Black and White

I've always loved black and white photography.  Ansel Adams was an early favorite; but then what's not to love about his beautiful photographs.  So recently I've done some experimenting with converting some of my photos to black and white.  Ah the joy of digital photography that you don't have to shoot with different film!  And to think there was a time I thought I'd never go to digital . . . silly girl!

One of my favorite websites is The Pioneer Woman.  I check out her photography section almost daily.  But she also has great sections on food, confessions and a fun new section on entertainment.  In her photography section, she regularly puts out a photo assignment to her readers.  It's worth checking out because there are some amazing photographers out there.  Here is the link:  http://thepioneerwoman.com/photography/  .

This past weeks assignment was black and white photography.  I was thrilled today when I checked out her site and saw one of my photographs posted!!  Blatant plug here:  Check out the Group 4 photos!

xoxo

The Scenic Route

Sometimes it pays to take the scenic route.  We've had some beautiful weather in Western PA this summer and this weekend I took advantage of it and took the scenic route home.  This really is pretty country and you forget sometimes about taking the time to enjoy the simple things.  I know, sounds so trite, but it's oh so true.  Here are some photos from my short adventure into the countryside.

The advantages to driving a convertible; pull over, point camera at sky, push the button.

There are some great farms in this country, loved this white barn!

Corn and wheat.

I love seeing these round bales of hay.

A friendly neighbor (took this one for you mom!).

This beautiful old oak . . . I'll need to find it again in the winter!

And closer to home, this beautiful sunflower.  I drive past these every day and will have more on them in a later post.

I hope you take the time to take the scenic route occasionally and are enjoying your summer!

xoxo

Friday Giggles

Happy Friday Everyone!  Here are a couple of giggles to get you ready for the weekend!

Missing turtle:

Darwin Award candidate:

xoxo

Peaches

Mmm peaches!  Peaches are one of the things I love about summer.  Next to my obsession with pears, I'd have to say that peaches come in a strong second.  While for me pears are more about the shape, peaches are about the smell, the feel, the color and the taste.  I can't pick one up and smell it without thinking of my mom's peach pie in the summer.  Now my mom's pies are the best on the planet, seriously the woman could win awards; her peach pie is close to the top of my favorites list!  Some day I'm going to convince her to let me do that book of pies!

I recently saw a photograph in a cooking magazine of a tart made with apples and I thought it would be great with peaches.  I wanted something simple and quick.  I absolutely love the process and the feel of removing skins from peaches!  There is something about the color and the slippery feel combined with the smell.  I had a girlfriend ask me to show her once after trying to describe the process.  Unfortunately, it was too early in the season and the peaches were hard and the entire experience was not exactly what I wanted to show her.  However we did end up with some naked peaches that I adored . . . I'm betting she still thinks I'm slightly deranged!

There is just something about the beautiful color of a naked peach.

Anyway, this tart is so easy.  Puff pastry thawed and edges folded, peaches tossed with sugar and cinnamon, arrange on puff pastry and bake until the pastry is done.  That's it folks.  It looks beautiful and it tastes like summer. 

Next time company comes over, they will probably be eating a peach tart.  Enjoy!

xoxo



Meet My New Fuzzy Friend

Hello out there!  I certainly have been neglecting my blog of late.  June was a busy month.  I wish I could say it was a productive month, but no such luck.  Fortunately summer finally arrived and the monsoons of spring have stopped . . . of course now we want rain! 

For July 4th I missed my annual trip home to see the fireworks on the lake.  Instead, I headed up north to spend some quality time (i.e. laugh, eat and drink too much!) in Toronto with a very dear friend and her sweetie of a husband.  They have recently had an addition to the family, the handsome and very frisky Budvar, Bud for short.

Bud loves to give kisses but he is such a tease.  The kisses are just a warm-up to the inevitable attack the feet or hands game.  He's still a juvenile and we all know how those young boys can be!

He also loved to get on the back of the chair and arrange my hair for me.  If I moved during his arranging of my hair, both of the front paws were quickly placed on either side of my head, claws extended . . . you better believe I sat still!  Hmmm, kind of reminded me of mom thumping me on the head with the comb for not sitting still when she was arranging my hair.  We quickly became friends and Bud was ever the gracious host by greeting me each morning and sharing his favorite chair with me!

