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I love hotels with free WiFi…too bad this one isn’t one of them! Good thing I have my iPhone.
Strangest turn of events…my roomate, who was supposed to be in charge had to go back to Memphis for a funeral. She’ll be returning, but I’ve been totally on my own since I don’t know a soul from the group. I got into San Diego at 12:30 and managed to figure out which shuttle to take to the hotel. The line to check in was an acre long, so I stuck to my plan to check my bags and get to the Zoo while I had a chance.
That place is insane. I will share pictures as soon as I return, though I might have a little trouble whittling them down from 457. I’d love to be able to do it now, but aside from the Internet connection issue, I usually resize the images in Photoshop first to save upload space which I cannot do on the laptop.
I have a morning full of meetings today, but this afternoon I will take a trolley tour of the city that highlights historical locations throughout the city like Balboa Park (the Zoo is there as well as multiple museums), Coronado Beach, Gaslamp Quarter, Little Italy & Seaport Village among others.
I may have to work 12 and 13 hour days the rest of the trip, but already, it’s been worth it. Can’t wait to show you what I’ve seen!
Thank goodness I had the forsight to bring my cable for importing photos from my camera!
As I mentioned in a Shoot. Post. Repeat Daily, blog entry, Lucas is a fan of The Exterminators and we recenty met them while in Louisiana visiting Granna and Grandpa (my parents). Lucas got a really cool medallion at the flea market and wowed me with his coolness when selecting the ying-yang symbol as his second bottlecap. It’s so cool watching them grow up into their own little people. Of course we stalked their building on the way back to my parent’s house and snapped a quick photo. That log cabin protected by gargoyles belongs to the Vex Con guys. My newly turned professionally employed brother was there for the weekend too and we had ourselves a pretty good time. Mom and Dad’s backyard was in full bloom and awaiting its photoshoot, of course. It’s nice to just throw everything into the car and bust out of town sometimes.
more about “Are you Ready for the Country?“, posted with vodpod
I got to Overton Park to pick up Lucas from Art Camp a bit early and had a minute to poke around with my camera since Evan was at school. Caught this little magnolia blossom. Just love this Southern bloom.
Because of the free 3 month membership, Lucas and I were able to head out to explore our local nature center. We hadn’t gone before because he was just too young to really appreciate it. This summer, it’s a good match even though he complained a bit while walking the trails (we just need to build up his stamina). He grew a little impatient with me taking pictures, but he got over it. I didn’t get carried away with a full-on photo shoot or anything. Here are a few highlights of this little oasis in the city:
“You looking at my baby? I cut you.”
What is this deliciously morose bloom? Does this background qualify as “bokeh?”
There were indoor areas that were very educational too. In one of the buildings you can check out “Discovery boxes” of various themes. We got one about butterflies and got to look through special glasses that show you how butterfly eyes see the world (multiple pictures of everything) as well as see various stages of the metamorphosis.
I thought the two above were quite unique. I loved that while it was in the midst of the city no traffic could be heard.
I am giving up my Spring Break to attend the 6th Annual Student Television Network Convention in Orlando Florida with 15 students. I have mixed feelings about the trip. I worry that I will be totally ill-prepared for the remaining 9 weeks in the studio and that I’ll miss my husband and children terribly.
But the truth is, I’m going to be incredibly busy. Having been a chaperone when the Convention was held in LA a few years back, I know this. I also know that I will learn so much that will help my program. I will have a great time and my students will be wonderful, so I don’t know what I’m getting all bent out of shape about. A little trip here and there is good for everybody, right?
I won’t be around much in the blogosphere, if at all for the next week. I’ll be posting via my iPhone here.
Happy Spring Break! Wish me luck!
Winter is particularly difficult around our house. With two full-of-energy boys and a fenced in backyard that’s perfect for summer (full of a pool), we just find it challenging to have the outdoor time the boys crave. I’m usually pretty tired after a taxing day of work and a trip to the park feels like a chore when I also have dinner to think about. Evan is difficult to corral in the front yard and so we end up spending way too much time cooped up indoors. I am trying to work on these things for the future, by the way.
