - so the creeks are turning into fast-moving rivers.  AND, little run-offs are turning into beautiful waterfalls.  This one is a hidden treasure on Route 240.

Our little girl got some new shoes, too!
Winter may be almost over, but the kids still need boots for those rough terrains we hike through sometimes.  Here's Mackie trying on her new NeoPaws.

A view from the porch - 

Can you see the mist?  We're making our own fog today - with warm air and cold snow.  We still have over a foot of snow on the ground, but it's receding quickly.  I expect the majority will be gone by next month, assuming we don't get any major storms between now and then... which one can never count out in March.

This month's shots are kind of a "half-12-of-12" since they were all taken before 3pm.  Not much happened since then:  I read for a bit, did some chores, and now we're contemplating dinner.  If anything photo-worthy happens tonight, I'll be sure to add it... a bonus shot, if you will.  If not, I'll see ya next month!

February 2010

Remember those potpies I got the day of our last 12th?  We just had them for dinner.  YUM!

It's February 12th, folks!  Time to participate in Chad Darnell's 12-of-12 Project.  What's the 12-of-12?  You really should know by now, but if you don't... it's a fun photo project that has you post 12 photos from your day, on the 12th of the month each month of the year.  Chad says this is the last "official" year... we'll see if we can get him to keep it going.  :)

So what happened today?  Today's theme, as it turns out (not by any conscious decision), was "Buffalo Buildings & Food".  Strange, I know... it's how things went today.  Take a look:

Breakfast with Jerilyn!

After months and months of trying to set a date, we finally got one.  HOORAY!  Pano's Restaurant in Buffalo, NY is a must for visitors to our city.


Below is the view from our table (on the 2nd floor of the restaurant).  Elmwood Ave is an eclectic street... with businesses and residences all in one.

(Jer, if you're reading this, it was SO good to see you - we MUST dine together again soon.  If we start planning now, we might see each other by June.)

Move that bus!

I never thought the TV show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition would come to Buffalo... but they did!  Last fall they visited the West Side and built this home for the Powell family.

I told 'im we already got one!

Bet ya didn't know that Buffalo has a castle.  Well, technically no.  But the Connecticut Street Armory sure does look like one.  See for yourself...

Lunch time!

It's midday and I'm getting hungry.  I have an apple and some grapes, but that's not enough.  But what else to have?  Then I drive by this place...

This is the birthplace of (Buffalo) Wings!  In 1964, Teressa Bellissimo, owner of the Anchor Bar of Buffalo made these for her son and some friends as a late night snack.  The rest, is history!

I didn't have lunch at the Anchor Bar, sadly.  I'm trying to "be good" and not eat high fat foods like Chicken Wings.  So, instead, I opted for this:

Take-out sushi.

Oh, and this is part of the reason why chicken wings off the list of lunch-time foods.  Earlier this week I registered for my first Triathlon.  It's not for a while now (July 4th weekend), but I want to get into shape sooner rather than later.  This book was a gift from a friend.  "Don't take the title the wrong way" she says... "just read it."  So I am.  And I'm loving it so far.  Jayne Williams, the author, makes me feel I can easily accomplish this goal I've set for myself.  Easily.  With training.  Training starts later this month (sort-of already has with my daily workouts).

BINGO!

 

If I didn't already have other plans for this Saturday night,  it's possible I'd be coming here.  St John's Grace Episcopal Church is the host location for Buffalo Gay Bingo!

This ain't your grandma's bingo... this 1000-times more colorful, rowdy, and there are WAY more drag queens in the room (or so I assume... ya never know).  Plus, after each winner is announced the whole group shouts "B*TCH" at the top of their lungs and points at the winner.  (we were all thinking it, after all.)

Around the corner from St. John's are these beauties... there are LOTS more like it in the area, but these two are my favorite from the day.

 

A view from the porch -

Finally, here's the 2nd in this year's series of Views from the Front Porch.  As mentioned in January's 12-of-12, each month I'm going to take a picture of the same "corner" of the yard, while standing on my porch.  Not much has changed since January... still have snow (altho not as much as some in the country right now), but the days are getting longer and there's the promise of warmer temps soon.  

Well that's all for this month!  

Remember to kiss your Valentine on Sunday (and everyday).

{{{Hugs}}}

 

January 2010

Looking back on last year's Jan 12-of-12, I guess January is my hibernation month.  Interesting how this project has become a "reference archive" of sorts.

Today, unfortunately, was a "sick day"... felt lousy most of yesterday, then totally crashed after work.  This morning I woke up with a slight fever so decided to stay home and rest.

BUT, it's a 12-of-12 day... so, around 1pm, when I started feeling a little more human, I started taking some pix.  You will see that today's set is FAR from my most creative, but it's the 12th... so I tried my best to catalog the day as best I could.   

As always, thanks to Chad Darnell for the excellent idea (12 photos on the 12th day of each month).  To see Chad's site and the other cool people who post their photos, click here.

