The Randomness in My Mind

Getting Squirrelly at the Hollow

2011-11-17T19:25:00.001-08:00

The beginning of October was simply gorgeous in Iowa, mid-70's to low 80's, beautiful sunshine, and mild breezes. One particularly dazzling Sunday morning the sunlight burst through the curtains with every gentle breeze, I felt a yearning to be outdoors. As I looked around the house at Bug on his computer, Anthony on his, and Nan sound asleep I thought this is no way to waste this gift of a day away! So I packed up a cooler with sandwiches and as soon as Nan woke up I hollered at the boys. We were going on a picnic! I just didn't know where we should venture to since I'm still not completely familiar with the area.

Anthony solved that small dilemma. He drove us to Squirrel Hollow, a state park along the Raccoon River, about 10 miles from our door. It was the perfect setting for our little out of doors adventure. We enjoyed the sunlight filtering through the colored fall leaves as we took a short hike before lunch to acquaint ourselves with the park.

Nan and Bug were enjoying some Uncle/Niece bonding time as they posed for this picture on a wooden bridge spanning a small ravine & even smaller creek.

Always the adventurous 10-year-old Bug tried to shimmy down to the bottom of the ravine.

Pausing to look over the river Nanbaby quietly took in the scenery.

Bug and Sam were curious as only a boy and dog can be to check out this cabin, which turned out to be an outhouse.

We stopped for lunch at a little play area. Anthony pushed Bug on this Merry-go-round a few times before Bug decided to take a more leisurely spin.

Nan was quite taken with this leaf she caught skipping across the picnic table.

She had to explain her find to PopPop in great detail.

After lunch we wandered down to the river. Bug and Sam climbed this fallen tree (the same one that Bug investigated when we were at that spot on New Year's Day). I have only ever known one other dog to climb a tree.

With Nanbaby loaded up we trekked down the river.

Bug and Sam took off ahead of us to make sure there were no sharks in them there waters.

Bug toyed with the thought of taking a swim but settled for just dipping his toes in instead.

We found a bar of beautiful white sand. Nan wasn't sure what to think of this new substance at first.

But she finally decided she was impressed and this new stuff was pretty neat although not very tasty.

Bug had a grand time running up the small dunes of sand and rolling down the other side.

"Hey PopPop! How about we take some of this stuff home?"

Even Sam seemed to enjoy the sand.

I'm sad that the weather is changing and winter will soon be upon us. I can't wait for spring to make her appearance so we can continue our explorations.

Hangin' With the Good Guys

2011-11-14T21:06:00.000-08:00

You would think that with my job at the dealership I spend so much time around cars that I wouldn't want to see anything with wheels on my time off. However, during the long Independence Day weekend Anthony and his mom took me to see the Good Guys car show at the state fairgrounds and I have to admit that I was impressed.

In an effort to pick up the speed of my blogging in order to catch up to the present I'm not going to bore you with the lengthy details of souped up engines and specs. I am mostly just going to post a few photos of the vehicles I found most interesting. I had a great day watching people, talking about engines and paint jobs, and admiring the unique artistic touches and mathematics behind these creations. I did discover that I have a new interest and admiration for the rat-mobiles. Although, for some reason I did not come home with a photo of a single one.

Who ever would have thought of making a mustang into a four-wheel drive?

Stay tuned for photos of our end of summer picnic.

A Photogenic Personality

2011-10-10T21:18:00.000-07:00

At the end of June Nanbaby and I went to visit my friend Chris of Photography139 fame to have him shoot her 6 month photos. I've said it before and I will state it again, Chris has an amazing talent in photography. I have heard him wander aloud why his friends choose him to photograph the babies in their lives. I obviously can't speak for all of them, but I had many reasons for asking Chris to photograph Nan. I love the artistic spins, the angles, the way he can capture emotion and personality. Chris doesn't pose the children as so many do, he captures them being their normal happy and occasionally fussy selves. But I will let you be the judge, below are a few of my favorite shots from that evening.

Nan was getting a little tired and fussy at this point and I was trying my best to liven her up. I wasn't even aware that Chris had aimed his camera towards me as I tried to induce giggles from the little one. This photo now graces the desktop of my laptop.

As I said above, these are only a few of my favorite shots. There were so many fantastic photos to choose from I had a very difficult time deciding which ones to display at home & at work. Chris has conveniently given me a link for friends and family to view the gallery of photos in the Photography139 Store.

Thank you again for sharing your amazing talent Chris! Look for me to discuss Nan's 1 year photos with you before long!

The Final Kick in My Ass

2011-09-21T20:07:00.000-07:00

On June 27th, just days before Dad passed away, Anthony thought I needed something to pick my mood up. We had been talking about adding a new furbaby to our household for several weeks so it was no real surprise but still a huge joy when he brought me home a 5 week old Siamese-mix kitten.

At that time I was reading The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton. I decided to give the young kitten the same name as the lead character, Lily. Oddly prophetic? You decide.

Lily snuggled right in to our little household. She spent her days cuddling with Sam on the couch and her nights curled up in the towels I had folded up in a box for her bed. Except for that very last night.

I'm not sure if it was because she just wanted to be close to me, perhaps she could sense my sadness at Dad passing away just a day & a half before. Or possibly she wasn't feeling well herself and wanted my warmth and comfort. We will never know why Lily climbed under the covers in the middle of the night, if that was her undoing or if she knew her time was already approaching. I woke up on the morning of Lily's 5th day with us to find her dead beside me.

The week between Dad's passing and his funeral became even more difficult for me. Thank you little Lily for the joy you did bring me during those hard days after I put Dad into Hospice. R.I.P.

Rest in Peace Now Dad

2011-09-16T20:43:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to lie, this is going to be a difficult post for me to compose. I have had 10 years to prepare myself for June 29th of this year but there are certain stages of grief that you just can't go through until the time actually comes.

This photo of Dad, Bug, and Nanbaby was taken just a couple days before Dad told me he was done fighting. It was difficult to hear him say that he was tired and ready to go "sleep" with his wife (my mother who passed away 15 years ago). It was difficult, but I understood, he had held on for 10 years for me and it was time to let him go.

It saddens me to think of all that my father gave up when he tried to end his life so many years ago. I still grieve for the grandfather that my children never really got to know. I still miss the father that was strong for me so many times as I was growing up.

It took me ten years to get past my anger at my father for attempting to kill himself and for the state that his attempt left his mind and body in, But now I realize that those are ten years that I cherish. That was ten more years that I got to spend with my father. Even though his brain was very damaged from lack of oxygen and he wasn't able to have in-depth conversations any longer, I came to realize something that I wasn't aware of prior to his self-imposed life sentence, my father did love me and was proud to call me his daughter. There were times when we butted heads as I grew up that I would've told you differently, but after the last ten years I can tell you without a doubt that I had not given him enough credit as a father. I did not know what he was dealing with. I did not realize that he had a treatable illness very similar to mine. Looking back I can now see the signs, but they were never glaringly obvious.

Depression is a serious illness that some people can hide a lot better than others. If you know someone that you think may be depressed or having a difficult time please reach out to them. If you are feeling down yourself or confused about life, please reach out to someone. There could be someone out there that needs you more than you realize. I was lucky to have the time to repair my relationship with Dad (the best I could given his limitations), and I realize that, but I also realize how many times I could have benefited from having my Dad be his full, capable self over the last decade. I guess a girl never out grows needing her Daddy.

Daddy I love you.

Breaking It

2011-08-28T11:16:00.000-07:00

For Memorial Day weekend Anthony & I decided we needed to take a little break from our stresses and have some playtime. Anthony had heard of a 4-wheeling club called MIOBI (Make It of Break It) in Southern Iowa that sounded like the mini-vacation we needed. We loaded up Swamp Thing and made our way to the grounds just North of Albia.

I was surprised at how many people filled the campground. This was obviously not the small affair I had imagined.

On our first run through an area aptly named the Playground we discovered that Swamp Thing was not quite as up to the challenge as we had originally thought. We found that her carburetor had a tendency to flood on steep inclines. This was not a convenient problem to have when traipsing through a 400 acre former strip mine full of steep hills and rocks.

After we were pulled to level ground and gave Swamp Thing a chance to recover we attempted to climb the West side of an area called the Rock. Halfway up we encountered the same problem.

The break while Anthony operated on Swamp Thing gave me the chance to play around with my camera.

Once Swamp Thing was up and running again we decided that she would be better suited for running through the mud than climbing rock walls. We set off along a muddy forest trail not paying much attention to the twists and turns that we were taking. That would prove to be our undoing but also the beginning of an interesting adventure.

At the bottom of a steep gully Swamp Thing found a challenge she could not surpass. We were buried up to the bumpers in mud and not able to move more than an inch in any direction. MIOBI requires that every vehicle in the park be equipped with a working CB. Anthony hollered across the air waves for help but we didn't know our location. We tried to talk our would be rescuers through the path we had thought we had taken but it took them nearly two hours to find us. It seems that we had ventured down a seldom used dead end path that many didn't even know existed.

We were pulled out of the mud and backwards up the steep hill by two buggies strapped together.

As it was nearing dark (closing time for the park) we were told to follow the buggies to the campground. They had to go rescue another vehicle on the way so we were taken down a path meant more for buggies and rock crawlers than old, heavy and big 4-wheel drives. The buggies had to hook together again to pull us up another steep rocky incline before we once again entered the muddy forest.

The mud in this part of the forest was deep and that morning's rain had filled the deep ruts to their brim. A little ways down the path we slid in the mud into the wall of one of those ruts. The impact popped the bead off the passenger side tire. It was getting dark and we did not have a spare tire with us. There was nothing we could do to limp Swamp Thing to the campground so we accepted that we were there for the night and hitched a ride back to the Tahoe.

The hospitality back in the campground was amazing. We had people offering to help us in the morning, sharing their dinners and beer with us, and inviting us to enjoy fellowship and warmth by their campfires.

Early Sunday morning Anthony set out with several of his new friends and a borrowed trailer tire to perform their magic and rescue Swamp Thing. I was given the opportunity to sleep in (a rare occurrence) and read my book while snacking on our small supply of Lunchables. It took the boys from 6 am until 2 pm and working through a thunder storm to bring Swamp Thing back to the campground. During this time I watched with amusement as the tent across from me blew over sending several people scrambling out into the cold rain.

When they returned with the disabled truck we had another challenge to confront. How were we supposed to reseed the bead without running water? Anthony adapted with the only liquid we had left.... beer.

I watched with amusement as the beer foamed from the air filling the tire. In all my years around vehicle repairs I have never witnessed anything quite like this.

It worked like a charm though and we had Swamp Thing loaded on the trailer before 4:00.

I played around with my camera for a few more minutes while Anthony said his good-byes and then it was time to hit the road.
Swamp Thing has developed a few more issues since our little weekend jaunt, so it doesn't look like we will be taking her out again anytime soon. It was definitely a different experience that we both enjoyed despite all of our obstacles.

Bittersweet

2011-08-23T20:00:00.000-07:00

The beginning a May brought many changes to our quite little abode. Sis decided enough was enough and she left her boyfriend of several years. i won't go into the details of why, as that is not my story to tell.

Sis, Nan Baby, and I had a lovely reunion the day after they came home and spent the afternoon at the park.

It was good & heart-warming to see the girls enjoy a day of giggles and love.

Nan Baby was a slight bit apprehensive when it came to the slide.

She was a trooper though and didn't fuss as the went down.

Sis moved out a few weeks after that but made the loving and mature decision that Nan needed more emotionally and physically at that time than she could provide at this time. Nan Baby has been living with us since and is thriving in her new environment. Sis is working on bettering her situation and we wish her luck and strength.

Pinewood

2011-08-17T07:56:00.000-07:00

In March Bug had a very exciting weekend when he won a trophy at the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby for the second year in a row. Last year he won for best design.

This year he brought home the trophy for fastest car in his den.

He of course had to do a little happy dance to show us just how over-joyed he really was.

His dad helped him design & build the award winning car this year. Great job boys!

An Unintended Recess

2011-08-14T00:30:00.000-07:00

It's been nearly six months since I last blogged, most of that time I have spent without a working computer (thank Geek Squad, you made Best Buy lose my future business). In that time there have been many life changes around here. Now that we have had time to adjust and adapt I am trying to get back to some of my happy routines and creative outlets.

Here is a glimpse (in no particular order) at the upcoming blogs detailing some of our activities and changes over the last several months.

We were witness to a super speedy pinewood car tearing up the track in March.

A fantastic get together for Junction Days at the end of July.

A brief happy reunion at the beginning of May.

The final kick in the ass I didn't need at the beginning of July.

The bittersweet end to a tragic tale in June.

An adrenaline pushing weekend get away in May.

Posing pretty in July.

Hanging with the Good Guys.

It has also come to my attention that my 101 list is now outdated due to the changes in our family dynamics and housing situation over the last half year. I will be working on creating a new 101 list. Feel free to leave your suggestions for my new challenges below.

Silence

2011-02-22T06:23:00.000-08:00

I am hoping that with this post I will break my silence & get back in a routine again with plenty of creative time in my schedule. I know, I know I've said that before, but I really do have some things to share with you dear readers and I'm starting to feel the urge to blog again finally.

This week's Random Photo Challenge theme was Silence. You can check out the rest of this week's submissions here.

Macro

2011-02-11T14:25:00.000-08:00

Holy crow! Has it really been a couple weeks since my last post? Where or where does my time fly off to?

This week's Random Photo Challenge theme was one we have taken up in the past. I've got to admit that I much prefer the photo I submitted last year over this year.

I will admit that I did kind of slack on this challenge. I put it off until the last minute, so as Chris at Photography139 (go check out the other submissions) says, I "phoned it in". I have been having some difficulties with my cheapy digital lately, but hope to have a brand spanking new smarter model in my hands within the next few weeks.

The new project that I am involved in is up and running. I will have a seperate post about that at some point in the near future.

Nanbaby, A Photoblog

2011-01-22T10:44:00.000-08:00

This post has been 3 weeks in coming. I'm not going to write much today, the pictures speak for themselves.

