I've reached 100

This is my 100th post! Yay!



Anyway...I am back from San Diego. Landed Tuesday night around 7 pm local time and was home around 8:30. Glad to be back, did not miss the heat though.



Here is a recap:



Ended up staying at our friends' house for the remainder of the trip. Kinda hard with all of us in one small room. Especially with kids who generally wake around 4-5 am. Better than at a house that could have been broken into, though!


On Friday went to Legoland. It was okay. Not a lot of rides. And not too much that Grace could do. The best thing happened though. Waiting in line, we were approached by a family and they asked if we were in line to buy tickets. Said yes. They said they had a free ticket we could have. Awesome, since adult tickets were $70. Still waiting in line, were approached by a mom and her kids. She asked if we were in line to buy tickets. Again, said yes. She had coupons that would allow her to get us in as her guests, since she had season passes. Score. Can you believe that? It really was great when you consider that we arrived there just after 10 am and left around 1 pm. Headed to Balboa Park, to take Frankin to the Air and Space Museum. Grace was sleeping when we got there, so I stayed in the car with her and napped as well. About an hour later, she woke up. Then drove to another part of Balboa Park and went to the Museum of Photographic Arts. Very small museum, but some amazing photographs of India. And one really great image of Georgia O'Keefe. Then walked to the fountain at the one end of the park and back to the car. After Balboa Park, headed to La Jolla (pronounced La Hoya) to see the Children's Pool at La Jolla Cove. It is a small area of the public beach that was intended for small children and their families, donated to La Jolla in 1934. Well, the harbor seals have taken over. Now the water and the sand in the small cove are considered toxic to the public. It was really neat to see the seals just hanging out. Apparently, there are some people that feel the seals should not be there and want the beach back. They have been clubbing and shooting the seals. There is an organization that is helping to keep the seals there. I made a donation and Franklin got a shirt and Grace got a harbor seal stuffed animal. Funny thing about the stuffed seal though, she wanted to cut the whiskers off and pull out its "nails". So much for my little animal lover!! Then headed to our rental house. It was that night/morning that we had the attempted break-in. Seriously, who has that happen on vacation. Well, we found out that the area where we were renting was full of drug addicts and has lots of break-ins. Great, wish that someone had told us.



Saturday morning after packing everything up, went back to the same Denny's as Friday morning. After breakfast went to the Ocean Beach police station, which oddly enough is at the beach, to get a copy of the police report in order to get a refund on the rental house. Then headed to the zoo. It was nice. Kinda crowded. The kids liked petting the goats, and looking at the reptiles. There were two otters that were completely into letting me take pictures of them. Loved it. Saw some monkeys, apes, etc. Headed to lunch. Great food. After lunch the kids were pretty tired, so we headed back to our friends house. Franklin was asleep in the car, I didn't want to move him-didn't want him to wake up, so again I stayed in the car while he slept. Just put the seat back and slept myself. Thank goodness that California has virtually no humidity and was in the low 70's. Could you imagine trying to sleep in your car here? No way. After Franklin woke up, the kids played. We then headed to downtown San Diego to go to the Maritime Museum. There was a exhibition of Edward Steichen photos that I wanted to see there. The paid admission for the Maritime Museum included 3 other boats and a Russian submarine that you can tour. After touring the photo exhibition, we headed to the other boats and the sub. The sub is not easy to get through. It was interesting seeing everything labeled in Russian. One of the ships was the Star of India. It was built in 1863. A very pretty ship. Very elegant. Then it was off to dinner at the Elephant & Castle. Watched the US Open finish up while eating dinner. The kids did well considering how long dinner took. It also helped that I had packed some yarn and noodles for them to construct necklaces out of! Then back home and off to bed.



Sunday morning the guys left for the US Open. The kids and I joined our friend and her kid at Sea World. We saw the Penguins and rode one Elmo ride before eating lunch. Her daughter would not eat her lunch so we left. Grace feel asleep on the way back to their house, so I left her with our friend. I took Franklin to a free museum in their town that had about 30 retired Marine fighter jets and helicopters. One of the helicopters there was used during the evacuation of Siagon during the Vietnam War and was the one to rescue the Ambassador. That one was open and Franklin and I were able to go inside and learn more about it. Like that the cockpit was painted a matte black paint so that the enemy could not see them coming. We got to see a Corsair-one of Franklin's favorite planes. Franklin wanted his picture taken in front of each plane. It was really cute. After seeing the planes, it was off to the gift shop. I let him pick some planes and then he saw a bomber jacket. It was really cute. So I let him get it. He was so proud of it that he wanted to wear it right away. I let him. He calls himself Pilot Franklin! After naps, my friend and I wanted to take the kids to the mall for dinner. This particular mall was 30 minutes away. As soon as we got there, the guys called to say that they were back at the stadium from the open (were they had to catch the shuttle) and wanted to get together for dinner. They were not willing to drive the 30 minutes to meet us, so we turned around and headed back to meet them for dinner. After dinner, it was off to bed.

Monday morning we went to see the USS Midway, an aircraft carrier. They give you headphones and a receiver for an audio tour. Franklin wasn't old enough to have his own, so I let him use the headphones from mine and kept the receiver around my neck. It proved to be a great way for him to not run ahead of me! After doing the tour, Franklin went on a flight simulator and I took Grace for a snack. At about noonish or so I was done with the aircraft carrier. Took the kids back to La Jolla to go to the beach. They loved splashing around in the water and looking for rocks. The water was not too cold. Got some great photos of them splashing around in the Pacific Ocean. Tried to take them back to the seal beach but were not able to find parking. Headed back to our friends house. Let the kids play. I packed everything up. Off to bed.

Tuesday morning got the car packed up and were on the road by 6:50 am CA time. Took the kids for pancakes on the way to the airport. Good thing because we would not be able to get off the plane in Denver, and there was no food available for purchase. I had bought a hot dog and yogurt right before getting on the plane for the kids. They ate that while waiting for the rest of the people to get on the plane in Denver. I am so glad that I bought that food for them.

Glad to be home. I will try and post some photos from the trip later today. I got home just in time for my period to start. TMI, I know. But how much would it have sucked for it to have started on the plane.

