Sunday, May 31, 2009

Sunday Fun ..

 

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I love this picture .. this was taken last week at Boothbay Harbor. As I am going through my pictures for my fun photography class .. I discovered this program on my lap top that would make my blogging life easier .. who would have known?? So I am posting this picture as a “try out” .. with this new found tool … woohoo! Don’t you just love discovering something new that makes your life easier … AND.. it didn’t cost you anything because you already had it .. !

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Fill In Friday … on Saturday

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1. It's cold and _damp and dreary …not a good day for a run (hmm yea, good excuse! Hit the snooze button)__.
2. _My grandmother used to make grilled_ tomatoes, and my sisters and I would choke them down, never admitting that we hated them!  
3. My favorite health and beauty product is _anything LancĂ´me__.
4. _Ensure that the final destination is worth_ a nice long ride.
5. Well, first of all _you can’t always get everything that you want, all the time, you can, however, control one or two things__. (words by photo teacher/guru Bernie)
6. _My old work family_; those were the cast of characters in a recent dream and it was _weird!__.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _an evening with Janine_, tomorrow my plans include _a run, clean the house, some photo opportunities____ and Sunday, I want to _have more photo opportunities ..and depending on the weather, who knows_!

Play along and join us right here!

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Thursday 13 .. Thirteen Things in May






The last Thursday of the month ..thirteen things in May, stolen in it's original form from Janet at T13 .. here we go:






  1. Picture of: Boothbay Harbor

  2. Aletta took this picture while we were in Boothbay Harbor .. isn't she just awesome?


  3. Current Scent: I'm not a big perfumey person .. (although I love a well scented man!) .. so I rarely wear perfume .. maybe a spritz of China Blossom from Bath and Body ..


  4. What I am reading: Sigh .. reading? a book?


  5. Newest music I added to my playlist: I just added Second Chance by Shinedown


  6. Movies I saw: Star Trek .. thank goodness for Noah .. he had to keep telling me what was going on .. I couldn't get into the past and future thing ...


  7. Something Yummy: ..ahhh .. we specifically bought fudge from a great store in Greenville


  8. The Last Place I ate out at: Noah, Alet and I went to the Black Frog .. in Greenville..


  9. Something that made me cry: ahhh ... really? ..what about the latest recommendation to wear push up bras because the girls were hanging a little low .......? This recommendation came from none other than ..... Aletta. ... I love my daughter!


  10. Something that made me laugh: the sight of the tall grass in the yard .. I need to mow the lawn!

  11. Something that I look forward to in June: oh .. so much to do, to see, to explore .. to take pictures of ... and I still have to set my kayak in ...and then at the end of the month .. Texas


  12. Something I am thankful for: the ability and opportunity of being here these last 7 months.


  13. Something I want to remember this month: This was probably the most defining month in the last 6 months .. lots of up and downs .. laughs and tears .. realizations and recognitions ..


  14. A photo I took this month: for our photography class I have been taking several ... but I realized our cat rarely makes it in ..

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

What a great weekend!



We had a crazy weekend .. now that the move to Texas is a few short weeks away, I have gone into over drive to ensure that I have all the experiences and pictures to last me until the next time we come back for a visit.

Being a long weekend, we would take advantage of that extra day off, and so we decided that going to the coast would be a great place to take pictures .. so off to Boothbay Harbor we went.

We had a great time .. we stopped and had lunch, and then decided to get ice cream. Standing there, waiting in line, I was doing what I love .. people watching, when suddenly I recognized a guy walking by .. I ran out of the ice cream shop .. my kids totally dismayed with the idea that I had just desserted the line we were in (no pun!), and started looking for what I knew would be a beautiful blonde lady.... and there she was! I yelled out "Kris?!?" .. low and behold ... friends of ours that we hadn't seen in 10 years ... They had come up from Massachusetts .. for the day to Boothbay Harbor .. our stars were in alignment ... it was so good to see them. We stood for 15 minutes trying to recapture all that lost time. It was soooo great to see them!

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Friday fill in ..a little late



1. Moving _again, back to Texas, and this time I will enjoy what Texas has to offer. I have learned that Maine will always be "home" to me, and it will always be here... __.
2. _The simple things in life are _ free. (Well ... okay, sometimes an initial investment, like a kayak .. but then the paddling is free!)
3. My best quality is _(augh..struggle, struggle ..) I'm a good listener .....(what did you say?)_.
4. _Pay attention to the little _ details.
5. In nearly 10 years, _I'll be 50! That just seems so unreal .. my sisters are the older ones ... not me!__.
6. _Good motivation to run on a more consistent basis_ is what I need right now!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _Chinese food, and a movie with Noah_, tomorrow my plans include _going to the dump (yippee!), a modified run, and some photo opportunities__ and Sunday, I want to _go on a road trip for more photo opportunities or Kayak?____! ..and holiday Monday ... relax and enjoy Memorial Day (can I squeeze kayak here?).

Have a Happy Memorial Weekend ..... summer is here .... YEAH!!!! (oh wait, that means school vacation .... hmmm!)

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Thursday 13 ..




So today I received an email from Cynthia that had 45 life lessons, which I have broken down to 13 of my favorite life lessons in celebration of another T13. (Yeah .. it's Thursday!)


  1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.


  2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.


  3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone ...


  4. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.


  5. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

  6. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.


  7. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.


  8. Growing old beats the alternative ... dying young.


  9. Time heals almost everything .. Give time.


  10. What other people think of you is none of your business.


  11. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.