On December 30, 2010, Sis gave birth to a beautiful little girl. Yes, I am a 35 year old grandma, however I prefer to be called "Nana". Hence, for the purpose of this blog the little princess has been christianed "Nanbaby".

Welcome to the world Nanbaby :)

Sis, Nan, and Ricky have come back to live with Bug and I for awhile. The adjustment has left me little time for blogging, but I hope to reveal some new projects to you soon.

Reflection

2011-01-10T20:37:00.000-08:00

I have so many photos, stories, and adventures that I want to share from the last few weeks. Sadly time has not allowed me to devote much thought to updating the old trusty blog. So here is a brief tidbit in the meantime.

This week's Random Photo Challenge theme was Reflection. I shot this photo while Bug, Anthony, and I were exploring a little park called Squirrel Hallow. Doesn't this just look like the ideal spot to sit and reflect in warmer weather?

I did have time to throw together a few lines for this week's poem at Impassioned Versifier. Also be sure to swing by and check out the rest of this week's submissions at Photography139.

Peace of Mind

2010-12-28T21:01:00.000-08:00

A little late, but better than never right? I shot this photo on Sunday as we drove to Anthony's Dad's. The fresh fallen snow made everything look fresh and soothing.

The next week or so is going to be full of chaos and adjustments for me as we welcome my first grandchild into this world. I do hear rumors that I am to be party to a "backwoods photo shoot" on Saturday though, so I may actually have a chance to post something for the next theme. I have temporarily put poetry writing on the back burner though as that requires much more thought process than I am capable of at the moment. My mind is currently filled to the brim with baby related agenda.

The majority of this week's submissions centered on the new fallen snow. Run on over to Photography139 and check them out!

Restaurant

2010-12-20T22:00:00.000-08:00

This week's Random Photo Challenge theme was 'Restaurant'. I have been eating on the go way too much lately with Sis still in the hospital, but somehow most of my meals were never eaten inside a restaurant this week. Save one, Friday Night Supper Club, where I didn't even think about pulling out my camera. In fact, it didn't even occur to me until the next day that Chris was working on his challenge project during our weekly ritual. You can check out his and the several other fun submissions over at Photography139.

At some point during the weekend I mentioned to Anthony that I hadn't given any consideration to this week's project. He had a few ideas that he thought I could be creative with so we set out on a little road trip around Greene County.

Why don't you venture along with us?

As we drove by I realized I had actually eaten breakfast at this little restaurant many sunrises ago. I was surprised that the birds hadn't picked these berries clean.

Most places along this route have been named after the old Lincoln Highway and painted in the familiar red white and blue instead of it's route number of Highway 30. The new highway now by passes the hearts of these small rural towns but reminders are plentiful.

Across the parking lot is an old rail station. Although it's not a restaurant these icicles caught my eye.

Although I am not sure exactly how long the Uptown Cafe has been in existance I know that it has resided in this building for quiet a long time.

Maggie, Sam, and Bug enjoyed the ride as well. When we returned home Maggie was ready to go again.

See Dad? I'm ready! Let's go kick up some snow!

Sam Sam on the other hand was ready to kick back and take it easy the rest of the afternoon.

Discover

2010-11-30T19:36:00.000-08:00

Were you beginning to wonder if there was going to be a blog post this week, Dear Readers? Well, truthfully, it just about didn't happen. I took the opportunity to join a very old and dear friend (on very short notice) on a weekend road trip. Fitting to this week's Challenge theme I discovered a lot of things about myself thanks to my wonderful companion forcing me to confront myself.

This is one of the few pictures taken during our adventure. We had just finished a great Thanksgiving meal of smoked turkey and mashed potatoes.

I helped a friend celebrate his birthday shortly after I returned from our jaunt across Iowa. That didn't leave me much time to follow through with my thoughts on this week's Random Photo Challenge theme of Discover. There are much better interpretations over at Photography139. Unfortunately, I haven't taken the time to finish my composition for Impassioned Versifier this week.

We are currently dealing with some medical issues with Sis which means my blogging may be spotty over the next few weeks. Don't lose faith friends, I will be back on here as soon as I can!

Spiritual

2010-11-22T15:37:00.000-08:00

Forgive my most recent disappearance from the blogging world. Life threw another curve ball at me, but I'm happy to say I'm still standing and now have new inspiration for several new writing projects.

This week's Random Photo Challenge theme was spiritual. What a great subject to get me back in the groove again! This Seraphim Angel was purchased by my father within a few months of my mother's passing. He told me that the resemblance to her soothed his grief.

This week's theme was good to get me out of the self-centered apathy that I had been feeling. There is a poem posted over at Impassioned Versifier that follows part of that thought process.

Photography139 has this week's scant submissions posted. The photos that can be found there have finally produced a little excitement in me for the upcoming holiday season.

Sppoky Goblins

2010-11-03T20:22:00.000-07:00

A few more Halloween photos of Bug and Sis

The finished project.

We did discover that the eye holes weren't big enough. As the evening grew darker Bug required assistance to find his way around.

Sis joined us for trick or treating. She wittingly claimed her costume to be the character Juno (from the movie). Here she is checking out Bug's mask.

It was a pleasant Hallow's Eve, with the only complaint coming from Bug that Beggar's Night just isn't long enough. I think our candy dish (and my tummy) would care to disagree.

Smoke Photography

2010-11-01T16:00:00.000-07:00

This week's Random Photo Challenge was rather fun. I guess it was the tiny bit of firebug in me that took so easily to this project.

I have never really purposely tried to photograph smoke before, so it took a little experimentation before I could figure out how to make the smoke roll in a photogenic way over the back drop I had set up. Many a match burnt out in the process.

Once again the photo challenge mirrored a few of my thoughts through out the week and the two came together to form a poem. I had been thinking quite a bit about "smoke screens" and how we all have a tendency to mask our feelings from time to time. Sometimes good feelings and sometimes bad. And how sometimes it seems we do it only out of the fear of bruising our egos.

There weren't as many submissions for this week's challenge at Photography139. As we near the end of this experiment I can't help but hope that everyone joins back in next week in an effort to encourage the Random Theme Generator to keep inspiring us next year!

Halloween

2010-10-29T14:41:00.000-07:00

Sometimes Bug's brilliance and creativity just astounds me. This week has been one of those times.

This year we just haven't had the time to visit our normal Halloween-time haunts. We have been overbooked with soccer, Cub Scouts, school activities, and working on the house in between. This actually gave Bug a little more free time than I had though.

For those of you that don't know, I'm kind of a scrooge when it comes to store bought Halloween costumes. I'm not sure if this is because of my penny-pinching side or my creative side, but I really don't see the point in spending upwards of $30 for a costume that will only be worn once, is a copy cat of every other kid at school, and will invariably rip before trick or treating is over with. So every year I encourage my kids to be creative and work with what we have on hand. I am willing to shell out a few bucks for clothing that they will wear again or a handful of supplies needed to complete their project.

It has been a lot of fun to watch their creativity grow. From their year as Harry Potter and Hermine or Sis's jaunt as an emo/Gothic rock star, to Bug sampling life as a hobo last year, these kid's have really proved that they can think outside the box and work with what they have. Bug really proved that beyond a shadow of a doubt with this year's costume.

He has been a little obsessive about playing Mario Cart on the Wii lately. He comes home from school and tells me about how he and his classmates pretended that they were characters from the game during recess. Everything around here lately seems to revolve around his favorite character Yoshi. So it came as no surprise when he decided a few weeks ago that he wanted to be the little green dinosaur for Halloween.

He begged for me to give in and order a $50 costume off the Internet for him. I just couldn't justify spending all that money though and helped him look up ideas on how to make his own costume. We found a site that offered a suggestion on making a paper mache head of the character. So after the purchase of a couple large balloons, Bug set to work with piles of old newspaper and a water/flour/glue concoction.

I did help him attach the two balloons together after they had dried and took over the spray painting in an effort to minimize the mess.

He took the reigns of his project back again after the green spray paint was dry.

There are peep holes cut out of the black parts of the eyes and nostrils so he can see where he is going. We purchased the camouflage fleece pants and green thermal shirt on sale at Target for only $15.

The tail came from an old stuffed alligator that he had slated to be given away to Goodwill with a belt looped through it. Sis was mildly disturbed to see us hack away at the stuffed toy but was pretty impressed with the outcome.

Today is Bug's big classroom Halloween party. I had to commission a friend to give him a ride to school with the big costume. I am excited to hear his recount of the event when he gets home.

Shadows

2010-10-25T21:04:00.000-07:00

This week's Random Photo Challenge theme did not fit so easily into my daily life as it should have. It was a mostly bright sunshiny week that should have afforded many opportunities to shoot a shadow. I had a lot going on as usual though, and the vast majority of it was indoors. By the time I sat down to devote a little free time to my creative projects each night, it was too dark to make any use of the shadows that were lurking.

I was really hoping that Sunday would be the day I could venture out of doors to enjoy the lovely weather and feel inspired. That wasn't in the cards as Bug had an accident with his scooter and I spent the afternoon tending to him with his bruised leg and skinned elbow. He is fine now after a lot of ice and rest. I put myself to work baking his favorite snicker doodle cookies and Sis a chocolate Oreo cheesecake that she had been craving. I feel quite a bit more relaxed after an afternoon of baking, so maybe there were some perks to being stuck in the house.

Towards evening I realized that I still hadn't found my shadow shot for the week. Bug instantly perked up and began making shadow puppets on the wall. Great idea Bug!

I did work on my poem at the beginning of the week. You can find it over at Impassioned Versifier as usual.

I was very glad to see several fantastic outdoor shadows posted over at Photography139.

Dry

2010-10-18T21:40:00.000-07:00

Is it really Monday again? I suppose it is. Although barely at this point!

This week's Random Photo Challenge theme was Dry. There are definitely not any dry spells in my busy schedule as of late!

This post is a little later than I planned since I had a busy evening watching Bug's last soccer game of the season with Grandma & Sis, visiting Bug's open house at school, and then dining out for supper with Grandma & Bug.

I am still plugging away at fixing up the house. Hopefully some big improvements will be made this week now that Bug is done with soccer until the Spring. Somehow I managed to fire off another photo in line with the theme and come up with a few lines of verse as well.

These beautiful golden stalks were part of a dried fall flower arrangement that once occupied a crock in my newly remodeled guest bath. Belzerz decided the flowers need a slight bit more arranging and took the task of doing so upon himself. By the time he was done I only had a few stalks of dried wheat and grass left. These were slated for the garbage, but luckily hadn't made it so far when the theme for the week was announced.

Following the nature and garden idea, I squeezed out a couple of verses relating to Dry and have published the resulting poem over at Impassioned Versifier.

The submissions over at Photography139 were rather sparse this week but very well done. Be sure to check them out! Next week's theme is an exciting one, but you will have to read his post to figure out what it is.

Odd Angle

2010-10-10T22:07:00.000-07:00

Once again the Random Weekly Photo Experiment has chosen a theme that fits in perfectly with my week. This week's challenge theme was Odd Angle. I don't think there was much that seemed normal about my last week.

On Wednesday I had a bizzare encounter with a customer at work. There may eventually be a blog about that, but in the meantime I have promised someone close to me that I will use the incident to fuel the creative juices and create a short (fictional) story loosely based on the events.

On Saturday I drove to the lake to take possession of some hand-me downs from my Grandmother's recent move. That certainly put me in an odd frame of mind as I sorted through cupboards and boxes. I took a short trip down memory lane and then returned home motivated to commence de-cluttering my own abode.

With my busy week I didn't have a whole lot of time to think about my photo submission. As luck would have it our dear Belzerz was quite wound when we returned home. I only had to follow him with the camera for a short while before I caught him plotting an attack on poor Buster. Belzerz is a playful and rather ornery feline. He likes to stalk his pray and attack from un-thought of heights and angles.

Buster was not caught unaware, this time, as I gave away the feline's plan.

Photography139 has posted more than the usual number of submissions this week. All of them fantastic. Be sure to check them out! While you are there be sure to check out the photo project I helped out with Fun With Light. We had a lot of fun playing with the rope light until it broke! Photography139's wonderful photography skills have even earned me a compliment this week on my appearance! The fun we had definitely helped alleviate a little of my camera shyness and I got to learn a new camera technique!

This week's poem at Impassioned Versifier has everything to do with looking at life from a different angle. I hope you enjoy!

Fast

2010-10-03T22:24:00.000-07:00

This week's Random Photo Challenge theme was Fast. It seemed very timely, as I have been doing a lot of reflecting lately on just how quickly time passes us by.

Given that thought process I could have easily gone a "traditional" route and photographed the hands of a clock (as my first inclination was). But instead I decided to take a fun turn with the theme. As those of you close to me know, I have a tendency to paint my nails at least once a week. I wouldn't be able to do this if it wasn't for the "fast finish" products available.

I'm afraid that my poem at Impassioned Versifier this week did follow my thought process of time passing us by quickly. I would not consider it one of my great works, but merely a thought (and heartache) that needed release.

Photography139 has posted the rest of this week's great submissions. Be sure to check them out!

Hope

2010-09-20T17:58:00.000-07:00

It has been another long week, and I'm afraid my blogging is falling behind. Hopefully I will have the house up for sale soon and be able to fall back into routine.

Hope.... ironic that would be this week's Random Photo Challenge.

Bug was wanting to take a photo of his friend Hope but sadly that didn't happen. I thought he had a terrific idea though.

Even though it has been a long, busy week I still found time to write a poem for the challenge and post it at Impassioned Versifier.

There are a lot of fantastic takes on Hope over at Photography139. Be sure to check them out!

Light Placement

2010-09-12T22:44:00.001-07:00

I am happy to announce that my computer is back up and running. Now to try to get back into the swing of things. Once again life has been busy, busy, busy as I've been working hard on the house and Bug gets into the routine of school and activities again.

This week's Random Photo Challenge theme was Light Placement. I had the honor of assisting Chris with his project which allowed me to pick up a few tips.

