Casual neglect... a perfectly good gardening skill

My favorite kind of plant: one that comes up in spring despite the lack of any care whatsoever. These are hardy little buggers called succulents. They even spread when neglected.... even better!

Fruit Photo Shoot

The fruit salad strikes again at work.... much to everyone's delight. It sat in the fridge with a little "Eat Me" sign on it and confused everyone in the office. My work here is done :-)

Were Tom and Jerry here?

No, this is not a set up, I actually found this in the parking lot of our apartment today when I pulled into my parking spot. How cliche-rific!

Boy at play

This is a very typical site at our apartment... Brian plugged into his headset playing World of Warcraft. However, I really can't blame him because usually I am posed similarly sans headgear. I unplugged mine at one point and it is way to hard to crawl behind the computer to try to plug in again. Lazy = Win. It's funny to think we've basically been playing this game for 3+ years now. I have never played any game almost every week of the year for that long. Plus, at our place playing is considered family togetherness time... not convential in any way, but oddly enough we problem solve and talk alot this way. Besides, Brian sending a rose to me in game is just about as sickeningly cute as it gets... without all the ridiculous price gouging. Yes, we are weird, but I think most of you have figured that out by now...

The three hour scrapbook page

Why do these always take so damn long? It's bizarre, I get started ok. I find papers that match, start putting things together and the second I do anything permanent.... whoops! I have a nasty habit of getting ink on things which I definately did not intend to get ink on. So then I have to figure out how to cover it up without making it look like I am covering it up. It has to look like I put something there with purpose not randomly to fix a screwup. So, one page of my Puerto Rico trip scrapbook is done now, 8 million more to go. I don't even want to think about how long it's going to take me. Oh, and figure out where I messed up if you dare :-D

Flowers of spring: day 3

This is another flower find near work. We were all wondering what it was and mom says it's a magnolia tree. I didn't think they came in tree form, just shrub. The petals on the flowers on this tree were already falling off so it looks like it is a very early bloomer or extremely delicate and the wind got to it. I wonder what the people think when they see me shoving my face into all these plants to get close-ups. They probably think I'm nutz.

Flowers of spring: day 2

Tulips are another flower that really remind me of spring. It's too bad they go so fast because they are one of my favorites. I found this one near the sign for the office park where my office is.

Flowers of spring: day 1

This is the first of a few pictures of all the spring flowers I have been seeing while gallavanting around. I think this one is a cherry blossom, which reminds me of college. Wheaton had tons of these trees around campus and in the spring they all smalled so nice. They are just one of those first spring blooms that really convince me that the cold weather is finally behind us.

Nature's fluff

I've been looking all over the place for these cattails and I finally found one to take a picture of! Huzzah for me.

Escher strikes IRL

So apparently M. C. Escheralso did work for Audubon. Mom and I visited a refuge she and I used to go to with my friends when I was little since we were both off for Patriots day. Mom and three of my friends from elementary school used to come here dragging as much as humanly possible with us. We walked all along the board walk, now somewhat less stable then I remembered, and ceremoniously handed mom things to carry until we were running free and she had to babysit an armful of toys. Needless to say, going back to Stony Brook was a really nice trip, rickety oardwalk aside. I think we might try to go to some more wildlife refuges this summer so we can do some more photography.

More classic NE

I just love these old fences you can see all over New England. They may not be as classic as I think they are but I think this one is called a farm rail fence. I found this out no thanks to Brian, who when I asked what kind of fence this was, he said "wooden?" Men....

Music on a lazy day

I was home by my lonesome today doing housework and laundry... once I got bored doing that I decided I should pick up Mom's old guitar and start playing again. I love that guitar... it has definately been well loved over the years and has quite a few bumps and scratches on it, but it still sounds good. One time I was playing with another friend who had just bought a new guitar and the difference in tone between the two instruments was incredible. His was bright and had a hint of a metallic twang, whereas mine was more mellow and had a more lived-in rich tone. It was really neat to hear the differences. I guess I had never thought there would so much difference in the type of music played on each. While mom's old guitar is now mine and probably the lesser of the two in terms of quality sound... that's fine with me, I like it's history.

