saturday snapshots

Don't you just LOVE light?

saturday snapshots

Who can help but love seeing little girls dance?

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Go ahead, howl.

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This is a happy cow--and she doesn't live in California (she lives in WY!).

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This is on the Chief Joseph Highway in WY, outside of Cody. It's one of the most beautiful roads I've ever been on. Well, the view is beautiful, the road is fairly standard issue :P .

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Kiana, my sister's dog, relaxing in our yard.

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Early lilac buds and the Colorado sky...

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Hummingbirds at Bear Trap Ranch. Taken in August.

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Grapes on a vine--in Colorado! Taken at the Happy Apple Farm in August.

I know, it's been a while...forgive me :)

what friends are for...

"a friend will help you move, a good friend will help you move a body"Dara is a good friend, one of the best, in fact. Not that we've had reason to move bodies as of late. But recently, Dara invited me to play a game with her on facebook. Mob Wars. It's a fun little game where you can do "jobs" like robbing banks, smuggling drugs, you know, gansta stuff. And you can buy up real estate. And you can attack other mobsters.

Now, Dara has been playing this game for about a year, and some of that time she was in Ghana and unable to play often. So she amassed a lot of money. I, on the other hand, moved up quickly and did not really know I needed to take it easy until it was too late.

And so, I had little resources and little funds, and then, some stupid player started attacking me. A lot. I wanted to put him on the hitlist, but I couldn't afford it. But Dara is in my mob, and I figured, that's what a mob is for, right? To help each other out when you need it.

So now, Dara and I have a little agreement. If someone bothers me, I send her the name, and she puts them on the hitlist (which means some player will "kill" you). I think we may be the only mobsters in the game who have figured out this sweet deal, because it often takes the attacker/dead player a little while to put two and two together.

I love that I have a friend who is willing to put out hits just for little ol' me!

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Swimming bear, who doesn't love that?

Zooing...

I went with Shelly and the kids to the zoo. They have some friends visiting from Nepal, and we took their 6 year old with us. He had a blast.

Here's Caleb, Kayla and Will looking for the tiger.
This little guy got a hold of a raspberry, and then he sat very still for photos. Notice the pink lips!

It was drama day at the zoo--such a poser!

We had a blast, the weather was perfect, and Caleb has some fun memories to take home with him!

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Don't I look ready to audition for the next sci-fi thriller? Those are tensive rods, and they worked really well! You can sorta see Pebbles (the gal who rolled all those) in the reflection, she took the picture.

gumption...

I keep forgetting to post this--yay for remembering! Many of you know Vicky, my older sister. Vicky is mentally disabled, but that has never stopped her lovely personality from shinning through!

A week or so ago, as I was told, my sister's host mother was giving their dog a bath. Vicky walked past the bathroom and saw the dog in the tub. So she went to her room, pulled her cat, Corey, out from the cat bed, and proceeded to carry her to the bathroom. Before Linda could say anything, Vicky plopped Corey into the tub. The cat let her wash and rinse.

Apparently, Corey always wanted a bath, and Vicky was the only one who knew!

satruday snapshot: sitting pretty

She was playing dress-up, her makeup was a bit wonky, but she looked so cute. I didn't pose her, this was how she sat down--I think Scott and Shelly might have to lock her up before she's 10 at this rate!

saturday snapshot...a day late...

If only I had the money, I'd buy him and give him to my dad. He likes such critters. This was taken in Franktown, on the way to Parker.

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I made this little treat for myself the other night: peppermint hot chocolate, mini marshmallows, and dark chocolate syrup. It was wonderful!

penny saved, penny lost

I went to Walmart to grocery shop tonight. The fridge was a bit bare, and I got paid, so I was ready. So I go there, filled up my cart, found some good deals, and got in line. As usual, there were no short lines (which I find odd for almost nine at night, but hey). So I end up behind the crazy deal lady. She had EVERY advertisement from every grocery store in town, and I think she might have bought everything that was on sale SOMEPLACE ELSE! And apparently Walmart will honor other sales prices.

So I ended up waiting for over 20 minutes as the already slow and unmotivated cashier had to override price after endless price.