Mine, of course, did not turn out nearly as good as his did. But I seem to be getting the general idea.

I submitted a second photo taking the theme literally.

Be sure to check out the fantastic submissions this week at Photography139. I have also posted a poem for this week's theme over at Impassioned Versifier.

Food

2010-08-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

This week's Random Photo Challenge theme was Food. This should have been an easy assignment for me. We all know how much I enjoy food! But it wasn't easy for me this week.

My computer is on the fritz. I mean really, really on the fritz. Thank goodness my Cousin decided to get the extended warranty when he purchased my computer. I told him that it was silly at the time, but now I am very very grateful. Thanks Cousin!! The hard drive is going. And going fast. Causing the machine to crash at very inconvenient times.

Don't look for me on much of anything other than e-mail for the next week while it is diagnosed and repaired.

I managed to take this shot of my dinner early in the week just in case I couldn't get another one taken or uploaded. That turned out to be a wise decision.

The problem wasn't all my computer though.

I had some very delicious meals this last week, quite a few of them in restaurants. My favorite by far was the chicken cannelloni on Friday night. A beautiful presentation & fantastic company made for a wonderful evening. But alas, the camera on my phone no longer works due to a huge scratch on the touch screen. Only 3 more months until my upgrade & brand new phone!

I was able to come up with a fun little poem in honor of the theme. You can check it out over a Impassioned Versifier. As of this posting Photography139 has not posted this week's submissions as he is attending a funeral. I will let you know when he has the link up!

Silence

2010-08-23T16:07:00.000-07:00

I think I may be back on track now. I'm still busy, busy, busy but some things seem less pressing now so I am able to take a little time out to enjoy the fun projects.

This week's Random Photo Challenge theme was Silence.

What could be more silent than a sleeping child?

I did manage to eek out a little bit of a poem on Impassioned Versifier. I also posted a poem for last week's theme of Silhouette.

Be sure to venture over to Photography139 to check out the rest of this week's submissions. There are some very impressive takes on this week's theme!

One Step at a Time

2010-08-21T08:26:00.000-07:00

Day 6 in Yellowstone. It was our final full day in the glorious wilderness. Bug and I decided to make the most of it. We had labeled the previous day as Bug's day. This day was to be mine.

For our first activity Bug had helped me choose a Ranger hike. At 7:30 in the morning we met Rangers Rod and Linda, a sweet husband/wife team from Washington and California, as well as several other families to embark on our 7 mile hike to Lone Star Geyser.

Rangers Rod and Linda had been out the evening before to try to predict what time the geyser would erupt. They thought it would erupt around 9:00 so we hiked a hurried pace down the old service road in hopes to catch it.

The prediction was wrong, the people that had passed on the information to our dear Rangers the night before had apparently only witnessed a minor eruption. That meant we would have to wait about 2 hours to see the Lone Star's major eruption.

Lone Star is a geyser that is not predicted by the Park Service but there is a handy little log book available to help visitors predict when the scalding water would flow. Here Bug is checking the book for accuracy.

Ranger Rod led us further along the path while we passed time. We hiked to the beginning of a back country trail. Rod explained to us that the Park Service would not allow him to guide us any further due to liability concerns. The little bit of back country I could see was gorgeous and inviting. Our little trek took us past a back country camp site. I could picture myself camping in such a site someday, gazing at the stars and enjoying the peacefulness.

We were only back at Lone Star for a few minutes when the minor eruption started. We sat on a log watching as we grazed on snacks from our backpacks.

In the 20 minutes between the minor and major eruptions we found amusement in watching this inquisitive deer follow a raven around the thermal grounds.

Finally the major eruption started.

After we finished the Lone Star hike we stopped for a quick lunch along the banks of the Madison River. Then it was on to our next destination. We headed back to the Madison Junction Ranger Station so Bug could turn in his finished Jr Ranger Packet. Great job on earning your badge Bug!

The Ranger in Madison Junction suggested we check out the 1 mile back country hike to Harlequin Lake. She told us there was a good chance to see beavers at work as they had just built a dam on the far side of the lake.

The trail took us a half mile through a young Lodge Pole Pine forest up the side of a small mountain. It wasn't too steep, so we made the climb quickly.

As we emerged from the forest we were greeted by a beautiful view of the small lake.

As we waited for the beavers to emerge from their dam Bug paused to pose for a picture.

And he insisted I pose for one as well.

Alas, the beavers were in no mood to be photographed that day and not a single one emerged. We were investigated by this elk as we strolled down the trail though.

She was not afraid of us and seemed to startle us more than we did her. She actually turned down the trail to check us out and came as close as 7 feet from us. My heart was racing as I nudged Bug behind me, wondering what her next move would be.

Luckily she decided we were not a threat and turned back towards the lake.

The next trail we tackled was a little more strenuous. Purple Mountain is another back country trail that leads 3 miles up a semi-steep mountain. We only made it up 2 1/2 miles of the trail as the last half mile was a very thin and loose rock pass. A few steps out onto that rugged part of the terrain I decided it was not safe enough for an inexperienced 9 year old and a mom with dizzy legs.

We were still able to catch some beautiful views and racked up 5 more miles on our round trip.

After hiking 13 miles in one day it was hard to believe that Bug still had any energy left. After cleaning up and grabbing a quick bite to eat in West Yellowstone we once again attended the evening Ranger Program at Madison Junction. Tomorrow would begin our journey back home.

Day of the Rainbows

2010-08-11T20:54:00.000-07:00

Our 5th day in the Yellowstone area was Bug's day. We each got to pick out one activity for him to enjoy that day. I choose an activity that would bring Bug out of his comfort zone. Bug doesn't always like to venture out of his comfort zone, but he knows that I will always make sure he is safe and if he doesn't enjoy it he won't ever have to try that activity again.

We drove to Gardner, Mt, and found the Wild West Rafting Company. I had done a little research prior to our vacation and knew that they offered just the right combination of class II and III rapids for a little boy's first white river rafting trip.

We weren't able to take the camera with us, so these are actually photographs of the pictures that I ordered later.

We donned our live vests and listened to the instructions and safety tips. Then we carried the raft down to the river.

Wave to the camera!

Up until shortly before this picture was taken Bug was sitting in the middle of the raft next to me. Logan, our guide, asked if anyone felt they hadn't gotten wet enough yet. Bug had enjoyed the bouncy ride but felt that he wasn't wet enough so he raised his hand. Logan tried to convince Bug to sit on the very front of the raft with his feet hanging over. Bug is a hard one to convince though, so he satisfied himself kneeling on the floor.

All forward!

We approached a rapid called Sleeping Giant. It looked fairly calm as we barreled through the water towards it. Bug certainly couldn't say that he didn't get wet enough when the wave engulfed the entire raft, completely covering him at one point.

I recently asked him what the underside of the tidal wave looked like. He said he couldn't tell me as he had his eyes closed.

Bug will always remember that the hungry Yellowstone River devoured his flip flops that day. We had pulled the raft up to feel a hot spring when we got caught in an eddy and thrown towards the rocky shore. The whole crew had to get out and carry the raft over small boulders downstream. Bug slipped as he was climbing out and his bright orange sandals rode the current swiftly past us. A tour guide in another raft did manage to rescue one but the other made it's way towards the gulf.

"Don't worry Mom, I didn't like those flip flops anyway," he told me as we boarded the bus later.

Bug requested that we visit a ghost town for his chosen activity. After we dried off, had a change of clothes, and a brief lunch we loaded up in the truck and drove toward Virgina City, a supposed ghost town. Along the way we drove through a terrible storm. The sight of this rainbow eased the whiteness in my knuckles.

The approach to Virginia City looked promising.

The post office looked authentic and old.

Unfortunately these weren't anything more than old store fronts on newer buildings. It was 7 pm when we pulled into town and almost everything was closed for the evening already.

The opera house was the only thing open and had unfortunately already started the evening program.

We decided to head back to West Yellowstone for some supper. We saw another beautiful rainbow from the Madison Valley overlook.

A short drive up a mountainside later, I realized why we had seen another rainbow.

The hail was coming down so hard that I had to pull over for fear of driving over the edge of the mountain. The road was completely white by the time the storm passed. Bug wanted to get out and save a piece of the gum-sized hail, but I convinced him that it was late and we should get going.

Later that night I sat outside our cabin and star gazed. This was such a relaxing perfect trip so far.

Calm & Cool

2010-08-10T10:56:00.000-07:00

Our fourth day in Yellowstone wasn't actually spent in Yellowstone and was a bit more relaxed. We spent most of our day chatting in the truck on our way to and from the Grand Teton National Park just South of Yellowstone.

The Tetons are Auntie's favorite place to camp and from the little bit of the park we did see I can tell why. The views are gorgeous.

Bug and I spent our day exploring the Colter Bay area. We hiked the easy 2 mile Lakeshore Trail. The water was beautifully clear and cool. Bug couldn't help but wad in several times.

Until he realized there were leaches in the water that is. We knew it was going to be a good day when Bug discovered a smiley face consisting of two snails and a leach.

Bug sampled the water temperature every chance he got but was not satisfied to stop and swim.

So we continued down the trail.

finally we found a beach area with other families swimming. As the boats passed a cool mist would spray up from this log. Bug entertained himself trying to predict when the splashes would occur.

After watching several children surf the waves on downed Lodge Pole Pine trunks Bug decided to give it a go himself.

It took him a little while to paddle out against the waves.

He did very well balancing himself against the waves.

I think he has the hang of it now.

The view was so relaxing, the water cool, and the sun warm.

I took the opportunity to sit back and catch up on a little reading.

That evening we made it back to Yellowstone in time to watch another Ranger program. This one was called Boy Cub and was about man's interaction with bears. It was a very pleasant & relaxing day. We both slept well that night.

Paths

2010-08-09T10:45:00.000-07:00

Now that my travels are at a momentary pause (but not my travel blogs, be watching for more from Yellowstone), it is time for me to get back in gear on my ambitions, goals, and challenges.

This week's Random Photo Challenge theme was Paths. I'll admit that this week's submission was hurriedly done to get myself back in the groove but I am still pleased with the results.

You can find the other terrific submissions for this week over at Photography139. You will also find a new poetry submission at Impassioned Versifier.

Day of the Bison

2010-08-04T20:44:00.000-07:00

Our third day in Yellowstone was spent exploring the lower Southern loop of the park. I thought it would be a fairly quick day as the map didn't seem to indicate a lot to explore and we had already covered a quarter of the loop a day before when we explored the Old Faithful area. . I was proven wrong.

It took us almost an hour and a half to reach the Continental Divide towards the Southern tip of the loop.

At which point we decided to stretch our legs since our first official stop would be a half hour away (with light traffic) at West Thumb.

At West Thumb we had our first view of Yellowstone Lake and a strong reminder that the lake was still on the caldera of the volcano.

From the lakeside boardwalk we got our first glimpse of the forest fire that was burning several miles away. I am under the impression that this fire started naturally with a lightening strike.

As we continued on the half mile boardwalk we came to this pool. I puzzled over the name of the hot pool for a short while. Sure looks blue to me!

We passed by several mule deer carelessly grazing on the thermal grounds. According to one Ranger, deer and occasionally bison loose their footing or break through the thin earth crust to a painful death in the scalding water.

Silly deer don't heed the warnings very well. Although who could blame them, it looks harmless.

A little further up the road we saw our first bison of the day. This bull was gazing out upon the lake as he sunbathed.

After a brief stop at the Fishing Bridge Visitor Center Bug decided he wanted to go fishing. We consulted with a Ranger who directed us to an easy 1 mile trail that would take us to a beach along Yellowstone Lake. The signs warned us that it was a bear frequency area so we made sure to sing camp songs and talk loudly on our way through the woods.

While Bug practiced his casting skills (and lost his favorite lure to a snag) I took in some sun and read my book.

When Bug tired of fishing we continued on to Canyon Village. In Hayden Valley we saw over 100 bison grazing in the meadows.

We made a brief stop at the Mud Volcano to tread the short boardwalk. Bug once again kept me informed about the natural wonders.

We passed by another Bison, this one resting not too far off the trail. He picked a bad spot to lay though, as he is on top of a heat vent. A few short minutes after we passed we watched him jump up in anger as the vent released it's steam. He then crossed the boardwalk in front of a small group of visitors to reach a cooler sandy area.

The mud volcano had it's last major eruption in the 1870's but continues to bubble and gurgle to this day.The small of sulfur is strong in this area and Bug had to hold his breathe.

Bug's favorite site at in the Mud Volcano area was Dragon's Mouth. This hot spring belches and steams from a cavern and gives you the impression that a dragon may just be taking up residence deep inside the cave. The smell of sulfur was still strong, but Bug briefly forgot it in his amazement.

A It didn't take long for us to find more bison. There were probably another 70 or 80 grazing in this meadow. It was getting to the point now that I hardly slowed down the truck to watch them.

Although I did slow down long enough for Bug to take this picture out the window.

The rest of our afternoon was spent in the Canyon Village area. We decided to start out with a three mile hike on the South Rim trail to view both the Upper and Lower Falls. We had a good view of the Upper Falls from the parking area but had heard that we could take the trail to the waterfall itself.

Unfortunately this was as close to the waterfall as we could get. The trail was closed off due to washouts and unstable grounds.

We were able to get a decent view of the bottom from an overlook on the trail above the falls.

Bug wasn't too sure what to think of the overlook. I guess he was finally developing his dizzy legs.

It was a very pretty view of the Yellowstone River once I finally ventured out onto the platform.

Bug got a little more daring further up the trail and decided to show me his impression of Titanic.

We didn't follow the trail the whole way, deciding to turn around a quarter mile before the end due to biting insects. We were able to catch a glimpse of the Lower Falls before we turned around.

We drove across the river and took a trail that dropped 600 ft down to the top of Lower Falls.

Bug was very impressed to be so close to the raging waters.

I, on the other hand, had to stretch my arm out past the fence and take a picture in order to see the bottom.

Looking straight out into the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone was definitely worth the steep climb back up.