Enjoy the rainy, drizzily day.

Cathy

good intentions...bad things

I had good intentions of posting today all about Legoland and including some pics. But alas, that is not what I can post about right now.

It is 5:30 am here in Ocean Beach, California. I have been up for about an hour now. Why...did the kids wake up? No. Someone was trying to break into the house that we are renting. The person(s) were outside the bedroom window. Tried to tell myself that it was an animal-maybe a mountain lion. It sounded large. There was more rustling. Thought that maybe it was a bum trying to find a spot to sleep. Then came some banging. I told Filic to call the police. He went into the front room and called. But they heard him and started to throw rocks at the window. At which point I went into the front room. Then the person(s) was on the roof. Ran towards the front of the house, circled around. And then ran towards the back of the house and away by the time that the police showed up. Needless to say, I could not go back to sleep. I am in the midst of getting all of our things packed up. The plan is to either find a hotel that has a room available (the US Open is in town, so there are not many hotels in the area with availabilty) or stay with our friends here (but they only have one guest room and two other people staying with them). There is no way to stay here. The person(s) who were here, are angry now. I fear for our safety. Thankfully, the kids slept through the whole thing. That is the last thing that I need, them being afraid to sleep. I have already started to pack things up. I want to be out of here as soon as possible.

Heading to the zoo today. And maybe Sea World. The rumor is that there is an opportunity to feed the emperor penguins at one of these locations if you answer the trivia question correctly. I really want to win!!! Who knows what else will be in store for today.

Stay tuned for the next chapter of Ocean Beach Vacation...

Cathy

greetings from san diego

What a long day we had yesterday. We were out of the house headed to the airport by 8:30 am FL time. We got our luggage and car seats checked in and then headed over to the I mall. I had a bracelet from the lucky jeans store that just broke last weekend that I needed to take back. When it came time to get on the plane, we were some of the last ones and no one was willing to move so we could sit together. Thank goodness franklin had a seat of his own. We finally were able to get two seats together for franklin and I. Grace was with filic about 10 rows up. She was screaming, so I went and got her. So for take off I had both kids and did until franklin had to go to the bathroom. Franklin did really well on the flight. He watched the shows that I had put on my ipod. He colored. Had a snack. He fell asleep right before we landed, which was a blessing because there was quite a bit of turbulance. We switched planes in denver. And finally got to san diego 7:30 FL time. Grace and I grabbed the bags and her carseat while the two men went to take care of the rental car. I must have appeared like a damsel in distress because every man that saw me with the stroller, bags and car seat wanted to help out. I would decline politefully, and tell them that this is nothing. I would tell them that I usually have two kids and two car seats!

Once we were all at the rental car agency we headed to ocean beach to drop off our bags and then it was off to dinner. After dinner we picked up some milk etc. By the time we got the kids to bed it was midnight FL time. And surprising they were well behaved.

They were up at 4 am CA time today. We went for breakfast at Denny's and then took them to the beach. We are in the car almost to legoland right now and the two kids are asleep and have been for awhile. I have never been to legoland, but evetone says that it is amzing and a must see. I will let you know.

For now, I leave you. I will try to update my blog often. By the way, I am typing this post out on my cell phone!

I don't want to pack

I so don't want to pack for San Diego. I have the kids mostly packed at this point. I have their back packs for the plane mostly packed as well. I am finishing the laundry and then I will be able to finish gathering what I need. The problem is that I am tired, and want to just veg out in front of the tv watching Two and a half Men.

I heard the funniest/oddest version of Bad Day by Daniel Powter. I heard this on the XM kids channel, it was Alvin and the Chipmunks singing it!! How odd. The kids thought it was hilarious though. I was playing it up and trying to sing like one of the chipmunks myself. And dancing around. They love it when I do this.

Speaking of music there are several songs that I am addicted to right now. They are:

Into the Mystic by Van Morrison
Trouble by Dave Matthews Band
My Girl by The Temptations
Beautiful Day by U2
there are some more, but the titles escape me right now.

There is a country song that I love right now too. It is:

Just got started loving you by James Otto

It is almost 9, I need to get my suitcase packed so I can get to bed. I may end up staying up pretty late tonight.

I hope you all have a great weekend. I will try to post something from San Diego.

Cathy

I am so

exhausted! I have been volunteering at my friend Jessi's church and their Vacation Bible School program this week. I volunteer so that both Franklin and Grace are able to attend. We did this for the week last summer too. Her church does such a great job. I always loved VBS when I was a kid. Because I spent the majority of the summer with my grandparents on the other coast I was able to do two different VBS weeks. Loved it! Anyway, I was under the impression that I was just going to be an extra body in one of the rooms. Not the case. I am leading the talks, activities in the theatre. After the opening ceremonies each morning, the groups rotate stations. The station where I am is called Cinema. We show a short video (5-7 minutes) that is part of a series, it picks up each day where the previous day left off. Then I talk about the video and get the kids to talk/think about the message. We do an experiment or a game and then it is usually time for them to rotate to the next station. My last group leaves the room at 11:30. I go and pick up Franklin and Grace from their teachers and head home.

I am just exhausted. I am leaving for San Diego on Thursday morning for 6 days. The kids are really excited to go on a plane. I am dreading the packing that I have to do tomorrow afternoon. Blah.

I will write more tomorrow. Right now, it is off to bed for me.

Good night,
Cathy

I've been a busy little bee

We were in need of a enclosure for our trash cans to keep the racoons out.
Here is the area that I started with. I had to remove two star jasmine plants.
I even dug up the roots.








Here are two of the posts that I put in. I used a post hole digger to
dig 2 foot holes for the 4 x 4's.









Here are the 4 4x4's in the ground and the first lattice nailed in.









Here is everything almost done. Both lattice's are up on the sides. I built the front part
on the driveway and moved it over. I need to finish the front and install the hinges. I also
need to trim the top foot or so off the lattice on the sides. I am going to borrow my friends
jigsaw today to get that finished.







I am feeling great about myself that I was able to build this. And I did it while watching 3 kids! I only ended up with one blister. The only other time I built something was a dog house. I was about 13 or 14 at the time, and my mom and I decided to try and build a dog house. Needless to say, my dad rebuilt the dog house. Well, my Dad saw this last night and was really impressed with my work. And to think that I did it all by myself without the input of anyone!