Today was, according to Lucas, “the best day of [his] life.” We had a great Southern breakfast, complete with real bacon, hash browned potatoes, toast and eggs cooked using the bacon skillet. We survive on cereal bars, frozen waffles, french toast sticks, yogurt and cold cereal during the week, so a warm, non-instant meal on Saturday morning is a treat. We then packed a picnic lunch and drove to our favorite local park (after a quick errand to Build A Bear for a birthday party gift). Parks aren’t a priority in our region, but we do have one great one that was designed and built by citizens of the community where I teach and we’ve grown to love it. It’s easily the most sophisticated around. It’s called, “The Playground of Dreams,” but we just call it “Castle Park” for short. This post is picture heavy since I’m still experimenting with that awesome flash. Here are some moments from our relatively chore-free day:
And two shots from McKenzie’s party at the inflatable party place:
With buddy, Andrew. Lucas requested I get a shot of them. In fact, I won the lottery to be the parent that went just so that I could takes pictures of him. Yes, I’ve trained him well.
Fun day! Here’s hoping it works out for us to make it to the number one zoo in America tomorrow!
I have had this on my fridge since it was in the paper months ago. Just wondering, does this strike a chord with anyone else?
I got up this morning and got my butt kicked at spin class (oh how I missed George!) and stopped by Kroger for some necessities on the way home. Well, darn it if I didn’t peek at the produce. It was gorgeous. After shopping at evil Walmart for so long, I wondered if it had always looked this good at Kroger. No matter, I decided to shop the sales there with a few extras. The overall experience shopping there, including the absence of crowds, lines and dirt inspired me to get into the kitchen. And though I might have spent a little more money (though not that much, I’m sure), I think the extra was well worth it. And that’s coming from a family that’s cutting back. I understand why food photographers make the big bucks. It’s tough. Here’s what I made today:
The Best Bean Dip Ever
I have pretty much decided that there is no greater smell on this land than cilantro. Truth be told, all I did was chop the onion and cilantro. Lucas took care of the corn, beans, diced tomatoes and lime. We could eat our weight in this. And we might.
Grandma Sue’s Vegetable Beef Soup
And, of course, a killer garden salad. I was so delighted to see that they sell spinach and mixed lettuce varieties by the pound. Win!
Enter Comfort Food 2009
By the way, I finally got around to taking care of the Christmas post. Check it out. I cheated just a bit on the post date. I won’t make it a habit. It’s been pretty busy around here. I am rested and centered for the first time in a very long time. I do hope I can maintain this delightful inner peace.
Santa treated the boys well again this year, with a little help from the grandparents and us, of course. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the days surrounding the big event.
Lucas was supposed to be a narrator, but he was so good with learning his lines, that he ended up being assigned an addition role and wound up as a wiseman again this year. Even went on stage quite reluctantly, didn’t sing with his class, but didn’t scream or cry, so we consider it a success. For a little while before he was supposed to go on stage he was a wreck, so it was a close one.
We opened gifts when Granna was in town and also on Christmas morning. The photos that follow are intertwined. The boys are wearing Thomas PJs or a blue shirt and plaid blue bottoms when it’s Christmas morning. You see that Santa brought Beauregard a giant bone which brought him days of joy (and kept him from eating the foundation of our home). The photos that follow these were taken on our trip to Grandma Sue’s or around the house before New Year’s Eve.
Living out loud, that’s how we roll! We really had a great time hanging out with one another and just being in the moment.
Send your own ElfYourself eCards
Evan became even more smitten with my Dad over the 4th of July weekend. I’ll put up details of our trip later, but I really wanted to post this video I got with my little Sony Cyber-shot of the two of them playing. They are playing with pop-its or snapdragons, as some people call them. They’re just those little things that sorta pop or snap when you toss them to the ground. This went on for at least half an hour. I have never seen him having such a good time before; it was a hoot!