The sun was starting to set and the moon starting to rise. It was time to head back to the cabin and get some rest for another busy day tomorrow.

Walking the Caldera

2010-08-02T15:11:00.000-07:00

"Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow."
~Henry David Thoreau

Sunday was our second day exploring Yellowstone. We planned to spend the entire day in the Old Faithful geyser area. We got a little sidetracked on our way watching the wildlife though.

You may recall in the comments section of my previous post my friend Chris and I discussing how humans suck. Here is another example. Every morning this herd of elk visit this same area of the river. Apparently these spectators decided that a view from the road wasn't good enough.

This coyote was lucky. Shortly after I took this photo he was almost run over by an impatient RV. The driver seemed to forget that the wildlife in Yellowstone has the right of way as he cruised up behind the canine and nudged him along. The coyote crossed the road in front of the truck in front of us and hurriedly disappeared into the woods.

This elk was allowed to graze peacefully as not too many could spot him from the road. We were lucky to have a good vantage point from a safe distance away.

At the Old Faithful Visitor Center Bug checked out a backpack full of neat gear and started working on his Young Scientist Badge. This badge offered by the Rangers consisted of completing a workbook about the thermal area including temperatures and researching what a bacterial mat is.

We didn't have to wait long for Old Faithful to erupt in all her glory.

Bug really went to town with his research. He found the temperature of one geyser to be 177 degrees as it started to erupt. Here he is researching the bacterial mats on the Geyser Hill trail.

We decided to branch off of the Geyser Hill trail and follow the 1.1 mile Observation Loop trail. This trail led us past the Solitary Geyser, a sad reminder of man's need to interfere with nature.

We took a short break at Solitary Geyser while Bug answered more questions in his workbook. The geyser had a minor eruption while we were sitting there.

Observation Loop took us up the side of another small mountain. We made it most of the way up the narrow rocky climb before I started to get my dizzy legs. We would have sat and waited the hour until Old Faithful erupted again but we were both getting hot and it was just about lunchtime.

On our way back down the trail we found a little friend. This little chipmunk seemed to enjoy being photographed and followed us around hoping for a handout. Sorry little guy, no feeding animals in the park.

You can see the little chipmunk on the left of me in this photo. He followed us across the trail to this overlook to pose with us.

While we were standing there chuckling at the chipmunks antics a kind young lady and her nephew happened by and offered to take a picture of us together.

One last pose before we headed down the trail.

On the way back to the cabin we decided to take the Firehole Canyon drive. It was a very steep narrow road that would have been easily manageable had a brief storm not blown in as I was half way up the mountain.

The temperature dropped by about 15 degrees as the wind blew and big heavy rain drops fell causing a small avalanche of loose gravel and small rocks to tumble down the mountain on us. My truck now sports a long straight scratch on the roof from a flying branch. Luckily the storm was short lived and we were able to pull over. After the storm I convinced a shivering Bug to step out and pose by the waterfall.

Continuing back towards the cabin we spied this Grizzly from across the river.

It was hard to capture a good photo of him as we were in an area that I couldn't pull the truck over. I was glad to be in the safety of the vehicle as we viewed him from such a close difference. The Rangers had warned us the day before that a Grizzly can easily cross a river in two leaps.

We did stop a little further down the road to stretch our legs and enjoy the scenery. Bug needed to run off a little energy before we settled down for the night anyway.

After a quick dinner of Dutch Oven Lasagna we went back to the Madison Visitor Center for a Ranger Talk about Wolves, Ravens, and Bears. It was a very informative program and a great way to end our evening.

Venturing into the Wild

2010-07-28T18:07:00.000-07:00

Saturday was our first full day in Yellowstone. Bug and I arose early and started our visit at the Madison Junction visitor center. Bug signed up with the Jr Ranger program to work on earning his badge by the end of the week. The badge is earned by purchasing and working on the requirements listed in the Jr Ranger newspaper. Some of the requirements include answering detailed questions about the park or wildlife, attending a ranger led program, and going on a ranger led hike.

While we were at the visitor center we attended a Ranger Talk on identification of wolves, foxes, and coyotes. Bug was a little expert by the time we were done, and his knowledge was beneficial later in the week when he was able to spot a gray wolf in the distance.

We took a short walk to the river. This little critter chattered at us for several minutes

We had our first hike at the Artist Paint Pots between Madison Junction and the Norris Geyser Basin. This was our first view of the thermal regions.

The easy one mile hike was fully of variety. We started out strolling through a wet meadow and a forest of lodge pole pines which quickly turned into a boardwalk crossing a steaming thermal area full of hot springs and small geysers.

The boardwalk wound up a hillside for a closer look at a couple sputtering mud pools. It also had a nice view of the forest and mountains above as well as the colorful hot springs below.

Our next stop was at the Norris Geyser Basin. Bug picked out the one and half mile Back Basin trail for us to hike before lunch.

The first geyser on the tour was Steamboat geyser. This is the world's tallest active geyser, but unfortunately it's not predictable. It was steaming and sputtering with a minor 4 foot eruption while we passed by.

Our next stop was Echinus. This is the world's largest acidic geyser. Watch your camera lens if it decides to go off while you are nearby.

Bug delighted in reading the self-guided tour signs to me along the way.

Puff n' Stuff geyser was one of our favorites in the basin. As Bug pointed out, it sounds like a steam engine puffing away.

I was quite taken with the milky pool of Pearl Geyser. It's easy to see how it got it's name.

Minute Geyser has a rather sad story. It seems that the geyser once erupted every 60 seconds, but back in the days when the old main park road ran right by it visitors carelessly threw rocks and other objects into the vent clogging it. The geyser now erupts irregularly and not so spectacularly from it's smaller East vent.

Our hike took us upward into a small forest. I made Bug pause to pose for a photo in such pretty surroundings.

Then he felt he ought to return the favor.

If I recall correctly the name of this geyser was Fearless.

Right before Bug spotted this sign we watched two grown men leave the safety of the boardwalk trail, climb a small hill, and pose for a picture next to a sputtering thermal pool. I used this as a reminder to Bug about how dangerous the grounds were and how important it was to remain on the safety of the established trail.

We stopped at the visitor center for a short picnic lunch and continued on our way.

We stopped to view Obsidian Cliff and found a small trail behind the exhibit. We followed it a short while and came to this meadow where the trail abruptly stopped.

We turned back around and enjoyed the roadside exhibit detailing how Obsidian Cliff was formed.

Our next stop took us to the Mammoth Hot Springs area where we followed the mile long Lower Terrace Trail.

The springs made the already hot day even hotter, requiring frequent stops for sips of cool water.

Bug enjoyed the winding trail and used the frequent loops to assert his independence within Mom's sight.

Heading East on the Upper Loop road we found an easy half mile hike to Wraith Falls.

We also found a nice elderly couple that took our picture in exchange for me taking theirs.

Our next destination was to be the Tower Falls area. The drive took a little longer than expected when we stopped to watch this Black Bear forage around a meadow.

We also made a slight detour to see the last remaining petrified tree. There were once three petrified trees standing here but thoughtless visitors chipped away at the other two for souvenirs. The park wisely gated the remaining tree away from the public's touch.

A very short stroll took us from the Tower Falls Visitor Center to the Hanging Valley. Bug made sure to read the self-guide sign aloud.

Tower Falls was very picturesque but this was the start of what Bug calls my "dizzy legs". I sometimes experience slight bouts of vertigo when I am able to look straight down from a high place. This was one of those times.

As we left Tower Falls and headed toward Canyon Village we spotted another Black Bear. This one had a young cub with her, but he was difficult to photograph as he enjoyed darting in and out of the tall grass.

It was getting towards dusk now and the wildlife was active in the park. These elk knew that they had the right of way. I got a chuckle out of this young one's snobbish demeanor.

We passed by one of the many bison we would see through out the week. This fellow was resting just off the edge of the roadway.

It was a good first day for our explorations around the park.

Let Your Soul Take You

2010-07-27T17:49:00.000-07:00

“Let your mind start a journey thru a strange new world. Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before. Let your soul take you where you long to be...Close your eyes let your spirit start to soar, and you'll live as you've never lived before.”

~ Erich Fromm

On Thursday the 15th Bug and I awoke very early in the morning. The truck had been loaded the evening before. We were ready to start out on an adventure.

For the last seven months we had been planning and saving. It was hard to believe that we were finally starting out on our journey to Yellowstone.

It would take two days for us to drive to the Montana side of Yellowstone. We planned several stops along the way to stretch our legs. Our first stop was at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota.

We had the opportunity to watch the workers cut stalks and sort ears for the display right before they broke for lunch.

Isn't that a natural state for him?

From the Corn Palace we continued to travel West. Our next break was for a milk shake at Wall Drug.

The sign next to this T-Rex made Bug a little nervous. It stated that the T-Rex attempts to feed approximately every 12 minutes.

I wondered out loud what the T-Rex eats? Little boys perhaps?

Bug backed up a little but still watched nervously for the animated dinosaur to get hungry.

Lucky for Bug the T-Rex couldn't reach him. We had our milkshake and continued to explore the backyard.

It was a good stop for Bug to run off some energy and stretch his legs.

We spent that night at my Uncle & Aunt's house in Spearfish, South Dakota. We are still very grateful that they allowed us the opportunity to rest at their home & fed us a great breakfast to get us started again.

Our original plan was to stop in Billings, Montana to visit the Little Bighorn Battlefield and National Monument. Bug had his heart set elsewhere though, so we took a two hour side trip for a brief visit to the Devil's Tower. Bug delighted in explaining the Indian legend of how the rock grew and gained it's odd "scratches".

That evening, exhausted, we pulled in to West Yellowstone, Montana, only to find that the cabin we had rented was no longer in operation. A note on the door explained that they were currently in a licensing disagreement with the county and had made other arrangements for our stay.

I will admit, I was close to tears. We had driven all that way only to find out that we may not have an acceptable place to stay. I swallowed my anger and disappointment and proceeded to the address listed.

We were in luck. A lot of luck. The new cabin run by a different outfit was much nicer than the original and cheaper. What could have been a devastating blow to our vacation turned out to be a great blessing.

Calm

2010-07-26T10:28:00.000-07:00

Bug and I have been off on an adventure for the last week and a half, so I am a little behind on my blogging. The theme that was due last Monday was calm.

This photo was taken on our first evening in Yellowstone. There will be more posts about Yellowstone later and this week's entry for the Random Photo Challenge over at Photography139.

We spent all our time hiking and exploring the park, so there will not be poems posted at Impassioned Versifier for the last two weeks.

A Team Effort

2010-07-12T11:04:00.000-07:00

Today is a different sort of challenge post for me. Sorry, there aren't any photos or a poem for this week's Random Photo theme of communication (although I did "phone in" the photo below to Photography139 as a late half-hearted attempt). I just simply didn't have time.

Between nightly visits to swim laps at the pool and trying to stay caught up on laundry and housekeeping for my upcoming trip, I was simply pushed beyond my normal daily routine.

It was well worth the diversion though.

Sunday morning Avril, Willy (of Way of the Wolf fame), and I took part in the Iowa Games. We had been training for the past several months to tackle the triathlon as a team. Each of us would handle the sport that we were strongest in. I would be the swimmer, Avril would bike, and Willy would run.

I don't really a recall a time in my life when I couldn't swim thanks to my grandparents owning a house on a lake throughout my entire childhood. I recall swim lessons to strengthen my skills, but not ever knowing how not to swim. I was on the swim team for two years in Junior High, and part of the season in 9th grade, so I had competitive experience. But that was in a pool, not a lake.

Sunday morning, after several coordinating phone calls among the three of us, I picked the gang up and we headed out to Don Williams (after a stop at Casey's for protein bars, donuts, and coffee of course). As we pulled into the park Willy announced that around 300 people had signed up for the competition.

I felt the first butterflies starting to flutter in my stomach.

I hope I can just finish and not need to be pulled from the lake, I thought to myself.

We checked in, picked up our packets, and headed to the beach for our timing chip. The half mile walk to the beach seemed tortuously long. We joked in our nervous way until we had our spot picked out in the transition area, then it was down to business.

As I tugged on the uniform swim cap and adjusted my goggles the rest of the team gave me pointers. We coordinated who would do what during our pass off of the timing chip to make the transition as smooth as possible.

Soon the announcement came for swimmers to line up according to wave. I was pretty lucky that I was in the last wave (reserved for teams and kids 15 & under). At 8:00 they started the race with the Elite wave. That's not too bad, I thought to myself as I watched them dive into the water. A minute later they started the second wave, men ages 16-34. There were a lot more people in this wave and for the first few strokes it looked like mass chaos. Then they straightened out and each found their own swimming space. The third wave (women 16-34) was even more chaotic. Closer to the start line now I could see people swimming into and over each other.

What have I gotten myself into, I wondered? Too late to bail now, I can do this, I'm a strong swimmer, I reassured myself.

5 minutes after the first wave left it was my turn to get into the water. This isn't so bad I thought as I stepped in, cool, but not freezing. I listened to the announcer's instructions and fidgeted with my goggles. I studied the course in front of me. 400 hundred yards total, 1/4 mile. To my left was a long yellow rope attached to two small and one large buoy. On my right were two kayaks marking the approximate distance of the smaller buoys , a small motor boat was stationed at the end just past the large buoy.

200 yards out, circle the large buoy counter clockwise, 200 yards back, I repeated to myself. Counterclockwise, not good. I naturally breathe to my right when I swim. I hadn't been working on breathing to the left. I would need to use the boats as my markers instead of the buoys.

The countdown began... 5...4...3...2...

I dove forward into the water. The cold compressed around my chest. I felt someone one my left plow into my hip. I lifted my head enough to get my bearings. I could make out the first kayak to the front and right of me.

"Veer left, veer left!" I could hear the kayaker scream.

That quick glimpse showed me that I was surrounded. The large red buoy was now more to my left than directly in front of me. I pushed harder, gasping for breathe with every lift of my right arm. I touched some one's foot in front of me. Someone was trying to swim over my waist in their effort to veer left. Someone was directly on my left side, keeping pace and brushing my arm every few strokes. Preventing my veer to the left.