So now, along with visiting my wonderful friends, I have a new one to go see.  Hope everyone out there is enjoying their summer!

xoxo

Happy Birthday Todd!!

Just wanted to take a quick moment to wish my big brother a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!  I won't mention his age, will just say he'll always be older than me!  :)  I've spent my entire life looking up to him . . . ok I don't mean that literally, although that is also the case.  I mean that I admire and respect the guy.  He's a great husband, father, provider and friend.  I've always known that he had my back . . . we lived by the code "I won't tell on you, if you don't tell on me!"  So here's to you big brother.  In honor of your birthday I won't tell mom about the time you . . . oh that's right, we're still not telling that!!

xoxo

The Vacation Glow

Wow I can hardly believe that I've been back from vacation for over two weeks.  All that anticipation, then all the fun, then the post vacation glow.  I've been trying desperately to hold onto that vacation glow, but it's starting to fade.  So in an effort to recapture a little bit of that, here's what we did. 

The week was sunny, these photos just happen to be from the last day when the clouds rolled in.  No matter, it was still great.

We woke up every morning to look out at this.  Rough I know, but we suffered through!

Then we'd head off to do some of this.  This is my view most of the day . . . following the men!!

Then we'd head home to do some of this.  Yummy cucumber drink that my niece Mackenzie introduced to the group!  Hmm does that make me old when my niece is introducing the new drinks.  Suggestion for next year, everyone comes with a new drink recipe and we'll try them all!

Then we'd sit on the porch and watch nature.  The big bird was not intimidated one little bit!

Or just watch the cloud formations.

Another successful vacation at the beach!!  Hope everyone had a much fun as I did.

xoxo

Texting

Yesterday I found this fun website called http://www.whenparentstext.com/. Neither of my parents text. My father could, but he never hears his phone so you’d be forever waiting for a reply. My mom is, shall we say, technically challenged. The woman is an amazing artist, cook, seamstress and one of the most talented people I know. She could create a Halloween costume out of a tissue and a piece of chewing gum, but don’t get her near electronics!

This website is what I’d imagine if my parents texted. Here’s one of my favorite excerpts:

     • DAD: What are you doing?

     • ME: I’m at Grandma’s house. What do you need?

     • DAD: I want cookies. Chocolate chip. Get them for me. I will pay.

     • ME: Ask mom.

     • DAD: I did. She won’t. Says no. Get cookies please.

     • ME: I will on my way home.

     • (10 minutes later) 

     • DAD: Nevermind. Mom found texts. NO COOKIES! ABORT MISSION!

I giggle every time I read that . . . my dad’s a cookie monster!

xoxo

TGIF

It's an absolutely beautiful Spring day here in 'The Burg'.   Looking forward to Le Husband's return tomorrow morning.  It's been way too long since I've seen that handsom face.

Here are a couple recent photo's of the brat cats.

The little one, Miss Keely.  Don't think she's going to get much bigger since she's now a year and a half.

Clancy recently discovered Miss Keely's favorite nap location and promptly decided it was for him.  This photo shows Miss Keely trying to change his mind by preparing to nap on his head!

This is the Queen B, Tarquin.  This photo was taken last weekend.  She was very busy watching The Masters, seriously she was very engrossed . . . I think she had some money riding on it!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

xoxo

Happy Anniversary!

Happy 55th Anniversary to my parents!  In this day and age that is quite an accomplishment.  My dad is fond of telling everyone "I've been married all my life"!  My mom just smiles tolerantly at these types of comments, but I suspect she is very proud of this accomplishment. 

I remember once that a young engaged couple came to the house to talk to my parents about marriage.  I think their minister had directed them to choose a married couple to talk to and they chose my parents.  As a teenager I was quite impress (or should I say astounded) that they would choose my parents.  However, I remember sitting quietly listening to the two of them answer questions about what married life meant to them on a very practical level.  The one important lesson I came away with was a simple yet profound statement, "marriage is work".  They both expressed their opinion that if you wanted your marriage to be successful and lasting, you had to work at it.  They freely admitted that there were difficult times and that they worked on getting through those together.  At the time that surprised the young romantic in me, but I was also felt very comforted by their obvious love and commitment to each other.
 