The warden

I was home sick today :-( While I spent most of the day wallowing in the covers asleep, I did venture outside in the late afternoon because it was so warm and beautiful. Too bad I couldn't really enjoy the day, but I did get to capture this picture of our little warden. Every time the slider is open, she's in front of it, peering out at the wilderness... I have no idea what she's looking at but it seems like she's guarding us sometimes, especially at night when I can't see anything that would attract her attention.

A little blur...

Isn't it amazing how occasionally a blurry picture

looks really cool? I can never get over this. I took this one on Tuesday when in Boston and I still can't understand why I like it so much. It's even my desktop on the home computer. I was going through looking for a picture for today and just kept on going back to this one because it fascinated me so much. Weird huh?

nerves of steel

I so don't know how people can ride bikes in cities. Three works sum up how that would go for me: I. Would. Die.

People on bikes I swear are lunatics! For example, this guy was actually crossing on front of the bus and UPS truck when they in fact had a green light... What the hell?!?!?!? I would so have gotten run over if I tried that move. I so don't get it. It's like they think, "Cars have to stop for me!" While that is technically true... people do make mistakes. I was driving out of the complex just the other day and two kids were riding bikes alongside me. One got a little too close for comfort and I slammed on the brakes for fear of hitting him and he just looked at me like, "What did you do that for?" and waved me on. Yes, your read that right, he WAVED ME ON!!!! Little twit...

a little nostalgia on the T

So, my friend Erin had a party at The Pour House today. Party is at 6pm: I get out of work at 4pm.... hmmmm. Answer... bring camera into Boston and take random pictures until party begins... excellent :-) So, this is a shot when you walk upstairs out of the Boylston stop on the green line. This is an area I know pretty well from grad school, so I thought it would be a safe place to start. I really don't go into town too much, so I thought that hanging out in a familiar area was a good idea. I guess I never really noticed just how pretty this skylight was the 400 or so times I climbed these stairs to go to class at night.... it's funny how you can be completely oblivious to beauty one moment and completely aware in another.

thanks to my husband, the cheuffer

One of the joys of not having to drive is to be able to actually look around at the scenery while in the car... perish the thought, I know. That's one of the things I rarely get to do these days. So, when Brian was driving us last I took the time to bring my camera and take a few shots of the neat clouds. If only our windshields weren't so dirty, there would probably be more, but regardless you get the point. It was a really nice day, which happily enough seem to be coming more frequently now that we are in the middle of April.

April showers...

Well, we certainly were planting enough flowers to get ready for May... today I organized a bunch of volunteers to do yard work and planting at two of our agency's houses. I must say that everyone who helped out did a great job... unfortunately I really can't put their pictures up, even though I took some really nice ones. So, this dripping gutter pipe will have to do. Not exactly much to write home about, but I did like how there was a small ripple you can see over the concrete from the water dripping.

I can has beer?

So, Saturday was fun... we went to Sunset Bar and Grille with a group of friends to celebrate the March and April birthdays of the group. And, drum roll please...... I actually got a beer! Don't get too excited... I only drank half of it, but it was an attempt. It was on tap so it was warm, so I think that's why I could only drink half, but hey, I gave it a shot. I got Sam Summer Ale, which to me was reasonably good and was quite light. Basically it was the least beer-tasting thing I could possibly order... we also got some rockin' nachos with pulled pork... drool... so very good. Overall, a good night, though a bit noisy and crowded.

Flower Power

I just love pansies... so much so, that I might actually think about starting my garden up for the year soon.... nah, too lazy! Well, at least until I can crawl around on the ground and not freeze. Well, here's to many flowers in our side garden to come!