  12. Your children get only one childhood.


  13. Over prepare, then go with the flow. (hmm.... no longer am I a "planner" .. I'm a prepared "go with the flow" person!!)

I may have to create another list .. I struggled with limiting 13 .. there were other good ones.



Happy Thursday!

Monday, May 18, 2009

Manic Monday





If you could completely redecorate any room in your house at no expense to you, what room would you choose? My bedroom


Which hour of the day do you feel goes the slowest? .. depends on the type of day … and what is going on .. sometimes all day goes slow .. or when you have a lunch date, the morning will drag … Doesn’t it seem that when you are anticipating something, the time slows down?



If your birthday could be in a different month of the year, when would you have it? I think I would pick June … summer time


Thursday, May 14, 2009

Thursday 13 .. things that irritate me ..

Okay … so it’s Thursday again .. and thanks to Janet and Megan, join me on T13 …. I have been terrible with keeping up with my blog. Running and blogging must go hand in hand .. I have been terrible with running as well. I’m not sure what this phase is called, and how long it will last … it is certainly scaring me since I am eating a lot, and running NOT!  Every morning when that wonderful alarm goes off, I either don’t hear it .. or I just can’t get myself to acknowledge that it is “that time” .. and going to the  gym now seems so … ‘ugh’ … with the weather getting warmer, it gets stuffier and stuffier… and now for some reason, people find it necessary to climb on the tread mill beside me instead of using the others that stand lonely and still on the other side. Don’t crowd me! (unless of course we know each other and I like you .. also wouldn’t hurt if you look good when you run!! LOL) In reality I should go run outside .. and hopefully, very shortly I will find the motivation again. (If it isn’t the motivation, maybe it will be my brand sparkling new running shoes! )

So .. Thursday 13, traditionally the favorite day of meme’s .. I asked my loving son what type of list I should create .. and he told me to come up with the 13 things that irritate me .. hmmmm! So here it goes:

  1. Dog hair -  or lint on my clothes.
  2. Barking dog .. Bruce has a knack of barking when I am on the phone. Or he barks when he wants to eat. .. he just barks randomly.  RMay0909 029
  3. Noise … tonight Alet has her girlfriend over .. together they have eaten 10 lbs of sugar .. then combine it with Noah .. the Xbox skateboard game .. a dog all in a small room …. it’s very noisy in my house tonight!
  4. Office politics
  5. People who judge … don’t judge someone unless you have walked in their shoes
  6. Walking into a messy house ~ unfortunately my teenagers haven’t learned to clean up after themselves .. so more often than not I come home to a messy house ….. augh!
  7. Rap music … especially when there is poor grammar and mispronunciation involved …. “AKS” instead of ASK
  8. Can we talk politics??
  9. People who whine and complain ….. … .. oh, wait!
  10. Boy … this is harder than I thought .. Alet pointed out a few things I should write .. but I told her it wouldn’t be appropriate ..
  11. Sunday drivers … not that I am a speedster … just a woman driver with a purpose … move over!
  12. Wet, cold, windy days … not much you can do with those .. (a night like tonight …)(…. well wait! I guess you can start a fire… and warm up the house! ..)
  13. Plugged toilet ….  if you plug it up … unplug it! Take ownership, man! (and slow down on the toilet paper! One square is enough … LOL!!!!!!! just kidding!)

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Surprise in Maine!

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Last week I was honored and lucky enough to be able to see our neighbor from Texas as he was passing through on his way to Iraq for deployment. Maine has one of the best troop greeters program. See more about them on www.mainetroopgreeters.com . They are volunteers that will come to the airport to greet our troops as they leave the US or as they are coming home. It is so surreal to sit at the airport, and be part of the celebration when our troops enter the terminal .. almost like the commercial from Budweiser. I still got tears when I see that one!

Budweiser Commercial

It was so good to see him, at the same time it was strange to see my Texas neighbor in Maine! Memories are posted in the Oasis . Thank you  R and A for your sacrifice, I will be thinking of you.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Something to be passionate about ..

So, my first homework assignment in my photography class is to take four or five pictures of “something that you feel passionate about” . Relatively easy I thought to myself…

Thursday was a beautiful day, the sun was out .. 70’s ..in April, for Maine ..it’s summer! All I could think about was kayaking .. I wanted to be outside .. my mind wandered about picture taking “something I feel passionate about …” Then it occurred to me .. how do I take four or five pictures of something I am passionate about? Is there such a thing as being passionate about an object? .. Doesn’t passionate go with emotion? Was this a trick assignment? Did he mean to take pictures of an object .. or of a thought …… ?

So, fast forward to today .. during my long run, I went back to the thoughts of my homework assignment, and knowing I would be able to take pictures this afternoon …… but of what? I started questioning the whole idea of “what am I passionate about?”. I made a mental list .. the things I feel passionate for are intangible; I feel passion for being healthy, making sure I eat healthy, (and yes, wine and chocolate equate to healthy eating .. it’s all in the balance!) that I exercise regularly (and have recovery days!!) and that I don’t deprive myself of sleep.

I am passionate about living .. making that bucket list, and crossing things off. Alet once said “if you aren’t living on the edge you’re taking up too much space ..” Obviously there is a time and place for everything, however, life is not a dress rehearsal, live life!

Sooo… meanwhile, I am still running, and notice the scenery .. an island of tulips .. beautiful yellow, orange and red .. right on the Main Road ..note to self: come back and take a picture; and that’s when it hit me. In photo taking, I am passionate about simple, natural beauty. I love to find Mother Nature’s surprises and capture them. Now I just need to get good at it, and make sure the picture does it justice!

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