Had to scrap the workout this morning.  I've been doing a great job of getting up at 5:30 each morning and doing 30-45 minutes of cardio/weights.  But not today.  Hopefully tomorrow.

One reason for my need to get in shape (aside from a simple desire to look & feel better) is our upcoming vacation to Sequoia National Park & Kings Canyon.  I can't wait!  Five days of hiking amongst California's giant trees!  WOO HOO!!!

Spent a lot of time in front of the computer today.  This is my current wallpaper.  I LOVE this picture of the kids.  I took it January 2nd while we were playing in the newly fallen snow.
This shot is a pretty typical scene for my two... Mackie tries to hip-check the immovable TaterBug - she thinks she's tough.  He thinks she's nuts.  (She is.)

 

This little guy sits on the table next to the monitor.  For those that don't know, it's s geode (rocks that have crystal growth inside).  I picked this one up a a Gem & Mineral Show back in October.  Isn't the crystal structure fascinating??

I ate lunch with the birds (well, sort of).  Outside my dining room window I have this and 3 other bird feeders.  The Goldfinches love me for it.  They're wearing their winter colors now, but in the spring the males turn brilliant yellow... and sing their little hearts out.

Nap time!

Rarely will you find ME in photos... I'm always the one behind the camera (and I like it that way).  But since the original rules (per Chad) were to include one's self in at least a few shots, I'd try to oblige this time.






Ya know... it's tough it is to find cool things to take photos of when you're stuck in the house.
I found these two knot projects when I wandered into the kitchen.  I don't know exactly what I'd call them... keychains?  lanyards?  I dunno... but they were fun to make and turned out pretty cool looking.  The bottom one, by the way, is made with glow-in-the-dark paracord, so assuming the cord was "charged" you could see it at night.  I tried to take a picture of it, but it doesn't photograph well in pitch-black. 

I got a special delivery!

Okay, I'm sure for many people, a box of pot-pies is not high on the excitement scale.  But for me, these were an AWESOME sight!  $3.50 gets you tons of yummy veggies and chunks of turkey in a perfect little pie.  We buy them by the case!  Yummmmmm, can't wait for dinner.

Finally, I'm borrowing this idea from one of the other 12-of-12ers (I can't remember who it was, so apologies to them).  Each month they posted a photo of their home/yard that was taken from the same spot each month.  It was so cool to see how the landscape changed over the course of the year.  SO, for each month of 2010, I will post a picture like the one below, taken from my front porch.   

I'm curious to see how long it takes for the snow to melt!

December 2009

It's Saturday!  And, it's 12-of-12 day!  What could be better?
OH, I know - almost 2-straight days of snowfall and then a GORGEOUS sunny, snow-sparkling day to snap some photos.

But before I get to the snaps, first I need to thank Chad Darnell for his brilliant idea of making a photo diary of the 12th day of each month using 12 photos.  Thanks, Chad!

So, as I mentioned, it's been snowing and snowing and snowing here.  It started Thursday.  I went downstairs to work-out at 6:15am and by the time I got back upstairs, everything was covered with a thin coating of snow... and it was really coming down.  I live in "ski country" so I'm no stranger to snow.  In fact, this is one of the latest "first snows" we've had in a long time.  (We've had snow mid-October in years past).  Thursday was the first REAL snow we've had this season.

This storm was a "lake effect storm" - the Great Lakes produce bands of snow clouds that are almost identical in shape to the lake itself.  (If I had thought about it, I would have grabbed a picture from the weather.com... oh well.)  Lake effect storms tend to stay in one place, maybe "wobble" north and south a few miles, then dissipate.  This week's storm threatened to stay till today, but in actuality, fizzled last night.  All total, the weather people say we got 22.2" of snow in 48 hrs.

So let's get to the photos already!

6:30am - Time to sweat.  I have been faithful to the "promise" to myself back in October... weights/cardio, 3-5 days a week.  Today was day 5!

 

Workout complete.  Chores complete.  Time to play!

11:30am - 1:30pm - Wandering around Sprague Brook Park in Concord, NY

 
The slopes aren't open yet... next week, they say.

Burrrrrrrr

 

The pond is frozen, but the cattails won't give up! 

Giant marshmallows?  Sadly, no.  Snow covered rocks.

Not that you can tell from these photos, but the snow was really deep... 2-feet in spots... and since we are the first adventurous (crazy) souls to come out here on foot (no skis/ snowshoes/ snowmobiles) it was a tough walk.  I burned a TON more calories during the hour we were out here.

4:00pm - The kids really enjoyed their walk, too.  Here's what they look like now.

TaterBug & Mackie

They are so snuggly now that the weather has turned cold.  And with our walk today, they'll just want to sleep for the rest of the night; PERFECT, since I have a "Sock Exchange Party" to go to at friends' house.  They won't miss me one bit!

The sox I have to exchange tonight fit in quite nicely with my 12-of-12 this month... here, take a look and let me know if you agree.

Happy Holidays!

See you in 2010!