I have to get out of this before they push me under, I thought to myself. Breathing was getting difficult. My chest felt tight from the cold and exertion. The cold, thick, mucky water made it difficult to fully expel my previous breathe before it was time for the next one. My lungs needed fresh air before my usually dormant asthma flared up.

On the next stroke I flipped over to my back.

I was in survival mode now. Something from back in my days of water & life saving skills training kicked in. On pure instinct I flipped over and started doing the back stroke, pulling myself quickly past the school of blind swimmers I had been immersed in.

As I caught my breathe I tried to lift my head enough to get my bearings. Out of the corner of my right eye I could see I was right beside a red buoy. Someone hit me from behind. confusion set in. I was doing the back stroke, no one should be swimming toward me. I bobbed up right and uttered a confused sorry as I turned my body to look behind me.

Here were all the swimmers I had just passed coming straight toward me. I turned myself to head the same direction as them and pushed as hard as I could. Twice I looked up to see that I was once again veering to far to the right.

I could now see the shore ahead of me. Head there, I told myself, it doesn't matter if that's where you are supposed to be or not, you NEED to get out of this water before you can't suck in another breathe.

I reached the end of the dock where I knew the water would be just above my knees. I stood up and staggered to the shore. As I took my first step up the boat ramp someone grabbed my shoulder and yelled "that way, that way" as he nudged me in the direction of the transition area.

A smile broke out on my face, I was on dry land again. I broke into a sprint. I couldn't say anything when I reached Avril. She laughed and told me I did good as she bent down to take the timing chip.

Once the chip was off my ankle and securely on hers she took off on her bike. I leaned against the bike rack and watched the last of the swimmers approach the shore.

"I don't think I did it, Willy," I gasped, "I think I skipped a buoy."

Willy explained that while he didn't watch me the whole time, he thought I did fine. Then he took off on a warm-up run.

I dried off, pulled on my shorts, brushed my hair. All the while convinced that I had somehow inadvertently cheated and skipped a buoy. I was positive that I had not swam the whole course. I couldn't have. I wasn't in the water more than two or three minutes, was I?

My heart rate and breathing slowly returned to normal as I paced the transition area. Waiting for Willy to return from his practice run I watched the buoys get pulled in. Then it struck me, I couldn't have skipped a buoy. I would have hit the rope. I would have gotten tangled. The kayaker would have yelled for me to stop. I was always too far left to come even close to striking that thick yellow rope.

Then another revelation hit me. I had done it. I had really done it. I swam the whole thing. I hadn't somehow cheated myself or my team. I had done what I set out to achieve and while I didn't know yet how well I had done, I did know that I came out of the water ahead of a whole lot of people.

Willy returned from his run and I filled him in on my epiphany. He chuckled and we attributed it the the exertion and reduced oxygen levels. We anxiously waited for Avril's return while watching the elite group arrive. Willy pointed out how even the elite group was so fatigued by this point that they had to be pointed in the right direction and how someone would have done the same for me had I veered off course.

Avril arrived a little while later and willy took off with the timing chip. We took a few minutes for her to recover while I amused her with my delirious tale. As soon as she had caught her breathe we started the uphill half mile trek to the finish line.

Willy, who had a 3.2 mile course, passed us shortly before we reached the finish line. We cheered him on and joked that he wasn't trying hard enough if he could still smile and joke as he passed us.

We reached the end and collapsed at a table devouring our earned rewards of bananas, oranges, bagels, trail mix, granola bars, and water. Lots and lots of bottled water. We congratulated each other on our accomplishments and spoke of the struggles and joys we each had as we were focusing on our goals.

As we walked out of the cabin times were just starting to get posted and the awards ceremony was starting. The final confirmation that I had indeed completed the race came when I read my swim time of 7:50:8. 7 minutes and 50 sec to swim 400 yards. I had been hoping for 8 minutes, but half expecting 9 instead. I was elated!

We listened and cheered as they read the winners of each race category. The last categories were the team efforts. We broke into grins and cheers as they read our names off as the 1st place over all team. We had finished before all the other teams, including beating the second place all-male team by almost 2 whole minutes.

We came home exhausted but very pleased with our "gold" medals.

After a wonderfully warm shower and lots of scrubbing I collapsed into bed for a two hour nap. I'm slightly achy today, but Avril's inquiry of "that was fuuu-uunnn, what's next?" inspiring me to consider more.

The 4th on the 5th

2010-07-08T19:48:00.000-07:00

We have been getting a lot of rain here in Central Iowa. The weather has been mostly nice but with almost daily brief thunderstorms. The storms have usually been short lasting but dumping a lot of rain on us all at once.

Except on Sunday, which was a mostly day long drizzle. So the Independence Day festivities got pushed off for a day.

Bug and I got the honor of watching the local fireworks with a close friend of mine, her two children, and her cousin-in-law. While it wasn't a spectacular show, we very much enjoyed visiting and watching the reactions from our little ones.

This little guy wasn't really playing with fire. He is holding a plastic battery operated light. The batteries were running low on my camera causing the flash to delay longer than normal, but I sure found this to be a fun effect.

Bug and the little tomboy princess were anxious for the show to start.

Oooohhh...

Ahhhh.....

Market

2010-07-04T23:23:00.000-07:00

In the words of Chris over at Photography139 (be sure to check out this week's Random Photo Challenge submissions), I totally phoned this one in this week.

I spent a lot of time at the pool during the last week concentrating on strengthening my stroke for the upcoming team triathlon. I already had the inspiration for this week's challenge poem at Impassioned Versifier, so I didn't put a whole lot of thought into the required photo.

When I learned the subject of last week's theme the first thought that came to my head was fruit for some reason. I guess I associate markets with fruit, inspiration from the farmer's market perhaps? I considered taking a photo of the sweet corn & cantaloupe loaded into the back of a local farmer's truck. Alas, he had sold all his produce before I got off work everyday throughout the week.

Since I was refused that opportunity my next option was to click a shot at the local supermarket. Having grown up with my father managing a convenience store I knew the rules on photography in a retail business, so toting my camera around wasn't an option. Luckily the camera on my phone decided to be agreeable for once, allowing me to finally get the photo of fruit at the market as I imagined it.

Dark Shadows of a Twilight Week

2010-07-01T15:51:00.000-07:00

"There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast. "
Charles Dickens

I am a little behind this week as I prepare for my upcoming vacation with Bug and work to settle things in my house, but as promised, here are a few of the extra shots considered for the last few week's Random Photo Challenges

The two photos above were considered for the theme Colorful. The photos below are part of the Still Life series.

Still Life

2010-06-28T09:57:00.000-07:00

From time to time my muse gives me an inspiration that is totally out of character for me. In an email earlier today a friend referred to my submissions this week as dark humor. That seems to be the best description of my photo for Still Life this week.

I won't deny that I found some humor in the thoughts of Lydia Deetz flitting through my head as I worked my way around the cemetery. Perhaps it was the contrast of her dark Gothic look to my cheerful blond, or maybe it was just too much sun and heat. I actually took a large number of shots in two graveyards that turned out quite nicely in a dark sort of way. Look for a few of those to be posted later this week.

The poem at Impassioned Versifier this week is not so humorous, but is a result of spending an entire evening editing the above mentioned photo collection.

Photography139 has posted this week's Random Photo Challenge submissions, so be sure to stop over for a peek.

Colorful

2010-06-21T10:56:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that it's Monday again and time for another Random Photo Challenge submission. I wasn't feeling particularly creative in the photography department this week but I did manage to get a shot of something a slight bit more inspirational than a box of crayons.

I did put a little more time and effort into the challenge poem posted at over Impassioned Versifier.

Sis had a great idea for her submission for the theme colorful. We saw a lot of color like this on the television screen this week.

The rest of this week's great submissions can be found over at Photography139.

An Alternate Reality

2010-06-17T05:55:00.000-07:00

It's no big secret that I've been stressed to the max lately. It seems that the reason that I'm stressed is no longer a huge secret either. Which of course, added more stress last week.

I was reaching my breaking point and needed to clear my head.

So a plan was devised for me to take a short break from reality and enjoy some quiet time with a dear friend (we need a catchy moniker for him, don't we? For now I suppose we shall just call him Mr X) halfway across the country where he is currently residing.

I boarded the plane (yes, me, who has never flown in anything bigger than a single engine Otter) at 7 pm on Friday night. I'll admit, I was rather nervous. Flying, for the first time in a big plane, by myself. I didn't need to worry though. I had the sweet Mr X checking in on me through the whole process. We texted through my drive, through the check in, through security, during my long wait at the gate, a phone call to let him know I was safe on board, and another text to let him know I made my connecting flight. Out of the four planes I found myself on during the weekend, the first was the bumpiest due to turbulence from passing storms.

But I was a big girl and can proudly say that I handled it just fine.

I arrived on the East Coast at 12:15 in the morning and had to wait 45 minutes for the rental car agency's shuttle to pick me up. Then I was off on a 2 hour drive through New England. Let me tell you, 55 mph speed zones on Interstates just about kill me anymore!

I arrived safely at the hotel at about 3:30. Yawn, that was an exhausting trip, but I found myself wide awake by the time I arrived at my destination.

After a few hours of sleep it was time to get up and not let the day waste away. X had a plan.

I wasn't completely aware of the plan. "Let's drive into the city today. I want to see your reaction when you explore the city for the first time," he said.

New York City?

Wow, yes! I would love to see the city! I assumed in my naturally unsuspecting way that we would just walk around for a little while and maybe grab some lunch. I had no clue what an amazing day was ahead of me.

We set off from the hotel about 11:00, stopping on our two hour drive for a quick sandwich. As we approached the Big Apple my eyes widened in amazement. So many buildings (an architectural wonderland to be sure), so much traffic. I took in all the graffiti as we cruised past the Bronx, watched all the cars dart in and out of lanes in front and beside us. I think I would have had a panic attack driving through that chaos!

We drove past Central Park East. I took in with joy and awe all the street vendors, pedestrians, and bicycles as we passed. What a different world from mine.

We found a parking garage that would be open late and started our foot journey. I'm glad I opted for tennis shoes instead of sandals, but could have done without my sweater or purse. It had turned out to be a gorgeous sunny day.

X gave me a short tour to get my bearings before we stopped for a "snack" at Famiglia Pizzeria. His plan was that we would look over our options for a show that evening and have our dinner after. The snack to get us through was much bigger than what I consider a snack. My "slice" of New York Style cheese pizza was bigger than my plate! It was delicious, but oh so filling. I made an honest attempt to finish it all, but I just couldn't.

After our snack we ducked into a pub to escape the sun and crowds. While we sipped our Stella Artois we enjoyed watching the crowd's reaction to the World Cup tie game between the USA and England.

Walking down the street after our little break we came across another crowd. This one was outside of the Addams Family musical. The 2:00 showing had just finished a short while before. Rumor was that Nathan Lane had snuck out the side door, but we were able to get a shot of me with Kevin Chamberlin who plays Uncle Fester.

From here on out Mr X took over photography duties. Mostly I think because I was still staring in awe at everything and forgetting that the camera was in my possession. I didn't even manage to get a shot of him for myself! I will give him credit though for making me feel a little more comfortable in front of the camera!

Our stroll led us back up to Times Square. We checked the ticket board and decided that we would try to see Westside Story if we could. The line for the ticket booth was outrageous though, so X decided that it would be best if we waited awhile to purchase our seats.

We strolled through a few of the big hotels to cool off and made our way over to FAO Schwartz . There weren't very many opportunities to play there, but there were a ton of life size stuffed animals to be impressed by.

Shh... I almost knocked this bear over while I was posing.

We didn't make it up quite far enough to see the Empire State Building, but you can see it here in the background. I think I probably disappointed X a slight bit on our venture down 5th Avenue. I was more impressed by the architecture on the old churches than window shopping at stores I wouldn't be able to afford to even daydream about. Not that I wouldn't have liked to daydream, but there was so many other things to still be impressed by. Besides, I think by this point I may have entered over-stimulation overload!

It was time to work our way back to the theater now to see about getting tickets to the evening show. Along the way we paused to see just what they do with Rockefeller Center when it's not being used as an ice skating rink. Turns out they turn it into a cafe during the warmer months.

Don't I look like such a tourist with my purse crossing my chest and my sweater tied around my waist? Radio City Music Hall was closed that night in preparation of the Tony Awards the next night. I could have paid $6 to watch the Tony's on the plane ride home but decided against it. From what my theatre involved friends and family tell me that was a wise choice this year.

We made it back to the Palace Theatre in time for Mr X to get a great deal on our theater seats, then scoped out a restaurant for after the show. We took a short subway ride back up towards Central Park just so I could say I had been on the subway. We made our way on foot back to toward the theatre, arriving early enough that we could duck into Famous Dave's for a glass of wine.

The show was phenomenal! X had managed to get us front row seats. If I leaned forward just a little bit I could watch the Orchestra (which was fantastic). I was very thrilled to see that the Orchestra included a Bass Clarinet. Oh, that brings back the memories. The whole production was so amazing and perfect that I hope I can still find satisfaction in the musicals that I attend back home! I don't think X has any clue how thrilled I was with attending an actual Broadway production as I was almost to the point of exhaustion by the time we left the theatre and felt I couldn't express my awe properly.

After the show we had a wonderful and filling Italian dinner of Rigatoni 4 Formaggi and Scaloppine Allo Chardonnay at Tramonti. Between the meal and a glass of wine I fell asleep before we even made it out of New York. I feel kind of bad that X had to drive the whole way back without any company.

The next morning we felt the need to get out of the hotel again. Neither one of use really seems to like good-byes, and a trip to the beach seemed the perfect way to lighten the thoughts of having to bid our adieus in a few hours.

I wish I had taken a picture of the rules posted at the beach. We decided that the people that run the boardwalk must be fun-haters. The rules stated that you couldn't play ball or Frisbee on the beach, or go barefoot on the boardwalk among other things. We ventured to a private beach instead and admired the houses and discussed the flooding risks of such properties.