Here is a picture of the wood all piled up before I started:





Here is a picture of Franklin with the wood:


He was very excited about this project. A very big helper. That hammer that you see in the
picture is plastic. But he ran right inside and brought it out because he wanted to help. After
this was taken he lost the hammer and we still can not find it!

take a look at this

here is the website for this retreat: www.creativephotographyretreat.com

My friend Kim is going to the one in CA in August. But there is another one in Conneticut in October, that I think I will try and go to. The courses they are offering sound fun. I love to learn new things.

Cathy

why God created children

WHY GOD CREATED CHILDREN
(AND IN THE PROCESS GRANDCHILDREN)

To those of us who have children in our lives, whether they are our own,
grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or students...
here is something to make you chuckle.

Whenever your children are out of control,
you can take comfort from the thought that even God's omnipotence
did not extend to His own children.

After creating heaven and earth, God created Adam and Eve.
And the first thing he said was "DON'T!"
"Don't what?" Adam replied.
"Don't eat the forbidden fruit." God said.
"Forbidden fruit? We have forbidden fruit? Hey Eve..we have forbidden fruit!!!!!"
"No Way!"
"Yes, way!"
"Do NOT eat the fruit!" said God.
"Why"
"Because I am your Father and I said so!" God replied, wondering why He hadn't stopped creation after making elephants. A few minutes later, God saw His children having an apple break and He was ticked!
"Didn't I tell you not to eat the fruit?" God asked.
"Uh huh," Adam replied.
"Then why did you?" said the Father.
"I don't know," said Eve.
"She started it!" Adam said
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"DID NOT!"
Having had it with the two of them,
God's punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own. Thus the pattern was set and it has never changed.

BUT THERE IS REASSURANCE IN THE STORY!
If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give children wisdom and they haven't taken it, don't be hard on yourself. If God had trouble raising children, what makes you think it would be a piece of cake for you?

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT!
1. You spend the first two years of their life teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spend the next sixteen telling them to sit down and shut up.
2. Grandchildren are God's reward for not killing your own children.
3. Mothers of teens now know why some animals eat their young.
4. Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have saidin the first place.
5. The main purpose of holding children's parties is to remind yourself that there are children more awful than your own.
6. We childproofed our homes, but they are still getting in.
7. Just when you redecorate their room into a nice TV room, they show up with boxes, suitcases and large dogs, to move back home.

ADVICE FOR THE DAY:
Be nice to your kids. They will choose your nursing home one day.

AND FINALLY: IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF TENSION AND YOU GET A HEADACHE, DO WHAT IT SAYS ON THE ASPIRIN BOTTLE: "TAKE TWO ASPIRIN" AND "KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN!!!!

What is love...

What is Love?

A group of professional people posted this question to a group of 4 to 8 year olds. What does love mean?"
The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think.

When my grandma got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandpa does it for her now all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love. Rebecca- age 8

When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouths. Billy- age 4

Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving Cologne and they go out and smell each other. Kari- age 5

Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French Fries without making them give you any of theirs. Chrissy- age 6

Love is what makes you smile when you're tired. Terri- age 4

Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK. Danny- age 7

Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My mommy and daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss. Emily- age 8

Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen. Bobby-age 7

If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate. Nikka- age 6

Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday. Noelle- age 7

Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well. Tommy- age 6

During my piano recital, I was on stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore. Cindy- age 8

My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night. Clare- age 6

Love is when mommy gives daddy the best piece of chicken. Elaine- age 5

Love is when mommy sees daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford. Chris- age 7

Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day. Mary Ann- age 4

You really shouldn't say "I LOVE YOU" unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget. Jessica- age 8

And the winner was a 4 year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly man who had just lost his wife. When the child saw the man cry, the little boy went over into the man's yard and climbed on top of the man's lap and just sat there. When the boy's mother asked him what he'd said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry."

can you guess who this is

Can you imagine working for a company that has a little more than
500 employees and has the following statistics:

29 have been accused of spousal abuse

7 have been arrested for fraud

19 have been accused of writing bad checks

117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses

3 have done time for assault

71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit

14 have been arrested on drug-related charges

8 have been arrested for shoplifting

21 are currently defendants in lawsuits

84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year

Can you guess which organization this is?

Give up yet?


It's the 535 members of the United States Congress.

The same group that cranksout hundreds of new laws each
year designed to keep the rest of us in line.

photo prenuer

If you are at all interested in the business side of photography, you have to check out this blog.

http://blogs.photopreneur.com/

There are great articles about niche markets. I have learned a lot from this site. Sadly, I have not put any of it to use yet. I will though. Right now, too much information is not a bad thing.

Cathy

Iraq

Most of you who know me well, know that I am pretty liberal when it comes to politics. And how I feel about the war in Iraq. My older brother is going over to Iraq for two years. He is in Jacksonville right now for 3 weeks for the first part of his training. He will be home for July and August and then leaves again September 1st for a month of training. He will be home one day and then is deployed on October 1st.

I am in denial right now. I don't know anyone else who has a close family member over there. I was able to shut myself off about the war and not really think about it everyday. But all that is changing. My brother has a little girl, named Samantha who is only a year old. She won't even remember him by the time he comes home. I am helping him to find a good day care for her, so that I can be on the list to pick her up. I told him that I would take pictures of her all the time and email them to him so that he knows how she is growing and changing. Plus, this is how I am dealing with the situation. I have found the one small thing to focus on.

I can't even begin to imagine how I will feel come October. For now, I am just going to find Samantha a great day care, have some family/generational photos done and pray. I am going to ask all of you to pray for my brother, Eric, to keep him safe.

Cathy

Yankee or Dixie

Go to this site and see if you are a Yankee or a Dixie. I am 48% Yankee. Interesting to me considering that I was born in the South. It was Jacksonville, however. Even though most people don't consider Florida the South.


http://www.angelfire.com/ak2/intelligencerreport/yankee_dixie_quiz.html

Have fun and post your results....

Cathy

Before I was a Mom...