Fleshsmithing at the Meat Forge

It is official: Brian has broken out the grill for the season! I went to the store today and bought a steak in the hopes I could convince him to grill.... hehe, I so won :-) I also figured that it was in the 70's today so he wouldn't be grilling in the cold... so needless to say the steak was soooooo gooood... drool... My man can certainly grill with the best of them.

Do as I say, not as I do...

For all you photographers out there, please don't be me and do this to take pictures.... especially on a busy state road. Just trust me that it's a bad idea. Mom and I decided to check out some heron she sees on her way home almost every day so there were two of us parked precariously on the side of the road wielding our cameras as traffic roared by. Maybe I should invest in some caution tape of a police escort when I want to get pictures in not to accesible areas... hmm, that'sa thought. Oddly enough, after dealing with the traffic to get to the view the heron, this is the best picture I took. Figures....

Frankenstein's garden....

It's alive!!!! Well, kinda anyway. I noticed some shoots finally coming up in the garden I had almost forgot existed by the side of our apartment. It looks like the two roses survived, which is a happy notion. I think the lillies are coming up a little as well, so there is proof that the air is getting warmer.

How to entertain yourself when you are the only one in the office after hours

I have to keep form being bored somehow :-)

I was working late listening to my iPod and decided this would be a cute picture to take since I probably was not going to get to take anything today during daylight hours given how late it was. Yes, the frogs even follow me to work. It's sad I know... (there are actually 3 more of them in my cubicle)

Too cute!!!!

Ok, I think this is a conspiracy.... cute baby picture number two in less than a week.... hmmm... NO FAIR!!!

This is Sebastian, our friends' Terry and Erik's son who is less than a month old right now. We ended up going to visit them today so we could drop off the shower gift I got for Terry but never gave to her since I was sick the day of the shower. So, becuase I didn't get to go to that, we got a nice 2 hour visit with the three of them. Ok, so who's going to up the ante? Huh? Who's next!?!?!? I'm waiting.....

Happy Birthday Bob!

Our friend Amy actually made this cake! How cool is that? It has fondant on it and everything... that's the stuff that professional cake makers use to give a wedding cake a smooth finish. I think I spent around 5 minutes just taking pictures of the cake because it was so damn neat. Then of course... we had to decapitate the cake to eat it's brains... mmmm.... BRAINS.......!!! As you can probably already tell, Bob kinda like the cake a bit too. Well, happy getting older day Bob and great job Amy!

El Convento

While it's overexposed, I think this picture I took when at the wedding at El Convento is great. You can really see how tall the courtyard is and all the greenry they had in there. I so wish we could have stayed here... it would have been amazing, but it wasn't quite in our budget... shall we say. I have had a think for Spanish architecture since I went to Spain in 10th grade and yes, I was very fortunate to travel a lot when I was in high school. I saw much of Europe and went to Florida, NYC, and DC with school as well. My parents as well as Grandmother always we so good about letting me go on these trips. My parents even allowed me to paint some of the interior of the house one year to help "pay" for my trip. I personally think they got ripped off (and they agree) since my painting skills were not exactly top notch at age 16...

Here's.... Molly!

Does anyone else think she looks a little like Jack Nicholson in The Shining in this picture?

Brian and I were watching TV and happened to look over to her sitting like this. We were needless to saya little creeped out.

Friendliest cat ever!

We saw this cute kitty when we were walking back to El Morro the day we were in Old San Juan. He just kept on posing for me, so I obliged by snapping a few shots of him. Apparently there are supposed to be quite a few stray cats around certain area of Old San Juan. From what I have read they are fed every day and in general are very well cared for unlike the poor strays in the continental US.

Ok, apparently my friends have the cutest babies ever....

Ok, so I definately did not take this picture because this cutie lives in North Carolina, but I HAD to share it because my Friend Shasta's daughter is just so precious. I hope I can see her sometime soon, but I have a feeling she's going to be at least 1 before I manage to see her in person. As long as I get my picture fix I guess it's ok :-) Seeing such a cute picture pop up on my screen at work even made me squee... much to the apparent surprise of my coworkers.