We still had a few hours left before I had to pack and drive back to the airport, so X suggested we visit a little port town.

Mystic can be seen in the background and seems the quintessential little New England town filled with shops, sailboats, and drawbridges. It was a lovely afternoon strolling through town viewing the storefronts, people, and inns.

You may remember the photo I posted for this week's challenge theme. The subject was the drawbridge in that we strolled across. The photo above is the sail boat that cruised through after the bridge was raised.

I said my good-bye to Mr X and left the hotel at 4:00. He continued to text with me throughout the flight delays that I ran into, calming my fears of being stranded.

I arrived home just before 2:00 Monday morning and managed to get myself into work by 7:30. It was a whirlwind weekend with very little sleep, but so worth the exhaustion I am still slightly feeling. I am so grateful that X gave me the break from reality that I needed and even more than I expected.

After a full night sleep Monday night I feel refreshed and ready to tackle my struggles again :)

Strong

2010-06-14T14:57:00.000-07:00

You would think that Strong would be an easy theme for me to tackle. But I admit, I mostly bailed on this week's challenge.

The photo above is of a drawbridge that I saw on my weekend adventure to Connecticut. It was the closest thing that I had shot to fit in with the theme. I did consider submitting a shot of Time Square, but decided that this was a little more fitting.

There will not be a poem over at Impassioned Versifier this week. I know that it would have been a fairly easy challenge for me since I try to include the underlying themes of strength or love in most of my work there. Truthfully though, it is just not easy to write a poem on an airplane.

There will be photos from my trip posted soon. In the meantime check out the rest of this week's submissions at Photography139.

Painting With Light

2010-06-07T15:20:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed this week's Random Challenge theme, partly because I finally figured out how to do something new with my camera.

This was my first submission, it seemed to fit the description of how to Paint with Light given by Chris last week. The kids informed me that I was nuts going out to play in my flower beds with a flash light & camera at night. Thankfully, the neighbors seemed to be a little more understanding. Or maybe they are just used to me doing random odd things around here.

This is my favorite photo from the shoot. You may recall that one of the themes a few weeks back was Long Exposure. After many failed attempts since then, I finally figured out how to lengthen the exposure on my cheap digital camera.

I have several more photos that resulted from this discovery. They may end up on a post later this week if I get a chance before my upcoming mini-stress relieving-vacation. On that note, I have a few updates that need to be made to my 101 list. Hopefully I will get to that later tonight!

I do have a poem posted at Impassioned Versifier this week. Be sure to check out this week's other amazing takes on Painting with Light over at Photography139.

Enjoying Our Freedoms

2010-06-03T15:46:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to lie. The weekend was very hectic and stressful for me. I know that a lot of you have been checking back here often in anticipation of the blog announcing my reactions to the latest life changing events around here. You will just have to wait on that one, if it appears at all.

On Sunday, Bug and I decided we needed a break. It was a three day weekend due to Memorial Day and we hadn't set aside anytime to enjoy our freedoms other than the freedom to assemble at Friday Night Supper Club.

We decided that we wanted to do something that we both thought was relaxing and fun plus take advantage of the beautiful weather. So we changed into our swimsuits, packed the blanket, a book, and the camera and headed to Ledges.

We followed the creek to a bend where we couldn't be seen from the road.

While I sunbathed on a sandbar and read my book, Bug enjoyed splashing around.

He even found a perfect skipping stone, which ended up traveling home with us for him to use again.

This was my view laying back on the blanket. Ahhh... so peaceful and serene.

I had to keep a watchful eye that Bug didn't wander too far away while I dozed off and on.

Two hours resting and relaxing was exactly what I needed. It still didn't make my stress hives entirely disappear (that didn't happen until last night), but it did help strengthen me. Make sure to thank a soldier for our ability to enjoy peaceful days at the park, a day off from work, and the millions of other little freedoms that we have because of them and their families!

Harmony

2010-05-31T14:13:00.000-07:00

I was really looking forward to working on this week's challenge theme of harmony. The theme seemed so full of possibilities.

I took shot this photo at the beginning of the week, partially in response to John sending me a photo of a beautiful double rainbow outside of his window. A double rainbow would have been an ideal subject for harmony, but I did see harmony in watching the ants open up all my peonies that same evening.

The harmony and peacefulness of my week changed after that and I'm afraid I haven't been able to concentrate on composing even the simplest of poems. So there will not be a challenge entry at Impassioned Versifier this week.

I guess I'm not the only one that had trouble meeting the challenge this week as the only other submission at Photography139 is from Chris himself.

Running in Circles

2010-05-25T17:53:00.000-07:00

We've already established that the weekend flew by for me. This week seems to be a little slower (probably because I am waiting in impatient excitement for news about an impending visit from someone I really want to see). It probably doesn't help that I am spending the week cleaning and reorganizing my house. We all know that that isn't on the top of my favorite things to do list.

Friday night Bug & I attended Friday Night Supper Club where we discussed my 101 List point by point. They helped me to come up with a few more items to add to my list. When we got done eating and discussing we ventured over to Perfect Games so that Bug could wear off a little energy and the guys could challenge each other to air hockey.

Saturday morning I woke up to beautiful sunshine. It wasn't overly hot and seemed a perfect day to tackle a few of my house projects.

I had lost a few boards off the front steps over the winter, so this seemed the ideal day to play with my new circular saw again.

I trimmed down my closet door as well, but don't have a picture of that yet as I still need to purchase and install a latch to keep it closed.

Saturday night Sis felt the urge for some family time. This mama can never pass up the oportunity to spend a little fun time with my kids, especially when the teenager is trying to spread her wings and doesn't always want me so close.

We loaded up in the truck and drove to Madrid for some Cosmic (Laser) bowling. Obviously this is where we took last week's challenge photos at.

Sis got a little pouty when she threw a string of gutter balls.

Concentrating on my form, I guess?

Sis had had enough.

I don't have any pictures from Sunday because I forgot my camera at home. Bug and I went with the Cub Scouts on a clean-up hike. The goal was to pick up trash littered along the bike trails at Seven Oaks. That one and a half hour hike reminded me how sorely I've gotten out of shape during the winter. Looks like I will need to step it up before we go hiking in Yellowstone!

The hike was considered a success but not in the way we planned it to be. The trails were actually fairly clean, good job mountain bikers at keeping nature as pristine as possible! With not much work to do we did manage to lose three scouts.

No, literally.

We lost them. Or I should say they lost us. After repeated warnings to stay within sight of the rest of the group three of the boys decided to explore on their own. They took off in a dead sprint ahead of us, laughing when we told them to stop. Then they jumped a few paths that wind close to each other. The next thing you know they are no where to be seen and couldn't hear our calls.

I took my group of three well behaved Scouts and six stow away ticks and made our way out of the woods. Forty minutes later the missing boys emerged from the woods with the search party leaders. Whew!

Boys were fine, leaders and parents lectured and used them as an example to the rest of the group. I chalk it up to a learning experience for our next outing.

I spent the rest of the evening keeping a vigilant eye open for more ticks and enjoying the first of my "alphabet" movies from my 101 list. Eating ice cream and watching Avatar with the kiddos was a perfect ending to my busy weekend.

Pan & Blur

2010-05-24T15:29:00.000-07:00

This week's theme was Panning Camera Blur, the object of which was to follow the subject with the camera while keeping the subject in focus and allowing the background to blur. It seems it was an appropriate week for such a theme as the whole week and especially the weekend seemed to blur by for me.

I do have a lot that I could post about from the weekend and there are some photos to share, but that will have to be a post for another day. Today I only have time to share our submissions.

It took several attempts and adjustments before I was finally able to follow Bug's ball down the lane during our Cosmic (Laser) bowling trip. The bowling ball still isn't in crisp focus, but this was my most successful attempt.

Sis decided that she would try her hand at this week's challenge. One of my 101 goals is to become more comfortable in front of the camera, so she used me as her subject. She was sneaky enough to photograph me without my knowledge, thus in this one I am pretty comfortable, or at least concentrating on my task.

Make sure to check out Sis's first submission and all the other wonderful submissions over at Photography139. Sis has dug herself a slight hole by accusing Chris at Photography139 of cheating in this pretty much rule-less challenge, but he has come up with some very good reasoning for her silly banter.

I am glad that we are nearing the end of the technical themes for the challenge. It is fun to think outside of the box occasionally for my poetry challenge, but next week's poem is a welcome break from the brain-strain of trying to fit the subject with a poem. Be sure to check out Impassioned Versifier for this week's challenge poem

101 Things

2010-05-20T20:19:00.000-07:00

As if I don't have enough on my plate already, I have decided to take on a new project. I am hoping this one will actually help me along with all my other projects though.

Some of you may have heard of the Day Zero Project. The website describes it as "a unique challenge that inspires you to set and achieve your personal goals in life".

The Challenge:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on your part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple challenges such as New Year's resolutions or a 'Bucket List'. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips, study semesters, or outdoor activities

I currently have 63 tasks on my list due to be completed by February 14, 2013. That seems like such a long time away, doesn't it? I started with my short term goals and added a few I hope to accomplish by then. I also put in a few things that I should do a little more often. Some of those even include pampering myself just as a reminder that sometimes I need to remember to do that.

Now I feel like I am at a wall, I can't think of anymore tasks to finish off my list. Even though I am sure I have more goals that I'm just not remembering at the moment. So if you can think of anything I should add leave me a comment below.

You can help me cross one task off by starting your own list. Just leave me a comment so I know that I've inspired you!

I created a new page (you can check out the link underneath my header) so you can keep track of my progress and cheer me on. I will strike through each item as I complete the task.

Leading Lines

2010-05-16T21:13:00.000-07:00

I'm back from my mini mental /artistic sabbatical! This week's Random Photo Challenge theme was Leading Lines.

I even managed to post this week's theme poem over at Impassioned Versifier. I considered quite a few options on where to take my poem, but this week it demanded to be directed in an art imitates life sort of way.

Be sure to check out the rest of this week's awesome challenge photos at Photography139.

Isn't It Ironic, Don't Ya' Think?

2010-05-15T06:44:00.000-07:00

So my week started out like this:

And ended like this:

It seems that once again fate (or maybe a government conspiracy against me) is trying to have a cruel laugh at my expense.

You see, I finally found a man that I really like and that I'm actually interested in. Someone that I am completely comfortable and happy with and oh, boy attracted to.

I'll give you a minute to climb back up onto your chair and read that again....

Yes, picky little me (who I remind you, was once balked at by a friend for Twittering during a particularly terrible date last year) suddenly found my fear of commitment melt away and my heart open up.

And I've been sporting my Mona Lisa has a secret smile all week.

Ahh... a budding romance, a relationship that seems to provide the perfect companionship in so many ways. A man that seems so amazing in my eyes, funny, intelligent, responsible, sweet, passionate.

And now the government wants to take him away from me. Insert self-pity and tears here. Well, OK, it's not the government conspiring against us per se. It's his job.

You see, the place he works for has determined his services are needed several states away.

We are both heartbroken about it. In fact, I'm not even planning to show him this blog until after we know what will happen so not to add to his sadness and anger over the situation. He's doing what he can to protest the transfer. I can only hope that it works.

In the meantime, I will draw on that inner strength that we all know I possess (all too well) and wait.

My plan is to immerse myself once again into the house repairs and exercise (anyone interested in helping with drywall work?). I wouldn't be surprised if you see a new poem or two other than the regularly scheduled Personal Poem Challenges. Maybe I'll even start working on editing for my eventual poetry book. I also plan to get rid of all the riff-raff around here and proceed with the plan to sell the house.

We will cross each bridge as it comes but do have a loose plan in mind if the transfer is forced on him. Good thing we both like to travel.

Which means occasional babysitting jobs will be available.

I could start spouting off all the theories about how "absence makes the heart grow fonder" and all those quotes that would probably make me feel sad right now.

Instead I keep thinking about my favorite Martha Washington quote "I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances"

Wild

2010-05-10T16:52:00.000-07:00

The theme for last week was Wild. I actually had two submissions for the photo part of the challenge, as I just couldn't decide which to enter.

I know that many of you are asking how dominoes=wild. All I can answer is that they just can when you have to adults on a date at the Science Center playing like kids. Sadly this particular formation kind of fizzled, but we got the next attempt perfect!

Bug & Sis made me a fantastic, starch-laden dinner of chicken and dumplings over mashed potatoes for Mother's Day. This is what my wild little ones looked like when they were done. I couldn't bring myself to take pictures of the kitchen and the dog afterwards. They had a lot of fun and let loose cheerful giggles as they worked together to prepare the meal, so I guess I can overlook the mess.

Be sure to check out the rest of this week's Random Photo Challenge submissions over at Photography139. Take the time to check out his beautiful Mother's Day/Retirement tribute to his mom too. Very touching.

I am afraid that I have neglected posting anything over at Impassioned Versifier again this week. My muse is speaking very loudly to me at the moment so hopefully I should be able to catch up soon!

Feet, Among Other Things

2010-05-08T17:32:00.000-07:00

It's been another hectic week for us. Two softball games and one soccer down, whew! I took some footage of Sis up to bat today. Unfortunately the pitcher was not very experienced, so we don't get to see any grand slams, but we do get to watch Sis steal second, third, and home.

Bug and I took a little play break this afternoon.

I finally got the chance to relax and set up my feet shoot for last week's Random Photo Project. I will be sending in my late submission later tonight but you can see it below and check out the timely submissions over at Photography139. I am sad to say that I failed on the poetry challenge this week. Maybe I will revisit the theme after ball season.

This week's theme is Wild. I have enlisted the help of my new friend to stage a shot, so hopefully we will have something fun to submit on Monday.

2010-05-03T10:36:00.000-07:00

I don't have anything to submit for this week's Random Photo Challenge or my Personal Poetry Challenge. It was just a down right busy week! We had two softball games and one soccer game, plus practices, I attended a birthday party for a dear friend, plus I managed to squeeze some overtime in. I also stopped to visit another old friend and....

briefly babysat the son of another dear friend.

