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

My babies are growing up...

I can't believe it, both of my babies are growing up so fast. On Monday night I set up the twin size mattress and boxspring in Franklin's room and moved the toddler bed into Grace's room.

I did not intend for Grace to start sleeping in the toddler bed that night, but she had other ideas!

Franklin was very excited to have a BIG boy bed. You should have seen the look of happiness on his face. He went to sleep just fine. He did wake up in the middle of the night saying he wanted his old bed back. But when he woke up on Tuesday morning, the first thing he said to me was "Mommy, I love me new bed!"

Grace climbed right into the toddler bed and wanted to go to sleep. We told her that she had to stay in the bed or we would put her in the crib-which is still in her room. She went right to sleep and did not wake up at all during the night. When she woke up on Tuesday morning, she called for me and still did not get out of the bed until I told her it was okay!

Naps yesterday were another story. It took Grace a long time to go to sleep and when she woke up, Filic went in to get her and there were several books in her bed, several pairs of shoes, several baby dolls and she was wearing shoes! How funny is that. Franklin didn't nap, but stayed in his room.

Here are some pictures of their beds:

Grace's bed, complete with her dolls and Mickey

Franklin's bed with his 4 blankets and several animals which always change!

not a good start

So my kids wake up pretty early and my saving grace is coffee. I make them some chocolate milk and then make my coffee. Well this morning I must have been pretty out of it because I forgot to put the coffee pot in the coffee maker. What a mess I had to deal with. And it delayed my first cup of coffee!

It's mornings like these when I wonder what is in store for the rest of my day. I am hoping that it will be an isolated incident.

a mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee

The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Cups of Coffee

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 Hours in a day is not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, without word, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - God, family, children, health, friends, and Favorite passions - - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, Your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car. The sand is everything else -- the small stuff. "If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, You will never have room for the things that are important to you.

So... Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play With your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. "Take care of the golf balls first -- the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked". It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."


At the holidays life always seem to get really busy and crazy for all of us and I wanted to post this for us all to remember what is really important. I am already starting to think about my New Year's Resolutions, and one of them is going to be to spend more time with friends. I want to continue to cultivate the friendships that I have made and not neglect them. A friend of mine called last week and asked me to look at my calendar and find two hours so that we can both go to a coffee shop and catch up over the phone. She lives in North Carolina and we don't get to talk without the kids interrupting very often. I thought that this was a great idea. We are calling it a date, and acting like it is. You would never leave a date waiting at a coffee shop, right?

I hope that you are all getting everything you want accomplished for the holidays. Just remember to take time to spend with friends and family to just talk and hang out. Because not everything has to be about presents, cookies, etc.

Have a great Tuesday,
Cathy