Before I was a Mom -

I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed
I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.
I cleaned my house each day.
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Spit on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
And I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom -
I never held down a screaming child
So that doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom -
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom -
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was ok.
I had never known the warmth,
The joy,
The love,
The heartache,
The wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

beauty

I took this photo back in April and just finally got around to posting it here on my blog. I had a few hours between commitments one Friday while at MCC and went out to the island and had a yummy seafood lunch and then found a place to shoot. This is my most favorite place to shoot locally.

Sex and the City

I bought this issue of EntertainmentWeekly at Publix on Sunday and devoured it. I am a huge Sex and the City fan and can't wait to see the movie on Friday. In fact, I am going to see it on Friday and on Sunday. I have two groups of friends that want to see it. When SATC was on, I lived for Sunday nights. And this was before tivo. I would get the house clean and the laundry done in order to sit down and enjoy 30 minutes of SATC before the next work week began.

Only two more days!

Cathy

foto flot

This is the coolest concept. They print your photo and then adhere it to a peice of plexi glass and you hang it with magnets or display it on a stand. Here is the website www.fotoflot.com It is a little pricey but when you factor in the cost of professional framing, it really is cheaper. I really like the look of these.

I bet my friend Nikki can come up with a way to do this way cheap! So my challenge to you Nikki is to see if you CAN do it cheaper.

Have a great Monday night,
Cathy

hard work

I spent Saturday and Sunday evenings working in my pool cage. For those who have been here you know what a job that can be. It was in need of weeding and trimming. I let the kids play in the pool while I trimmed trees and plants. I even took out a bird of paradise that was hitting the top of our screen cage. Franklin was watching this and said "Mommy, you are stronger than Daddy" and I said, "yes I am, and you remember that!" Had to stop on Saturday evening to feed the kids dinner. Sunday evening after dinner we did the same thing, pool for the kids and more trimming and taking out of things for me. I took out the two cactus plants that I have wanted out since we moved in. I took out the mother in law plants as well. The pool cage looks so different now.

here is me with one of the piles of clippings that I accumulated!

here is me with dirt between my eyes, Filic took my picture before telling me it was there.

Nice, right?

Hope you are having a nice memorial day.

Cathy

You don't see this everyday

I was driving home last night and saw these two on their way to the gas station. I had to follow them and take a picture of the "bike" they had built. The seat is an old office chair. They added a two-stroke engine from a motorized scooter so that they don't have to pedal. And they think that they are the two coolest guys in the world!

Enjoy,
Cathy

Something old, something new

Something old, something new. That is what this post is about. Last week on Wednesday night I was heading to my Grandmother's birthday celebration at my parents house in Venice. Filic was golfing. I stopped at the gas station and filled up. Franklin was upset because I would not get him something to eat from the gas station. (This is not something that I do by the way, no idea why he even asked.) I proceeded to my parents house. The kids were screaming like you can't even imagine. The noise level was out of control. Well, I am embarassed to say this but I ended up on a concrete header in a ditch. And I wasn't even a quater of a mile from my parents house. I couldn't open my door. The kids were screaming, they were terrified. Thank god for Britax carseats, that are also installed properly. I think that I blacked out during the crash. I finally got a hold of my parents and they came to help me. They helped get the kids out of the car and then I was able to crawl out of the car through their door. Someone called 911 and cops showed up along with an ambulance and a firetruck. Franklin liked seeing all of the flashing lights. He got to see the inside of an ambulance. We were all fine. Had to call a tow truck to pull the van off the concrete header. Filic left golf and got there right before the tow truck driver started to pull the car out of the ditch and off the header. We had it towed to my dad's friends shop. Luckily one of our good friends let me use their Volvo convertible so I could still shuttle Franklin and Grace to their last days of school and then Nature camp. Anyways, the van was in bad shape. We finally heard on Tuesday that it was going to cost ALOT to fix. ALOT. I managed to damage almost everything.

Which leads me to something new. I got a new van. A 2008 Odyssey with a DVD player and Navigation system. It is a bronze/gold color. The kids are loving the DVD player. (we had just had a DVD system put in my old van. The ones in the head rests. They are being put in Filic's car right now). I am loving the Navigation system and the rear view camera. The new van only had 3 miles on it when I received it last night. My old van was a 2005 but there are so many differences with this 2008. I am loving it.

Here is a picture of my old van, all smashed up:

doesn't look too bad, does it. thank goodness for safe cars.

Here is a side by side of my old van and new one:

Hope everyone is doing well.

Cathy

it has started...

Grace is into Disney Princesses. While we were on vacation for Spring Break, she was able to get a toy. She wanted a Ariel Barbie. She liked it and wanted to carry it around. On Saturday the kids and Filic watched The Little Mermaid for the first time. (a lot of skipping over the Ursala and eel scenes) Now all she wants to watch is The Little Mermaid, which she calls the Princess movie. She wants to sit in her chair that has a mermaid painted on it. She takes Ariel everywhere we go. Yesterday while I was getting her ready for school, she said she wanted princess hair. So I twisted it and put a clip in it. She normally screams when I try and do anything to her hair.

My life will be all about princesses from now on, I predict. But you know what, I am okay with that. I was into princesses way back when. I had to use my imagination to "be" Cinderella - my personal favorite. There were no dolls, dress up clothes etc.

Who is your favorite Disney princess?

Have a magical day,

Cathy

Spoiled

We are definately spoiled here at my house. Our tivo recorder has all of the kids favorite shows and lots of them. When they wake up before the rest of the world, I can put on something they like. Until today. Direct tv upgraded our tivo/reciever box yesterday afternoon. I explained to the kids that they had to watch live tv this morning. Franklin is okay with it, but Grace does not understand why Diego isn't on at this hour!


this is what our new one looks like


Filic and I spent over an hour last night programming in all of the kids shows and ours too. In this day and age, shouldn't there be a way for them to transfer all of that information over. Plus, I can't even remember all of the shows that we have set to record. I am just happy that we own our old box and will be able to hook it up to another tv and watch/record all of the stuff from it. There is one series in particular that I really want to watch. It was on the Ovation channel a few weeks ago, it is called The Genius of Photography. It is all about some of the most famous photographers and how photography has changed the world and our lives. It is very reminesicent of my History of Photography class from last semester.