What they said soaked in!  During the difficult times in my own marriage, and yes I think all marriages have them, I have remembered those words and their committment.  I'm proud of the example they presented and more so the important lesson they taught me!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad.  I love you both!

xoxo

The Pioneer Woman

Hello everyone! Happy Hump Day! Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying Spring! I’m sure we will very soon . . . if we ever stop getting snow flurries!

Probably two of my most favorite pastimes are baking and photography. I haven’t done much baking lately because I’m trying to stick to that resolution about losing weight. Unfortunately I like my own baking too much, so I’m trying not to have it in the house. But I think I’m about to breakdown and have a full on bake-a-thon . . . damn the consequences! Since I also have a serious recipe clipping addiction (thanks mom!) I’ve been saving up some good ones. Maybe if I do it all at once, I’ll get it out of my system for a while . . . either that or gain 5 lbs!

As a related comment, you might want to check out one of my favorite websites http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/. This website combines cooking and photography and a few other assorted fun things. I spend more time on the photography side, but her cooking is great as well. She also links to lots of other fun sites. When I’m on her site I want to be the pioneer woman!

xoxo

You call this Spring!

70 Degrees and sunny at lunch time today; wonderful!  Snow tomorrow morning . . . what?!!  Maybe it's just me, but this Spring is the weirdest.  The weather continues to make big temperature changes, we've had it all, warm and sunny, tornado, hail, snow and various combinations of all of these within a 24 hour time frame. 

Dear Weatherman, I'd really like to break out my golf clubs so if you could please get your act together, I'd really appreciate it!

Hello Beautiful!

Hello Beautiful! That’s right, I’m talking to you! Yes indeedy do, you are beautiful. I’m sure you, like me, have those days where you wake up in the morning and stumble your way to the bathroom trying not to trip over the cat, take one look in the mirror and think “yuk!” Being of the female persuasion, I think we are inundated with images every day about what we are all supposed to look like. I’m here to let you in on a little secret; super models are genetic freaks . . . my profound apologies to all the super models reading this blog! But seriously, take a look around you; there are a lot more people who look like you than look like them.

I have friends and relatives who are stunningly beautiful, but would never think that about themselves. Even on good days, we might think “I don’t look too bad today, but lord look that this awful [insert pet peeve body part here]”. So maybe we could all use a dose of some positive reinforcement. I recently found this website www.operationbeautiful.com. Check it out and see what you think. I really like the simple message and mission statement.

Guys, not to leave you out because I’m sure you too have your insecurities, but I could not find a www.operationhandsom.com. Hmmm, maybe someone should start one for all you guys out there. But something tells me it would have to have a catchier title and I bet the photos would be waaayyyy different!

xoxo

Monday

It’s Monday and it’s back to the dreaded salt mines! For some bazaar reason I have the Bangle’s Manic Monday running through my head this morning. I apologize if just mentioning it puts it into your head . . . welcome to the party that is my brain!

Truthfully I wish it were still the weekend. I spent mine with some wonderful ladies. We spent it shopping and watching March Madness. We went to one of our favorite breakfast spots and I pigged out; ham and eggs, lyonnaised potatoes (the world’s best!) and even pancakes. Of course I will probably pay for that on the scale, but it was soooooo worth it!! Then the shopping excursion let me check out a cute boutique that I drive past all the time and never manage to stop. We all walked out with packages, so fun!

Now here it is Monday already. Back to a piece of fruit and oatmeal for breakfast and Zumba class tonight to hopefully work off the pancakes. Happy Monday everyone!

xoxo

Staying on Track

First, let me say an advance Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all you Irishmen out there! One of the good things about celebrating that holiday is that there will be plenty of green food to help me maintain my ongoing resolution to lose weight . . . and eat something green every day. Green beer counts as eating something green, right?!

On a more serious note; as anyone out there who has ever fought the weight loss battle knows, staying on track can be a difficult thing. There are so many things out there that can throw you off track. No matter how focused you think you are. Now I’m a firm believer that that you can’t call it a diet, you have to call it a change in lifestyle. I know, sounds totally hokey, but it’s all about the mindset. I’m an equally believer in enjoying the pleasures that life has to offer. If you go visit your mom and she makes your favorite meal, you should appreciate and enjoy it. If you’re on vacation and you go to that special restaurant that you’ve been dying to try, you had better not order just a salad with the dressing on the side while drooling over what everyone else is eating. Life is meant to be lived and enjoyed and I plan on continuing to do just that. OK don’t worry, I’m stepping down from my soapbox now.