I barely kept up with the housework, but somehow managed to find the time to repair the toilet in the guest bath. We now have two functioning bathrooms again! Although there is still some drywall work and painting to be tackled in there later this summer.

Last night I intended to set some time aside to work on my fun little projects. Instead, I got distracted by this....

Bug & Sis decided to blow bubbles just before bedtime last night. It was too dark for them to go outside and they knew I wouldn't be happy with bubbles floating around my living room. So they decided to look for a spot where bubbles would be accepted.

I followed the little burst of contagious giggles that ensued to find them kicked back in the bathtub taking turns with the bubble wand.

I may still work on the projects later this week, as I do have a few ideas on the subject floating around in my head.

My Week on the Web

2010-05-01T14:12:00.000-07:00

I haven't been on the computer much the last couple of weeks due to the beautiful weather and a little bit of overtime. Here are the few sites that did peak my interest when I did have time to just "troll":

Two years ago I declared that I was done with the Bad Boys in my life. But where are all the fabled Nice Guys? I completely agree with this editorial, it seems that the bad boys are always willing to show their interest (on a consistent basis), so get over your butterflies Nice Guys and step it up!

Post like this really make my blood boil. I write my poetry for the joy of writing it and occasionally as an urgent release. I'm not sure who this contributing writer is, but her haughty attitude that there is no value in the part-time poet that wasn't privileged enough to attend an Ivy League school just brings me to tears. Granted I don't write with a political agenda (which according to her own words suggests I am not fulfilling any responsibilities as a poet), I write philosophically, hypothetically, theologically, and from the heart. Any small aspirations I may have ever had of being recognized by the poetic community have basically been crushed by this woman's editorial, but that's okay, I don't need recognition. I am happy enough when my friends tell me my writings have touched them in some small way and with just producing something creative in general :)

Sis posting a comment on Facebook referring to this video (the comment question of the day, in particular) got me into a little hot water (funny how the person that was irked by it was upset because he had to admit that he was exactly where she said he would be). We seriously can't get enough of this guy though. Every single episode has us rolling! Especially the one where the guy gets owned by his shoes.

I have our lodging reserved for our trip to Yellowstone this summer! Bug is a little nervous about staying and hiking around on top of a collapsed volcano, but we have been reading an online magazine all about the neat things we can do while we are there, 99 things listed to be exact. It has been a big help with planning our itinerary and figuring out how much to budget.

Rule of Thirds

2010-04-26T19:02:00.000-07:00

This week's photo challenge theme was Rule of Thirds. Photography139 put up this definition from Wikipedia, so I'm going to borrow it to as it seems the simplest definition:

"The rule of thirds is a compositional rule of thumb in visual arts such as painting, photography and design. The rule states that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally spaced horizontal lines and two equally spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections."

Sounds simple, right? Thankfully it was, as I blew off trying to find a good shot all week.

This is the photo that I submitted for the challenge. Can you tell I took it in a hurry this morning when I realized that I had a poem for this week but not a photo?

Last week was a busy week, but that's really not an excuse since I had my camera with me quite often. I just didn't happen to shoot anything that fell into that particular category. I really didn't shoot anything worth posting, except:

Bug had his first soccer game of the season last Monday.

Sis had her first softball game too, but that happened to be the one time I didn't have my camera floating around in my purse. There will be plenty of chances for me to get shots of her in full catching gear with her two games per week compared to Bug's one.

With the start of our busy ball season the house repairs haven't been moving along quite as fast as before. I still have motivation though and hope to have some new before and after photos up soon. Today was a rare lazy day for me, which pretty much only consisted of 4 loads of laundry, making supper, and making our summer vacation reservations.

Yep, you read that right! The kids and I now have a cabin booked for a full week just minutes outside of Yellowstone. I think I am more excited than the kids at this point. My next few weeks will be spent planning our itinerary and making list of items to pack (including camera batteries!).

As usual, you can find this week's poem over at Impassioned Versifier. Photography139 is enjoying a vacation of his own this week, but you should find the photo challenge submissions posted later in the week.

Greens & Grays

2010-04-22T11:12:00.000-07:00

They tell me it's Earth Day. I have to work late tonight so I won't get the chance to go out and enjoy this beautiful weather and all Mother Earth has to offer.

Instead, I thought I would share a few more snapshots from our latest hike.

"How strange that Nature does not knock, and yet does not intrude!" ~Emily Dickinson, letter to Mrs. J.S. Cooper, 1880

"I can enjoy society in a room; but out of doors, nature is company enough for me." ~William Hazlitt

"Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life." ~Rachel Carson

"I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order." ~John Burroughs

"Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain." ~Henry David Thoreau

"I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.... People think pleasing God is all God care about. But any fool living in the world can see it always trying to please us back." ~Alice Walker, The Color Purple, 1982

"If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive." ~Eleonora Duse

"The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful." ~e.e. cummings

"I walked barefoot - the only way to walk on a muddy road." ~Laurie Gough, "Light on a Moonless Night"

Long Exposure

2010-04-18T22:09:00.000-07:00

While on our trek through Ledges this week, Bug and I took the opportunity to play with my camera. My goal was to find a subject for this week's Random Photo Challenge theme of long exposure. I haven't figured out all the mysterious settings on my cheapy camera yet and wasn't quite sure how to control and slow down the shutter speed. So instead, I decided to take a different route and find something that had experienced a long exposure to the elements.

My submission was this weathered trail marker along the Lost Lake trail.

This close-up was considered as a close second.

At one point during our hike Bug decided he needed a break from walking the dog and asked to switch duties. He was eager to show me the things that caught his eye. So I agreed. I turned the setting to Auto and let him click away. When we got home I loaded our pictures to my computer and we had an enjoyable time reliving our long hike. When I came across Bug's photos I experienced some mild shock and definite pleasure at his artistic and photographic eye. He only had one or two unusable shots in the whole batch. Much better than when I shoot things at random.

When we came across the photo below I commented that it fit perfectly into this week's theme. He asked me if I could use it as my submission for this week. I explained to him that I didn't feel that would be appropriate as this was his work, not mine. But that I would be happy to submit it for him as his own work under his own name.

Bug has earned the distinction of the youngest contributor to date at Photography139's Weekly Random Photo Project.

Bug's closer examination of the effects of long exposure to the elements.

You may recall that the cabin where he took these photos at was mostly underwater during our previous hike at Ledges.

As I started the poem for this week's challenge I realized that the first several lines were calling for it to be written in the form of a Sestina. Sestinas are not my favorite structure form to write but I do feel that the challenge of composing one is good every once in a while, so I followed that whim.

For those who are asking what a Sestina is, it's a very structured poem consisting of 6 sextets followed by a tercet making a total of 39 lines of prose. The end words of the first sextet are used in the following verses in a particular order as follows:

1 2 3 4 5 6 - End words of lines in first sextet.
6 1 5 2 4 3 - End words of lines in second sextet.
3 6 4 1 2 5 - End words of lines in third sextet.
5 3 2 6 1 4 - End words of lines in fourth sextet.
4 5 1 3 6 2 - End words of lines in fifth sextet.
2 4 6 5 3 1 - End words of lines in sixth sextet.
(6 2) (1 4) (5 3) - Middle and end words of lines in tercet

It's exhausting work to use the same words repeatedly while keeping to the underlying theme. It is well worth the feeling of accomplishment when completed though. You can read this week's contribution at Impassioned Versifier.

A boy & his dog

2010-04-18T20:46:00.000-07:00

The last week has been pretty busy around here. Bug and I have spent an awesome amount of time together, and Sis managed to find a little bit of time to fit us into her busiest (softball) season of the year too. Bug & I went fishing, to the VEISHA parade, and soccer practice. Sis joined us for Cub Scout bowling and met a friend and I for dinner one night. Plus I managed to fit in a manicure with a friend this week. And that's not all:

I spent some time working on home improvement projects. This is my new bedroom door. Bug has a new door as well. Next up are the bathroom and my closet doors.

Bug and I spent one evening playing with Legos. We made a bank building, complete with teller window and ATM. The teller kind of spooks me. I think I will stick with using the ATM.

Bug and I enjoyed the beautiful weather Saturday evening and took Buster dog for a walk. Buster loves going on walks with Bug, and the two of them tend to forget about me.

We ventured to Bug's favorite spot in the park, Lost Lake. The trail is fairly easy and has constantly changing scenery.

Buster enjoys stopping to investigate his surroundings quite frequently, but gets impatient if Bug stops for any reason.

It seems a family of beavers has taken up residence at the lake this year. They seemed to take advantage of the waters while they were high as well.

I wonder what made the beaver quit when he was so close?

The creek that runs through lower Ledges is still swollen, but hopefully soon the canyon will be open for our enjoyment.

Today Bug got to try his hand at rock climbing with his Cub Scout troop. He has only tried this once before and didn't do as well.

This time he conquered his fear and made it halfway up before he couldn't find anymore purchase. Good job Bug!

So tonight I am a little worn out and still have my poem to finish for tomorrow's challenge submission. I hope you all had a great week too!

Symmetry & Patterns

2010-04-12T11:50:00.000-07:00

Bug has been playing with the few remaining pieces of my old Spirograph lately. His latest piece of artwork seemed a fitting submission for this week's Random Photo Challenge as the theme was symmetry & patterns.

My knitting bag called to be part of the theme as well.

What can have more symmetry and pattern than my life during ball season?

Amazingly, this week's poem came quite easily to me. That hasn't happened in a few weeks, so I am welcoming the warm feeling of creativity flowing in me again. Be sure to check out the other creative photo submissions at Photography139. Next week's theme is sure to bring a ton of interesting submissions!

My Week on the Web

2010-04-09T20:19:00.000-07:00

Most of my last couple weeks surfing the net have involved shopping for catcher's mitts (yep, softball season is here!) and watching how-to videos on DIY (I'm hoping to tackle my drywall project in the next couple weeks). I did find a few interesting tidbits along the way though:

Green Sex? Ok, I have seriously been living alone way too long. It is an interesting concept though, sex to save the environment.

NASA on Mars This is going to really reveal my inner geek. I admit it, I'm a geek at heart. The first link explains the amazing technology that NASA has. Not only is it amazing, but a little scary in some regards too. This stuff is being put to use right now. Maybe I've watched too many sci-fi's but after reading that I suddenly had visions of a small little HAL running rampant on Mars. Anywho, I digress, the whole reason you need to read that article is so that you can understand this next article a little deeper. I'm sort of glad that our dear little Endeavor isn't gathering samples to bring back. While neat to look at I have visions of it turning us all into Ompah Lompah Blueberry Sandwiches

Keeping House This blog post sums my perception of housekeeping and the unreal expectations of myself and society on a working mom. My house has never been in a completely organized, immaculate, ready for company at all times state. I have kids, I hate housekeeping, and I enjoy doing the activities that fulfill me. I would rather spend my time enjoying time with my children as they grow up rather than chase them around with a dust pan. Of course, I also hate total chaos and disarray, so I begrudgingly do the chores anyway (just don't expect me to be in a good mood while I do... there are just so many other fantastic things to be doing!)

When I was younger I used to find garden Gnomes to be rather creepy. However, I think I would enjoy going to see this Gnome, especially since it's at one of my favorite reflecting spots, Reiman Gardens.

Easter at the Lake

2010-04-06T10:31:00.000-07:00

What a lovely Easter weekend the kids and I had! We were very ready for a vacation, so we headed to my Auntie's house on the lake. We had a perfectly relaxing time just visiting, eating, and enjoying the company of loving family. We came back refreshed and motivated.

Enjoy some photos from our trip:

Sis trying out her new fishing pole. Later in the day she & Ricky wandered down to the grade to try their hand against the seasoned fishermen. They quickly found out that their lack of bites resulted from using minnows instead of mill worms. I didn't really feel like cleaning fish for the anyway. Better luck next time kids!

Saturday was cool and windy, but Sunday was warm & sunny. It didn't take Bug long to kick off his flip flops.

Bug enjoyed watching the waves roll in.

But he enjoyed climbing the rocks even more...

from one side of the property to the other.

After convincing him that he should really change into play clothes, he decided to break in his new pole.

Bug didn't get any bites on his Mister Twisters either, but he had a lot of fun practicing his casting.

I spent 2 hours out on the deck reading. I was so comfortable and relaxed that I didn't even realize until much later in the day that I had developed a slight sunburn.

On the way home we planned to stop at my cousin Jill's house but I knew we had a little time to kill before we were expected to be there. I decided to take the kids on an impromptu detour to the Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend. I hadn't been there since I was about Bug's age.

Easter was the perfect day to visit especially since we had missed church due to our mini-vacation.

On the way home Bug asked me if there were any other amazing places in the world that I can show him.

This is the display that moves me the most in the Grotto

Sis wondered how many people thought Dobberstein was insane rather than inspired when he first started his Grotto project. She was amazed by every little stone and needed constant reminding not to touch.

The Stations of the Cross glittered with all their colored mosaics in the setting sun, setting off another wave of awe.

Macro

2010-04-05T15:44:00.000-07:00

This week's challenge was actually a bit of a challenge for me, both in photography and poetry. The subject was Macro, which in simple terms is to photograph something small so that it fills the whole frame.

The photography part of the challenge showed me just how cheap my "cheap" ($150) camera really is. It takes great photos at the ball park and when out and about with the kids. Apparently it wasn't made to do anything fancy though. I have now declared that my camera must be far-sighted as it takes great close ups from a distance but not a good close-up from close up.

Still, I had fun experimenting with different techniques and came up with interesting shots.

Macro, not to be confused with Micro

This is the lovely display at my Aunt's house that inspired the close-up

Blow are a few of the shots that came close to decent while I was experimenting with my camera:

A screw hanging out way up on Auntie's garage

A nail in the wood pile

Oriental blossoms residing in a vase

Chocolate Easter eggs

Mudding anyone?