I am sure if I sat down and really thought about it, there are many more ways that we are spoiled. But I don't want to put myself in a bad mood this early into my day!

Cathy

Assignment

At school right now we are doing some studio shooting and advertising shots. We are working in teams. Last week my team had to shoot glass. We used a bottle of Stetson Country mens' cologne. After taking numerous shots of just the bottle, I had an idea to spice things up and challenge ourselves. The incentive is that the "winning" team each week will have their image blown up and hung in the wall. The winner will be decided by the class as a whole. I personally want to win every week.

The photo that is below is a combination of two shots. I really love the way this came out. Here is our ad campain for Stetson Country:





Isn't this a great image...I think so.

Cathy

Photo shoot

At the end of February I did a photo shoot of my neices and nephew who were visiting from New Jersey. The first night that I did the shoot it was in my side yard. The pictures came out great and you would never have guessed that it was my side yard. The second time was an impromtu shoot at Selby Gardens. We went there for the kids to run around and enjoy the gardens but ever the photographer, I just had to take some photos!

Here are some of my favorite shots...



Erin, at Selby Gardens



Erin and Haysie, my side yard


Gavin, my side yard.


Kelli with her girls, my side yard

Erin, Haysie and Gavin, Selby Gardens

I hope that you are all enjoying the great Spring weather.

Cathy

Wednesday morning rambling

It's Wednesday morning and I just feel like rambling...

I am loving Daylight Savings Time. Franklin woke up at 7:11 this morning. There is just something about being woken up after 7 that makes you feel more rested even if you aren't.

Have you ever had one of those days when you are feeling thinner and think that you must have lost some weight? I had that feeling this morning. I should have just went with it. But instead I stepped on the scale to check. I mean really. How can you feel and look thinner and not have this amazing number looking back at you from the scale?

It's my spring break, and you know that I am an adult since I am just doing the same thing that I do every other week. I never did that Daytona crazy Spring Break thing. And I am glad about that. The footage on Mtv looks crazy.

I have a new show that I am addicted to...Your Mama Don't Dance. It is on Lifetime on Friday nights. The dancers are really talented and I just love the concept that their dance partners have to be one of their parents who have no dancing background. How would you feel if you thought that you were auditioning for a dance show and they said they had a partner for you and the curtain came up and it were one of your parents?

Another show I am loving...America's Best Dance Crew on Mtv. I have no idea what day it is on. It is winding down now and it is just the top 3 or 4 teams, but they rock. There is so much talent out there.

I got addicted to these shows while I have been uber sick these past two weeks and watching a lot of tv. I also watched a lot of infomercials. I so want the H20 mop. It seems so cool. And the Tobi steamer. There were some other products that I thought were amazing but they didn't have the lasting impression that these two did. Does anyone have these or know of anyone who has them? I would love to know how they really work.

Has anyone seen the "I'm fucking Matt Damon" video by Sarah Silverman or Jimmy Kimmel's response "I'm Fucking Ben Affleck" on YouTube? They are so funny. I suggest that you check them out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnVJZkDuVBM is the link for the Matt Damon video. And here is the link for the Ben Affleck video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIQrBouWRiE&feature=related

If I had your email address then you have already gotten the link to this video. This man was on Oprah and I found his message very heartwarming. Check it out here: http://video.stumbleupon.com/#p=ithct48cqw

Okay that is a lot of rambling. I have to finish my cereal and get the kids ready to leave soon.
Have a great Wednesday.

My baby is 2 now

Last Monday, my sweet baby Grace turned 2. We celebrated by having pancakes shaped liked butterflies with purple sprinkles and a picnic with both Mommy and Daddy at Selby Gardens.

Here is a look at Grace over the past two years:

On the day she was born, just moments after being born

How sweet does she look? One of my favorite photos.

Grace at age 1

Grace at age 1 3/4, just days before her 2nd

birthday. I love this photo of her. I took

it in our front yard one night before dinner.

On her 2nd birthday, at Selby Gardens

playing in the banyans.

I must say that now that she is officially two, my what an attitude she has. I know, I know, its the phase, the terrible twos. But she is much worse than Franklin was at his worst. She is very stubborn.

Filic was able to get her weaned off the bottles cold turkey while I was sick two weeks ago. I am very proud of him. She acts completely different for him. We did it before her second birthday. yeah!

Cathy

I was tagged...

I've been tagged...by Karen who was tagged by Jocie...who was tagged by Kim B...and I can't keep up with the train that led to that so here goes...

Here's what I have to do:
* Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
* Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

Random facts about me:

1. I climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia
2. I love the show Little House on the Prairie
3. I love Jeeps and going off roadin' in them
4. I trained for the rodeo - barrel racing
5. A slice of New York City pizza is my favorite food
6. I can't ride a bike well
7. I love cereal...I have several, several boxes open at one time

Bonus from Filic: I don't sleep with a top sheet, and it drives him flippin' crazy!

Okay, so all my blogging friends have already been tagged, this is the end of the line for me.

Cathy

AMOB in Ellenton

We took the kids to the Anna Maria Oyster Bar in Ellenton last night. They do this really cool thing where they measure the kids to see how much to charge them. It is a penny an inch - really! This is awesome when they don't end up eating their dinner. The margarita's were only $2.50! So I had to have one.

Here are some pictures of some of the kids getting measured:


Erin - 50 inches

Hayley - 43 inches




Franklin - 39 inches


Grace - 31 inches


For our appetizer, we had Calamari. The kids wanted me to take a picture of it. Here it is:




I ordered a pasta alfredo for my dinner. And it came out in a frying pan. Seriously. Here it is:





Here are some other pictures that I took last night:



Erin, I love this photo


Hayley



The kids all playing after dinner


After Franklin's field trip today to the farm, we are heading to Disney for the rest of the week. I will try and post from there.

Cathy

I am soooo excited!

My sister-in-law Kelli and her family are coming today. She isn't really my sister-in-law. Her husband is Filic's cousin and in Asian culture cousins are like brothers/sisters. So instead of explaining all of this, we just call each other sisters-in-law. We could be sisters though. We get along great.