If they were getting rated on the things MY store is rated on, Walmart would be getting F's in all areas--and the customer, too.

Grr!

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The lilac bushes are starting to blossom, but some of last year's leaves haven't given up their hold yet. (Sorry for the late post, I was called into work a bit early today.)

saturday snapshot double take

Will is a little old man, stuck in an eight-year-old's body.

And Kayla made a very important decision last night--welcome to the Kingdom baby!

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I love this snow shovel. I can shovel all day and not hurt my back. Plus, it makes me seem way stronger than I am--I can fling snow halfway across the yard!

snow, colorado style...

So last week we were told a huge snow storm was on the way. Historically, forecasters are wrong every time about big storms, but, as dutiful citizens, we all prepared and left work early, etc. And it did now. About three inches in most places. Yeah, major storm. I will grant that the wind did produce near blizzard white out. And all the non-natives made the roads into parking lots, but that happens all the time.

I was house-sitting, and I did have to shovel out of the driveway (stupid incline). And since I was gone, and Nathan was gone, our driveway was empty for the storm. This is a bad thing. Some weird quirk of nature dictates that our driveway is the perfect spot for snow drifts. So despite the fact the rest of the year was BARE, we had two feet of snow across the top of the driveway.

Here's the view looking down the driveway:
Here's a cut section of where I started:

Where did all the snow go?

Here:

And here!

I've decided that Nathan gets the next "blizzard". I've had enough snow shoveling for the season!

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Sorry for the lack of posts this week--it's been crazy. Here's a fun piece of artwork in a park up in Parker :P .

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This was me messing with perspective. This rock is about knee high :)

hedges, chickens, and plan B...

I tend to hedge my bets. I try not to put all my eggs in one basket. Bank the fire, backup my files, have a plan B, it's just how I do things.

And I have a feeling that this tendency of mine is exactly what God is chipping away at these days.

And do you know how frightening it is to not have a backup plan? How it feels to put those fragile little eggs in one basket, one that looks like it's sitting in the middle of the freeway?

It's like mailing off your only copy of a manuscript. It's just not something you would do if you were smart.

But God doesn't always ask us to be smart. In fact, He tells us not to lean on our own understanding.

I'm trying...

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Kayla never misses a chace to smile for the camera. Not so sure what Scott was doing.

rant...

So I got to Panera this evening, all ready to settle in for a comfortable evening. And they got Mt. Dew back in, so that was a good sign.

I got out the laptop and booted it up. Got my cup of Mt. Dew. Logged into the internet and WHAP, facebook has a new look--and it's ugly. Not only that, but they took anything I liked about the home page (the easy links to applications, poke notifications, the clean look) away. Then they replaced all the good stuff with crap--list on the left-hand side that do nothing (are are therefore useless, not to mention they clutter the page). They have a "highlights" section that is other stories from my friends (which I like), but there are ads mixed in, I can't tell it if I care about that story or not (as I could when it was in the feed), and it takes up an amazing amount of room--which bumps things I DO care about far down the page. The links to are just gone--replaced by those useless buttons on the left that don't actually TAKE you to the application.

Yes, I'm ranting. I need to get it out of my system. I'm once again confounded that a service took something that was working fine, looked great and served the purpose that I wanted (hence why I signed up), and they destroyed it. I don't understand why they do this. It makes no sense to me. None at all.

And now, the way I've been keeping in touch with old friends is a mess--and that makes me want to throw something.

(I did, by they way, provide facebook with feedback--all nice and put in a constructive way, etc. But I highly doubt they will do anything about it, hence why I have to rant here, where at least someone might listen and pat me on the head :) ).

bargains...

I love it. I stopped by the mall yesterday and thought to check if my favorite store (CJ Banks) had any jeans on sale. They did. So I found a pair for $20. Not the best sale, but when I got to the register, the sales clerk told me they were part of the 25% sale, on TOP of the sale price, so they came out to about $15!

I love it when they are wide at the bottom, and you can barely see my toes.

Then I drove up to Parker and stopped at Walmart to grab a few things. They had some awesome clearance items, including a pair of athletic pants for $3, and a pretty pink shirt for $3. Here's the detail on the shirt. Yes, I'm wearing it today!