When life takes me off track from this oh-so-fun weight loss journey, I am so lucky to have some great girlfriends that help me get right back on track. I have a local girlfriend who is a wonderful cook and manages to end up feeding me on a regular basis. Ever since I started this weight loss, she is constantly adapting recipes to make them healthier for me. I was recently talking to her about my craving for pasta and the next thing I knew, she took the time to make me gnocchi made out of cauliflower. That’s right folks, I said cauliflower. Let me tell you it was amazing; all the comfort of pasta in this great mushroom wine sauce. That’s a true friend!! Then there is my long distance girlfriend, who emails me encouragement every day. Recently while doing all the right things with food and exercise, I waged a small battle with my scale which refused to show any weight loss. She was promptly online doing research and making suggestions to help get over this hump. She never criticizes me or gives me negative feedback when I’ve had a bad week. She just encourages me and tells me next week will be better. I don’t know how I would do it without the support of wonderful girlfriends like these to help me stay on track or get back on track every day. Thanks so much ladies!!

xoxo

Desperate Housecats

While doing some shopping this past weekend, I saw these two carved words sitting side by side on a clearance shelf and immediately began to laugh. Of course, this solicited some strange looks from my fellow shoppers in close proximity, but I just couldn’t help myself. Seriously, desperate housecats?!! My first thought was “I wonder if they live on Wiskeria Lane?”! My second thought was that I didn’t think I knew any desperate housecats.

I come from a family that has had or has a large collection of spoiled rotten housecats. They live in the lap of luxury with no demands other than tolerating some of the strange habits of the humans they live with! I don’t think any of them consider themselves desperate, with the possible exception of the drama queen Tarquin who resides in my house. Her desperation would stem from not being fed the instant a hunger pang hits!

But back to those two words, Desperate Housecats; don’t they just sound like a great title for a book? Maybe a tell-all about some famous person told from the perspective of their purebred Persians. How about a mystery that is solved by the lead detective’s scruffy old tom cat with the half chewed left ear? A cookbook with the latest recipes for cat treats. Maybe the title of my memoirs! Gets you thinking, doesn’t it?

xoxo

Retirement

Ahh what a wonderful word; retirement! Today at the quarry, we had a small retirement party for one of my coworkers. This person looked soooo disgustingly relaxed, smiling and laughing. However I must say that they’ve looked pretty darn relaxed since this was announced three months ago! Do I sound jealous; you bet I am!! So it got me daydreaming about retiring and just how wonderful it will be to sleep in everyday and do whatever I want whenever I want! Sounds great doesn’t it? If I wanted to go away for a vacation, I could at the drop of a hat. If I want to go skiing, I could go in the middle of the week and not worry about lift lines. I could go to the grocery store or the bank or shopping right in the middle of the day. When Le Husband wants to golf, off we’ll go!! I picture myself sitting by a fire reading a good book . . .or better yet, sitting on a beach reading a good book!

Now I know people in my life who have truly embraced the retirement lifestyle. I also know people who have dreaded it or who have had it thrust upon them; you know who you are :). Slowly reality seeps back into my head. There’s the reality that I don’t sleep in now, even when I can. I’ll still have to do laundry, clean house, empty the dishwasher, pay bills . . . you get the picture.

Well enough of that reality crap! Here’s to hoping that someday when I’m retired I truly embrace the experience. That picking up the dry cleaning won’t seem like a chore, but rather an opportunity to get out and enjoy the day simply because “I’m retired!”.  Now before the whistle blows and I punch out for the day, I’m going to take a few minutes to go back to daydreaming about reading that good book while sitting on the beach!!

To all you working stiffs out there . . . TGIF!!

xoxo

To Le Husband

Happy Valentine’s Day to the love of my life; the smart, funny, handsome man I married. To the man who makes me laugh; who’s wonderful and sometimes bizarre sense of humor I get and who gets mine. I love it when you laugh so hard you cry and I can’t help but laugh along with you . . . even when I don’t know what you are laughing at. I love it that your wit is so quick that sometimes it goes right over my head; only to “get it” later and laugh or be surprised. I love it how you smile and tell me “good one” when I come up with an exceptionally (for me) witty response.