Anyway, she is flying in today from New Jersey. Grace and I are going to pick them up in Tampa. Tomorrow we are heading to Disney with them. Her daughters haven't been to Disney since 2003, and Filic and went with them. Their son hasn't been yet. They are so excited. I am excited to go with them again. Most of you know that I love Disney.

Franklin is so excited to see Gavin, his cousin. And vice versa. They haven't seen each other in a long time. At one point the wind was blowing yesterday and Franklin asked me if that meant Gavin's plane was landing. How cute. All day yesterday he asked when he would be here. Already this morning he is asking when I am going to leave to get them. I am glad that he is so excited. I am just hoping that they get along.

She loves

Grace just loves her older brother. She calls him "gao gao" which is Mandarin Chinese for older brother. He calls her "mei mei" which is little sister. The first thing she says in the morning is "where is gao gao"

Here are some pictures of her trying to give him a kiss on Sunday.

How cute!

the misadventures of me

Last week was an odd week for me. It seemed like a lot was going wrong. Let me explain...

One night I was making the kids chocolate milk (I make it at night since they wake up before the sun) and went to grab the large can of Ovaltine out of the pantry. Apparently the lid was not on properly because it came off and Ovaltine went everywhere. I was cleaning it up and trying to keep Grace out of it. So then I put the Ovaltine in the kids cups and manage to knock one of them over and onto the floor. Spill number two. Clean that one up. Filic told me I needed to put myself in timeout. I aggreed.

Friday comes. I am watching my friends dog Baily and guinea pig Tootsie. No problems. Well, I have to watch my parents dog Penny starting Friday. As it turns out, Bailey does not like other dogs at all. So I put Bailey in my bedroom. Penny then starts to bark/bother Tootsie. So Penny goes in the bathroom. Since this is no way to live for the weekend I decide to take Penny and stay in Venice at my parents house. Saturday morning comes.... I take the dog out and go back inside. Realize that I left my clothes in the car. I shut the door and go to get them. Well, my parents have a door that locks itself (a security measure!) and I am locked out. My wallet, cell phone, everything are inside-with the dog. I walk around the house to see if another door is unlocked. No. Then walk around and look at all of the windows. All locked. It has been about twenty minutes. I decide to check the windows again. There is a window unlocked. Unfortunately is it five feet off the ground. Did I mention that I am in my pajamas. So I hoist myself up and I am trying to get through the window. I have to move things out of the way as I do this, because I don't want to break anything. Finally back in the house. I quickly get dressed and go in search of coffee. I had to work on Saturday too. It was my last day at K2. All I could think about as I was breaking and entering my parents house was the cops showing up and seeing me. I even had a conversation in my head about what I would say if it happened. ( crazy, I know!) I would tell them that I lived there as a kid and that if they just let me get inside I would show them all of my childhood pictures and my wallet that are inside. Luckily I did not have to have that conversation. But let me just say that I am not that flexible. I could never be a cat burgler.

(And by the way, this is the second time I have typed this post this morning. I accidently erased it the first time I typed it out)

I had taken a picture of the Ovaltine spill but I can't seem to find it. And I couldn't take a picture of me breaking and entering because, alas my camera was inside too!

Cathy

Ni-hao

Ni-hao is Mandarin Chinese for Hello. Ni-hao Kai-lan is a new show on Nick Jr that teaches children two Chinese words a show. My kids LOVE this show. So far they have learned how to say up and down, red and green and wait. I have been learning these words as well. I think that this is a great show.

I am really happy that Nick Jr has included a Chinese speaking character into their programming.

Cathy

want to be a part of my mafia?

I am talking about Cashmere Mafia, the new show on ABC. I am loving it. It has Lucy Liu in it, I think she is really pretty-love her freckles. This show has fashion cool women and it takes place in NYC, what more do you need?!

It's on Wednesday nights. Give it a try, you might like it. You can also watch the past episodes on abc.com

Cathy

Palm Ball

On Saturday night we went to the Palm Ball. It was a black tie event to benefit the Sarasota Conservation Foundation.(they purchase land to make into parks, etc) We were invited by our dear friends Chopper and Krista. The weather was beautiful. I was worried because it was looking pretty grey all day.

I spent the first part of Saturday looking for a dress. I bought three dresses for this event. The third one was it. (I should mention that we had to wear green or blue) The dress was comfortable, sexy and elegant. Things you would never think of when it comes to a formal dress. Had my hair straightened (sp?) because I didn't want to deal with doing my hair.

When it came time to get dressed, Filic could not find the studs for his shirt. We haven't been to a black tie event since we moved in to this house. We looked everywhere. (I am thinking that may have ended up in the safe deposit box with my jewelry) We ended up running into the tux store at the mall to buy a new set of cufflinks and studs. While going through Dillards to get to the tux store, I passed two young girls. When they saw me, they gasped and said "She is so beautiful". I made sure to smile at them. That was me when I was a little girl. I loved to see women all dressed up, looking beautiful and glamorous. I would dream of the day when I could be that glamorous. It made my night.

The food was excellent. For apps they had baby lamb shanks, chicken with dates on a skewer, caviar, and shrimp. A very cool app that they had was this: nozzarella and a tomato on a small dropper filled with balsamic vinegar. You were to put the mozzarella and tomato in your mouth and then squeeze the balsamic vinegar into your mouth. Very cool and tasty! For dinner we had salad with goat cheese, candied walnuts, etc. The most tender tenderloin in this amazing sauce. Filic loved the way the veggies were presented. They cut baskets out of a zucchini and placed carrots and wax beans into the "basket". He asked why I don't serve him his veggies like that.

The band was awesome. It was a latin band that sang in Spanish. They played trumpets, bongos, and the coolest blue bass I have ever seen. It was music that you wanted to dance to. Filic and I were just going with the music, people were starring at us. We weren't sure if it was because that thought we were excellent dancers or the worst dancers they had ever seen! Either way, we had a great time. We talked about taking lessons so we know what to do. My problem is that I want to lead. (it's a control issue with me!) I actually took ballroom dancing lessons in high school, and I loved it.

Overall, it was a great evening. We really had a nice time. I am sure that I went into way more detail than you care to read, but I had to write it down so that when I go to do a layout for it, I will remember everything!!

Sadly, we didn't take any pictures of the two of us at the event. So here we are in our kitchen!!