The poem proved to be a challenge too. Not only did I not have time to concentrate on it with getting ready for Easter at the lake, how in the heck does one go about incorporating the idea of Macro into a poem? I came up with a very short 4 line piece that seems to apply how Macro fits into our lives. I may sit down and tinker with it some more though when I actually have time for editing and revisions. You can read my interpretation of Macro here. And be sure to check out Photography139 for the rest of this week's photo submissions.

Signs

2010-03-29T14:44:00.000-07:00

The subject for this week's Random Photo Project was "signs". Yesterday afternoon was bright and sunny so I loaded up the kids and headed out to McHose park. The sunshine fooled us, the wind was still a slight bit bitter. We weren't dressed quite appropriately for a long period outdoors but we still managed to have a great time as the kids posed while making various signs for me.

This week's submission. It probably wouldn't be considered the best shot in the photo shoot but this one was my favorite. In fact, I'm thinking of getting their signs of love framed.

This symbol has been on the shelter house since I was a teenager, maybe even before. Sis and Ricky decided they wanted to try to recreate it.

My "stars".

I was lucky this week to have a little bit clearer schedule. Besides several fun outings with the kids I had plenty of time to work on my challenge poem for the week. You can check it out at Impassioned Versifier. Please check out the rest of this week's Random Photo Project submissions at Photography139. The kids and I are heading to the lake to visit Auntie for Easter. I was really hoping for a photo subject this week that would be a little broader so I could really have some fun at the lake. But it should prove entertaining and a good exercise for me to find something that will fit into the new subject, Macro.

Bug's Big Day

2010-03-28T20:09:00.000-07:00

Bug had a huge day on Saturday. It was the much anticipated Pinewood Derby for his Cub Scout pack. He worked hard on his derby car and his hard work paid off with a trophy.

This is his awesome tank. He thought of the design himself and spent quite a bit of time perfecting his camouflage technique with the paint. I did have to help him glue the straw on for the turret. Other than than the only help he required was having Ricky cut it out for him and help putting on the wheels.

Preparing for the first heat. His tank placed 4th in this heat.

In place for heat two. He came in 2nd in this heat.

Heat number three. Go Bug go!

Overall his speed placed him 33rd. Everyone got a participation medal. But the awards weren't over yet.

Bug won Cub Master's choice for Best Design.

He is quite proud of his trophy and plans to bring it with us when we visit my Auntie this weekend.

My Week on the Web

2010-03-22T21:28:00.000-07:00

Every week Hilary over at The Smitten Image posts an interesting array of her favorite blogs for that week. I get a big chuckle out of quite a few of those posts and others have challenged me to think a little deeper.

I admit, I have way too much idle time on my hands during the week.

But reading blogs and other entertaining articles helps me to pass the time while I'm trying to look busy when stuck at the office with no work on my desk (Speaking of which, isn't it about time you had your car serviced?). And it's a lot easier to hide than say a book or knitting.

I thought it would be fun to take an occasional look at what exactly it is I peruse on the Internet throughout the week. Although I'm sure I can't hold myself to be as dedicated as Hilary to a scheduled format. You all know the free-spiritedness of my thought process... it's just not gonna work.

So without further adieu here are the articles and blogs that caught my fancy this week:

Foursquare Has anyone joined this yet? I am thinking it could be fun and a great advertising tool, but how does one guard themselves from stalkerish type people? I will admit, I am not very keen on being followed around town by people that I don't want to keep company with (the ones I do want to keep company with are an entirely different matter however).

Stop and Smell the King Tenderloin The name of this article made me think of a tenderloin quest a friend of mine has been on for several years, sadly that thinking was way off track. It was interesting to read an outsiders view of our state. While I didn't learn anything new, it did make me think of a few towns I haven't visited in a very long time. Another friend of mine is on a quest with his wife to visit every county seat in our state. I wonder if I can convince him to share his stories in a travel blog?

MentalFloss is one of my all-time favorite websites. This article peaked my interest as I have been suffering from a terrible bout of insomnia for the last week or so. I'm glad I found a little relief with a warm bath and glass of wine a few nights ago, maybe I should try that again tonight. Sounds much better than slug entrails!

Mentos Gum I love this commercial on so many levels. I spent quite a bit of time on the Mentos website trying to get the link to this commercial to work. It wouldn't play for me, but I was able to find it on Youtube instead.

Bed of Nails Poetikat Kat Mortensen has done it again, another poem that strikes to the heart. I love the visual aspect she has given this poem, making each line strike like the nail it is.

Yellowstone Valley Inn I am seriously considering taking the kids to Yellowstone for our summer vacation. The cabins at this inn are calling me. The area looks beautiful and the price just may well fall into our budget. does anyone else have any other suggestions to make the trip affordable and memorable?

And the Angels Sing Japanese I developed a love for Glenn Miller back in 9th grade thanks to an amazing Band Instructor. Every year, around late fall to early winter just when marching band would end and concert band would start, I pull out my jazz and Big band cd's. You have to be a band geek or a lover of the big sound to understand why I found this both humorous and wrong on so many levels. I do have to give her credit for the attempt and the courage, but man, they don't even have a clarinet. Miller himself added reeds in the late 30's.

So there you have it, my small amusements and entertainments for the last week. I hope you enjoyed my randomness.

Motion

2010-03-22T12:00:00.000-07:00

This week's subject for the Random Photo Project was motion. The first photo below is my submission, taken during our Ledges outing last week.

It took Bug 4 tries before I was finally able to click at the right moment. Thanks for the help Bug!

The wind-up.

The throw in motion.

Sis amused herself by throwing snowballs from the scattered patches of snow found in the shade.

The week and the challenge wouldn't be complete without a new poem over at Impassioned Versifier and a visit to Photography139 to see the rest of this week's submissions.

A walk down that memory filled trail

2010-03-17T19:22:00.000-07:00

The weather was absolutely gorgeous today. I was still in a slight bit of a funk, so rather than picking up the house I thought the kids and I should get out and about for a little while.

We had been hearing all week how the river was once again overflowing its banks, reminiscent of the two major floods that I can remember in my lifetime.

We figured our best bet for comparison was to head down to Ledges.

Yep, it sure looks like pre-2008 flood levels, but not up to the 1993 level thankfully.

The one nice thing about flooding is that it forces us to get off the beaten path. There are some areas of the park that I could navigate with my eyes closed, but others I haven't set foot on in years.

Walking through that forgotten timber produced hazy ghosts of memories.

It was July of 1993. I was 18, newly engaged, and barely pregnant. We had just returned from Cheyenne a few weeks before. We traveled from the dry hot winds into oceans where corn fields used to be. It rained terribly for the first two weeks after our return. It was a warm rain though and many nights we could be found walking through the flooded streets of town anyway.

A group of us decided to head down to Ledges on one of the few sunny afternoons to grill out & celebrate our return and engagement. We pulled the picnic tables as close to the water as we could get them and fired up the grills. The guys downed beers while the girls sat at the tables sharing the latest news and admiring my new ring.

At some point one of us declared that the heat and humidity was too much . We kicked off our shoes and ventured into the lagoon the swollen river had made near the shelter houses.

We spent the afternoon swimming in and out of this very shelter house, with an occasional rest seated in a windowsill. It was an afternoon to remember. Sadly it has been so many years now that I can barely remember who was there. I remember my friend Sunny, and of course my fiancee at the time, and possibly his brother and 1 of his sisters. I can assure you that there were a great many more people in attendance, but those are the ones I distinctly remember surrounding me with joy that day.

Towards the end of the day we were still full of horseplay when we should have been exhausted. I had some excuse to get out of the water, but quite what I no longer recall. I swam to the shore and started to trudge through the water covered mud that made up the last few feet of shoreline. Then out of no where he came! My fiancee was still full of 19 year old energy and horseplay. As he tackled me back into the water my stomach lurched in terror as I felt my new ring, which still needed to be sized slip off my finger and vault into the air.

I watched in fly up but never watched it land as my head went under the water. Already in tears I righted myself the instant I could find footing, but it was already too late. It was lost to the river, buried somewhere in feet of soft mud.

The entire group pulled together and searched the entire area. We sifted through handfuls of silt and mud but to no avail.

Every new flood I wander the shoreline there, curious to my ring's fate. Maybe, just maybe that beautiful 1 carat solitaire will resurface. I doubt I will ever be the one to find it, but maybe it will bring as much joy to the person that does as it did to me in the short time it was in my possession.

A break from memory lane, Sis decided to do a little exploring. Much like a young version of me at that age she has a need to feel and experience. The clay at the bottom of this creek bed caught her interest and she felt an intense need to touch it.

Apparently it wasn't quite what she expected as she declared it was slimy and muddy.

Further along the trail we came to this shelter house. I have an elusive memory of a fun night with a bunch of friends here in high school. I seem to recall that it was either after a play or band concert. It seems quite possible that as part of the tech crew we ventured out here after pulling off behind the scenes perfection for the high school drama club's latest production. I recall many other nights where we would venture around town stopping to play on swing sets, attempting to call up spirits with an Ouija board (in the chicken coop if any of you recall), or watching the end outcome of silly bets unravel at McDonald's.

What I do remember of this night is a game of hide and seek. I remember somehow climbing up onto the roof on the backside of this shelter house while the boys ventured off into the woods.

Ah, how I miss those young carefree days.

As I left the memory trail and joined back up with the kids I came across Sis laying on the side of the road. How can I reprimand her when I would have done such a thing at that age, and might even still, if the circumstances called for it.

Of course on the way out of the park we saw plenty of deer that were gracious enough to stop and pose for us.

I took a lot more pictures throughout the evening, but am choosing to hold those back as one of them just may end up being my submission for this week's photo challenge. The subject of which is Motion if any of you are interested in taking part. I know Chris would be excited to have more people participate!

For the love of good family...

2010-03-16T18:18:00.000-07:00

I was raised to not feel pity for myself. I was taught that no matter how bad your current circumstances feel there is always a way up and out of it and that way is you. Someone always has it worse than you do, so buck up and change what you can.

That's all fine and dandy. That line of thinking has gotten me through a lot in my 35 years. I've been making it on my own since I was 17 and I think I've done a fairly decent job. I have roof over my head and although it has it's issues it keeps me & the kids warm & dry. I have a job that puts food on the table and with some tight budgeting allows us a few small extras every now and then. I have a reliable vehicle, that although not new or fancy by any means, can get me from point A to point B and even tow my camper along if I so fancy.

And I have family and friends. Loving, wonderful family and friends. The kind that share the good times with you, make you laugh, and are there when you have a total breakdown and need a shoulder to ~~whine~~ cry on. I am so thankful to have them in my life.

You see, today I have had a total self-pity day.

I had had it. Had enough. Everything that I have worked so hard for all my life just seemed to be crumbling down. I reached a very scary point today where I wondered just exactly what it is I'm working towards anymore.

Yeah, sure, I have the kids to work for. They are my driving force. I work hard everyday to provide a happy childhood for them while still instilling strength & good values. That's no easy task when I'm working on less resources than my parents ever had when they were trying to do the same for me. I had all 4 grandparents growing up. My kids have one that barely sees them even though she is in the same town. I had both parents. My kids have one parent full time and one when the mood strikes. I had tons of aunts, uncles, and cousins around at every family gathering. My kids pretty much just have me. Not that I'm complaining at all. I love having an active role in their lives every single day & wouldn't give it up for the world. It's just that some days the stress of knowing every little decision I make is going to impact their development in someway is a huge load to carry. The weight of their worlds is on my shoulders.

So I've been weighing a lot of decisions lately. I've been fixing up the house & considering selling it when I get it done. I've toyed with the idea of going back to school or pursuing a more fulfilling career path. I've dated & considered relationships but have been unable to find the balance I want between what I need and what I feel my children need (and I've found I've lost the ability to flirt with what I'm not interested in!). Ex seems to be tiring of his new flame already & wants to be involved in the kids' lives again, do I again bring up how damaging his push & pull relationship is to them? I have had to make financial decisions and still try to tuck a little money away for our summer vacation to some unknown destination yet to be decided. Every decision I want to make lately seems to end up in limbo, waiting for something else to decide which path I will take.

I feel stagnent. I do not like feeling stagnent. I feel the need to always be pursuing something. To chase one of my dreams. But lately I seem to be fresh out of dreams. I feel like my whole life is out of focus right now. I have almost too many options and decisions to make.

Then today I had more stress thrown onto my plate. An incident at work today made me really start considering if almost 11 years is too long at one job. I started my job as an intern in college. I don't have any other business experience. I have stayed so long because I work for a very wonderful company and I needed the stability of my job as Ex bounced from job to job. Now I'm wondering if that was a bad decision. Have I possibly sunk myself career-wise by slipping into complacency?

So now I'm thinking I should update my resume and test the waters. Or should I? Am I going to be so lucky as to find another job with the hours, benefits, pay, and (mostly minus one) great co-workers? And what exactly are my career aspirations? To tell the truth, I've never had any real career goals. I went into accounting because it was something that I knew I was good at that would pay the bills. All I've ever really wanted to do was raise my children and be artistic in some way, whether painting or writing. And here I haven't painted in so long that I threw my greasy separated oil paints out last year, and I only dabble in random bits of prose instead of introducing all the stories that flit through my head to paper.

I'm still living part of my dream though. I'm raising my children and am so grateful that I am able to do so.I chatted with my Auntie for several hours tonight. I love that woman. Without even knowing all the frustrations that I'm feeling right now she can make me feel stronger.
So where am I going from here? I have a feeling that only the wind knows which direction it will take me. But maybe I'll start with a green drink tomorrow night and a trip up to the lake in a few weeks to clear my head. Maybe I should fill my time in between the two with activities and friends to keep myself from dwelling on these unmade decisions and risk slipping into self-pity again.

So enough self-pity for tonight. How about some pictures of the fur babies (that's what you came here for, right?)? They hardly look like the same kittens anymore.
Bellzers taking it easy

Pretty Rosalie posing

Bellzers caught in action. He seemed to think both the plant and the scratching post were equal threats that night.