In the men's section, I found two awesome tee shirts for $5 each.

Those two just seemed to fit me!

And that's my clothes shopping for the next few months unless a new job (with a new paycheck) comes my way. Yay for bargains!

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My friend, Dianna, took a picture last year at Red Robin. They have cool lights there. Check out her blog (link on the side--A Mamma's Journal) to see her shot, mine is sorta the flip of it.

the effects of fire...

We had a wildfire south of Colorado Springs yesterday. It put smoke in the air--and smoke makes for interesting skies. Here are a few shots I got:

This one was on the way home around noon. This is looking south on Academy Blvd.

This was taken around five in the evening, up on Hwy. 83. That bright spot above the peak was smoke created, and it had a lovely red side. The sun in a bit to the north (right, behind the street sign). It was strange to see two bright spots in the sky.

Here's a shot that got a little bit of the red color.

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This is taken just out my front door. It was such a beautiful day, and we get the most amazing light in the afternoons...

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Kids are cute. I think God makes them that way so we allow them to live long enough to become adults. These two were having a blast playing at Panera. The fireplace is a huge draw to the little ones.

can I charge that?

I like to pay my bills online. I can do it at the last minute, I don't have to find a stamp, and it's easy. Well, it used to be.

Since I only log in about once a month, I often forget my username. It used to be that you could have them email it to you. Now, every time I forget my username, I have to re-set up the account with a NEW username. I think I've gone through about five names (because, of course, you can't use one you've already used). And every time I have to come up with a new one, it's even more random, and I'm even less likely going to remember.

And then, there is the password ordeal. In order to protect my account, the ever-wise people have made passwords require things. You can't use a word found in the dictionary, you have to use numbers, but not numbers that might make sense, you can't use anything that might mean something to you, it has to have at least six digits/characters. The problem with all these things is that I can't remember these stupid passwords FOR THE LIFE OF ME. I hate it. And so, if by chance I DO remember my username for more than one month, there is no chance in h_ _ _ that I will remember the password.

It's stupid, really. But because of all the rules and safety features, I have to write my info down. So any person who had a clue could find my clues and log into my account. Where as, if I could use the name and password I want, I'd have no problem, and no one would ever be able guess it.

I'd like the charge the card company for all the time in my life they have wasted. Think it will fly?

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I love this one. I took it at night, outside the hospital. With the lights and the wind, it created an interesting effect.

horsing around...

My friend Holly submited a photo to a blog contest--and she's in the final 20. I love the picture and think it should win. Go vote for her here. Her picture is #5!

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This was an almost for my project365--but I had to go with another choice--I don't remember why. Oh yeah, I already had a picture of this orange tree. But the light was so amazing at this point, I had to snap it!

one more...

Because I didn't get a good shot of the front yesterday :)

saturday super snapshot...

Holly (who has an awesome blog) makes amazing cakes. And I've been watching a bit of Ace of Cakes on the Food Network. I'm a creative person (note, I did not say artistic, I will not claim that). And I hate spending so much money on fancy cakes from Walmart (or wherever) that just aren't that cool, even if they have nice looking frosting. So, for Will and Kayla's join party, I agreed to make a cake.

First off, let's just say that the directions for the marshmallow fondant were a bit misleading. Second, sticky doesn't even begin to cover what that mixture was.

But I have a cake. A castle cake. It's cool. Don't even try to knock it, because I will send the flying monkeys to mock you until you repent :P .

the truth comes out...

I think that about sums up the world...

Parental Nerves...

I've been writing for a long time. But it's been a long while since I've submitted my work to publishers (with the exception of my haiku poems, written in college, and published last year in an e-journal). But this week, I sent out work.

It's like sending your first-born off to boarding school--it kills you to wave goodbye, let them get on that bus, and wait for school to get out.

I sent three poems to Poetry magazine, and a short-story to Glimmer Train.

And now, I'm sitting on pins and needles, waiting to hear back (which, with luck, will happen in 3-4 months).

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These are my writing supplies for 2009. A 2009 Writer's Market, a cool Post-It highlighter/pen/sticky note, awesomeful markers, and inside that purple thing I have manilia folders that hold my writing!