And I love this look on Filic. In his tux at the end of the evening, with his bow tie untied.





Cathy

A pain in the neck, literally

I have had the worst neck pain this week. So bad in fact, that I thought it was a disc problem and I was going to need surgery again. I could not move. Saw my doc on Tuesday. She is great. After her exam, she thinks it is muscular and sent me for a nueromuscular massage. If you have never had a nueromuscular massage, let me tell you, it is like no other massage you have ever had. This is not the relaxing massage you get at a spa. This hurts. Good news is that I can move my neck more than before I went in. I am very tender from the massage. I am taking steriods and muscle relaxers to get my neck back to being normal-well normal for me anyway. I am not allowed to pick up the kids, etc.

This consists of me sleeping in my neck brace, which is as comfortable as it sounds. My friend Jessi stopped by Wednesday night to drop something off and saw me in my neck brace. She said to me "I thought that you were feeling better" I looked at her and said-"I am". She had never seen me in my brace.

So as I type this, my neck is starting to feel better. I am not going to start over doing it. The house can get cleaned another day. I just want to make sure that my neck is healing.

Because I love you all so much, here is a picture I took of myself this morning in my brace.

Grace started school!

My "baby Grace", as we call her, started school this week. She goes two days a week-Tuesday and Thrusday. She is loving it already. She has the staff of the entire school in her charms. They all were checking in on her, making sure that she was transitioning okay. I am talking Principal, Franklin's teacher, other teachers. How do I know this, because they all came to tell me while I was waiting to pick her up on Tuesday. I was able to peek into her room as they were finishing their lunches. It was so cute to see all the kids sitting at the table eating. It was like a dinner party for toddlers. The teacher was singing and using props. So cute. There was no crying on Tuesday. I thought there may be a little yesterday, but there was none again. I have been told to bring several changes of clothes for her though, as she really likes to play in the sink. She soaked herself twice yesterday. She tells me more about her day at school than Franklin ever has. She is growing up. Loves school. It is obvious that she was more than ready to start. I think she would be happy going 5 days a week, but there was no opening for that.





Here are some pictures. The first is her walking on the sidewalk and the second is of her in her classroom.

never been this close

I have never been this close to Amoxicillin before. I am allergic to Penecillin. Grace is taking her first antibiotic, and it is Amoxicillian. I was a little put off by the smell at first. I had heard that it smells like bubblegum, this does not. Grace does not seem to mind the smell or the taste. She takes it with no problem. This stuff is very viscous. I don't have a problem taking any medicines or swallowing anything, but I think that this would be hard for me.

Maybe this is my kryptonite (sp?)!

Have a great Friday.

Cathy

I am getting a new toy

So, my digital SLR has been acting up lately. I have taken it in for cleaning and a check-up. I was going to take it back in to see what, if anything needed to be repaired. Then I remembered that this camera was made in 2002. I have taken probably 20,000 photos with it since then. They are only good for so many photos. Seriously. I started looking into new digital SLR's and decided to go with Nikon because the lenses from my Fuji would fit. I bought the Nikon D 40x. I ordered it from NY and it should be here soon. I can't wait to play with it. I love getting a new camera and learning all there is about it.






I will keep my Fuji for now. I am really bad about getting rid of things. I get really attached. I have recorded so many memories with my Fuji, I can't just get rid of it. I still have every camera that I have ever owned. And I still go back to them. I will always continue to shoot film. A lot of people think that film cameras are passe. Not me. I am nostalgic. I love the smell when you open a new roll of film, and the excitement when you get to see the results after you get the roll developed. I will always shoot black and white and develop it in the darkroom.

I will post when my new toy arrives.

Cathy

Beauty to me is

Here is the zed card that I created for Beauty. I abandoned the cupcake idea. It just wasn't my best work. The tulip photo I did a week ago in my back area. The lighting was perfect. The sun was at the perfect angle. The maternity shot I did over a year ago on Nokomis Beach. The night photo was done in NY about 6 months ago. If you are interested in knowing how I did the night photo, ask me and I will give you the instructions.






Oh, I created my "logo" using Adobe Illustrator. I had never used Illustrator before Friday. I only spent a few minutes creating this logo. I am in LOVE with Illustrator. I can't wait to have some time to play with it more and see what I can create.

Cathy

my little Emperor

So the conversation went a little like this, just moments ago...

Franklin: "Mom, I want to get dressed."
Me: "okay, are you going to wear the new shark shirt that Aunt Kel sent?"
Franklin: "Yeah, and I need you to get me some spiderman underwear and some shorts
and some socks."
Me: "You have to wear pants today."
Franklin: "And don't forget to pack my lunch. I want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich
a cheese stick, spiderman fruit snack and a juice box."

I haven't even finished my first cup of coffee and I am being ordered around by my little Emperor. The moment he came into this world, I knew that he was a little Emperor. I want to encourage his independence, but I think that this is a bit much.

Why he feels the need to tell me what he wants for lunch everyday, I don't understand. It is the SAME thing EVERYDAY. I swear. No variation. Oh wait, I did add the cheese stick and he LOVES it. He is my kid who doesn't really try new things.

When I turned on the computer today, I had some other ideas in mind for my post today. I don't remember what they were! I will post some pictures later. I am off to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Manic Monday

Went up to MCC today to do my first task as Art Club President-layout a student art book. This was supposed to have been done last year and wasn't. We have the money to produce an art book from the student art show last year and don't want to lose it. So I stepped in. (I know what some of you are thinking) I did not realize how much work goes into laying out an art book or any book for that matter. I was thankful that I only had 22 or 23 peices to work with. I have some art books that have several hundred peices shown. I also had to come up with what the inside flaps would say, etc. I have to say that I got it done. I left it as is for now. I will look at it again on Friday when I am up there for my class, so that I have a fresh perspective. Then I will order it. I look at it this way, I got to "practice" on last year's book before making this years book! The student show is in April and I will be making another book from that show.