I love all the things I’ve learned from you over the years. From things about your job, things about the history you love, and all the wonderful music you’ve exposed me to over the years. I love it when you reach out and touch my hand while we are driving somewhere. I love it that you’ll stop and let me shop at some little store that’s caught my eye when we’re on a road trip. I love it when you give me hug and a kiss at some unexpected time. I love the random acts of kindness I see you perform.

I love that we’ve stuck together through the good times and bad. I’ve loved watching the man you’ve become. Even though you are away working today, you are in my thoughts and in my heart on this Valentine’s Day.

I will love you always,

AJ

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

E. E. Cummings

On being happy . . .

“Do what you love. Do it with friends. Do it as well as you can. If it makes you happy, and it doesn't interfere with anyone else's bliss, then go. Go. Go.” unknown

I absolutely love this quote and what is says. Just reading it puts a smile on my face. So are you doing what you love and is it making you happy? Just think about what your life and the lives you touch every day would be like if you made this your philosophy. As a person who has spent a great deal of her life trying to make other people happy (it only took two years of therapy to figure that out!!) finding my own happiness has been a journey that I continue. I think that doing what you love, with people you love, is the ultimate happiness. I plan to work on finding that happiness every day.

So what do you say Le Husband? Can I quit my job and devote the rest of my days to hanging with my friends and family, traveling with you, and perfecting my photography and golf swing?! I’m ready to go. Go. Go.

xoxo

How's it going?

I can’t believe it’s the end of January already. No major life changing events have occurred this month, unless you want to count the fact that so far my resolutions are holding course. It’s been really snowy, which some folks hate, but I am loving this year. We’ve been skiing every weekend this January (yes I am counting it as exercise and work towards resolution No. 2) and the new snow every week has been great. Le Husband, who is in his first full season of skiing, is doing amazing and will be surpassing his experienced skier wife in no time! The little guy in our ski group, the soon to be seven year old, is tearing it up on his snowboard this year. He and his dad started out together and he is surpassing his dad already . . . who will probably not be shocked to hear me report that fact. I see big air half pipes in this kid’s life!!

Resolution No. 1 is also underway with the joining of Weight Watchers with a friend. Yep I’ve had something green every day! My friend is very driven and keeps me on track . . . just the thought of having to explain a week of no weight loss to someone who sends me motivational email and texts every day, is enough to make me think before shoving a cookie in my face. However I am not above eating a few hot chocolate chip cookies after a day of skiing; hey it was exercise people!!

Resolution No. 3 is kind of stagnant at the moment. However, February is going to be official ‘Purge Month’ in our house. Time to start getting rid of some of the piles of stuff. So that’s an update from me . . . how are your resolutions going?

xoxo

Resolutions

OK kids, it’s the first week of a new year, time to talk resolutions. By now, most folks are making their resolutions, have made them, or have already broken them. I’ve been giving them some semi-serious thought and find myself with the old clichés; lose weight, get in shape, and simplify my life (for me this means getting rid of stuff). I freely admit to being one of those people who make and break resolutions every year. While I don’t usually proclaim these ‘out loud’ . . . I figure if I don’t say them out loud, then I don’t have to publicly announce that I’ve broken them yet again . . . this year I’m putting them in this blog so they will be public knowledge!

So, before I make my big proclamation I figured I had better make these resolutions somewhat achievable; hey contrary to popular belief I’m not a total idiot! So here goes.

1. I will lose weight this year. That means I have to weigh less at the end of the year than I do now. In my attempt to achieve this goal I will try and eat something green every day . . .and I won’t count green M&M’s!
2. I will get in better shape. Since I’m in couch potato shape now, anything will be an improvement.
3. I will simplify my life by getting rid of stuff. The plan is to get rid of something for every new piece of something that comes into the house; so at a minimum I won’t be adding anything. Phase two is to get Le Husband to get rid of his pile of stuff stored in the basement, so I finish 2011 ahead of the game!

So there you have it, 2011 resolutions are official! Good luck to the rest of you out there on sticking to the resolutions.

xoxo