Made lasagna for Filic tonight, per Franklin's request. Wasn't really paying attention to what I was doing. I was multitasking, as I always do, when I realized that I forgot to put the cheese between all the layers. I loaded the top up with cheese in hopes that it will melt down into the rest. I was thinking ahead and trying to get dinner in the oven while Grace is sleeping and Franklin was having some quiet time. I guess that is what I get right! I even decided what I am making for dinner tomorrow night. I am really trying to get better about that. I usually decide last minute what I am going to make.

Grace starts gymnastics tomorrow morning. She will be with the sibling of one of Franklin's classmates. We decided to sign them up together in order to give them some time with other kids. Franklin and his classmate (don't want to use her name here, for safety) take gymnastics together on Wednesday afternoons. I bought her a gymnastics leotard, and can't wait to take a picture of her in it. She is really into jumping and doing summersaults so I think that she will enjoy this. I guess I will know tomorrow.

I still haven't shot anything for my photography assignment. I will probably try to go out and shoot later today or maybe tomorrow.

Hope you are all having a great Monday,
Cathy

Something to Inspire you

This is one of my favorite photographs. I took this in 2005 when we took an Alaskan cruise. I love the blues. This glacier was huge - I mean the size of Vermont huge! I zoomed in on a small portion of the glacier that I thought was interesting. I used a 150-500mm lens. This was taken on a small sea plane.





By focusing on such a small portion of this glacier, I was able to show the detail in it. Sometimes it is better to focus in on something and take in the details of it. You should not always try to get everything in. When I photograph babies, I like to take pictures of thier ears, toes, fingers, hands. When I photograph older children, I like to get a shot of just their eyes.

Try doing this the next time you are taking a picture.

Cathy

rambing and a challenge

So for weeks now I was thinking that my hair was really greasy. I just thought it was because of the heat and how much I had been sweating (tmi, I know). I just realized tonight that I have been using my Kerastase conditioner as my before blow drying creme. I had this "aha" moment when I grabbed my new bottle of Kerastase shampoo, I use the pink line. I looked and saw there was not another conditioner. This made me check elsewhere. That is when I picked up the bottle I had been using and read it a bit more carefully this time. It was the conditioner. I then looked for the before blow drying creme and found it. The bottle is a different color, but it is the same size, style, has a pump, etc. My hair is much lighter tonight and looks much better. I can't believe that I did that. Tonight my hair looks like it does when I come home from the salon. It even feels like it. I love the way my hair looks and feels after leaving the salon. Who doesn't.

My first assignment for my photography class is to photograph Beauty. I have been thinking all day about what I find beautiful. For me it is not the clouds, the sunset or nature. I find beauty in newborn babies(the first few weeks) and the female form-the curves, the perfection of it. I am not sure what I am going to photograph. I have a week to do it. I will not let myself photograph my kids (or my friends kids), anything at my house or near it. I make myself go out and shoot. I challenge myself. I have an understanding with my professor - per my instructions- he won't accept these images from me. He knows and I know too that I am more talented than that. I use this to push myself. I want to learn as much as I can and grow as a photographer. This class is more to learn how to promote myself and commercial photography. After our mid-terms we will form corporations and do some mock advertising. Coming up with the concept, photographing the product, etc. This is the part that I am going to hate. When I walked into class on Friday, I looked around to size up the "Competition". They are a bunch of slackers, etc. I am not sure when the last time some of the showered. The girl sitting next to me has a ring through her nose like a bull. I am not going to enjoy working with any of them.

On a happy note. I am going to be the President of the Art Club at MCC. I am going to be organizing monthly art submissions to encourage a healthy competition among the students. I am going to organize field trips to local museums. I have known that I was going to be the President since the middle of December and have been thinking about what I want to do. The Art Club has been dormant for as long as I can remember. We have money from the state that we can use to publish a yearly art book. This is an excellent opportunity to get the students who want to be artists exposure. So from now on you can all call me "Madame President"! I always knew when I was a little girl that I was going to be President one day-so okay it not the President of the USA, but I will take it! ha ha.

So here is my challenge to all of you. Go out this week and photograph Beauty - as you see it. I want to see what you find beautiful. I hope that this inspires you to be creative. I will have a RAK for the person that sends me their Beauty photograph first. So get out there and shoot!

Have a great weekend,
Cathy

I know that it has been awhile and that my faithful blog readers are begging for a new post. I don't have any photos to inspire you with today.

I wanted to talk about my evening last night. Filic went out with the guys. So after I got the kids to bed, I was able to enjoy my nice quiet house. This is something that I love, just listening to nothing. I watched some tv, but wasn't that into it. I surfed the net, yet again was not that into it. I decided to wash my face and exfoliate. I love to use beauty products. I started using Arbonne products at the beginning of December and I am loving them. My skin has never looked so amazing. I have tried other things over the years and they work for a week or so. But it has been a good month now that I have been using the Arbonne and my skin still feels like it did the first time that I used it. Plus I love the packaging. It appeals to me. I will take a picture of it today.

When I put Franklin to bed last night he asked me to read him 'Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel'. He got that book for Christmas. I had never read it. I really liked that story. I thanked Franklin for picking that book. Lately he has been into Richard Scarry books and they take a good half hour to read, if you read all the small comments. I loved the illustrations in the book. I loved the concept of the story. I have been wanting to write a children's book for some time now. I found someone to illustrate it for me. You are probably thinking, "why doesn't she illustrate it herself?", well if any of you have ever drawn a stick figure-that is about my level of drawing skills! ( I am doomed for next semester when I have to take drawing classes) Reading Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel reminded me of the kind of book I want to write. My stories are based on a character that I came up with for Franklin one night. He loved them so much that it became a nightly thing for us.

I am starting my new class today, it is a digital photography class. It is concerned more with commercial work than portaits. I will post the work I do. It is a long class though. Four hours on a Friday-intense. And for those of you who know me well, I am the classic "Lisa Simpson" student. I have to get an A, it has to be the best, etc!! I guess that it will help that the professor and I are friends. I am so excited that I get to study under my mentor. It really is a dream come true. He pushes me to try new things and is constantly teaching me something new. I love that. I love to learn new things. I will let you know how class goes today. I feel like a kid. My stomach is full of butterflies. I am always nervous the first day. Which is crazy at this point in my life and since I know the professor!!

I know that I have rambled on today, but it was good to just "talk" to you all. I will post some pics later today. Have a great Friday.

Cathy