Together - Photo Hunt

On our road trip, the temperatures dropped drastically, so we had to put Bruce inside in the truck .. (augh!!! can you say DOG HAIR???!!) Alet and Bruce are buddies.

Photo Story Friday .. on Sunday!

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

This is Bruce. Generally Golden Retrievers are loving, kind and gentle. ... ya... not this one! He is obnoxious, boisterous and very demanding ... despite his wonderful traits, he is a good dog.

Road Trip!

This is the summary of our drive from Texas to Maine ... a total of 2,233.3 miles ..! We had stop overs in Tennessee, Ohio and New York. An extra bonus .. we got to have Muffin Monday at Tommie's! We saw snow, we dipped our toes in Lake Eerie .I love the fact that this trailer had "Holland" on the side!

Fall in Maine..

Happy!

This week Carmi at Written Inc had the theme of happy for his Thematic Photographic.

Happy can be so much .. but the first thing that came to mind when I read about the theme is friendships. Almost every night Alet and her bf H come out and sit on the truck .. and just enjoy their time.

Don't we all just have those friendships .. where we can just sit and enjoy each other's company without words?

Last summer on the way to Maine, I was able to stop in DC and see my high school bf Julie .. many years have gone by and we still have the ability to know what the other is thinking without speaking.

Happy is life-long friendships.

Manic Monday ..

How long does it take you to get out of bed in the morning?
Hmm that depends on the day! There have been Saturday mornings where I have felt like not getting up at all because the whole rest of the week I had no choice but to get up early! Then there is THAT dog - Demi she will not allow me to sleep past 7:11 AM .. yes, not 7:15 or 7:00 ... she must have a magical clock inside .. but precisely at that time, she gets all wild and WILL NOT allow me to stay in bed.
Then there is the question of coffee ... I love coffee in bed!

Do you usually sleep on one side of the bed or another?
I like my side of the bed .. even when the other side is vacant .. I don't roam in bed!

Something you wish to accomplish before the end of the year:
PEACE AND SERENITY .... HAHAHA!

Friday Fill In ..

1. Follow the _path with some resistance_.
2. _My laptop_ is something I always take with me on vacation.
3. To achieve your goals, you must _be willing to take a chance__.
4. _That I tend to trust to easily_ is something I'd like you to know about me.
5. I have a _photo-bucket list _. (Have you seen the movie?)
6. _My kayak paddle_ floats.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _going to an "informal gathering"_, tomorrow my plans include _sorting and packing_ and Sunday, I want to _watch football_!

** I have to make a change ... GO RED SOX!! When I originally posted things weren't looking so good .... but this weekend I am looking forward to watching the Red Sox!

Thematic Photographic - Blur

So .. I have been on a bloggers block .. and naturally I still visit my favorite sites and once again, Tommie has given me something to post .. and hopefully get me off the silence ..

Written Inc has themed photo "ideas" .. so this week it was "Blur".. who doesn't have blurry pictures?

With an active 10 month old puppy .. blur is fairly easy ... this is during one of our walks, Demi loves to play in the sand.

Thursday 13

So ... changes are coming fast.. I decided for Thursday to do:


13 Things I will Miss About Texas



Papaya & Mangoes - I love fresh fruit ..growing up we ate so much fruit .. all the tropical good stuff, Papayas and mangoes are my favorite.

SUN - Mark the dermatologist had way too much fun with my skin!

RAIN - I love the sudden downpours ..(hated the tornado threats)

Taqueria - a great Mexican restaurant 1 mile from the house .. their breakfast tacos and shrimp & cilantro tacos ... (all made with WHITE flour tortillas = carbs!)

Running year round - not that I always took advantage ..but after all those white flour tortillas ..

Running at 5 am in the dark, to avoid the heat - Probably my most favorite time .. not so for getting up, but once outside and the feet are moving

Starbucks on every corner


Fresh tortillas - going to the grocery store and buying "raw" tortillas.. will Maine have them?

Wearing shorts 10 months out of the year - the only drawback: frequent shaving!

Papa Murphy's Cinnamon Wheel - Friday night pizza night ..

No pantyhose!! - see the drawback on wearing shorts

Brown rice sushi made by the Japanese Chef at the Commissary - He would make them fresh for you!!!

Seeing stars - Texas stars are everywhere!!

Six Wacky Things

I think Tommie called this "worthlessblog fodder" and I was indirectly tagged .. so here goes 6 wacky things .. about me

1. i like my water or unsweetened ice tea with a little ice - too cold doesn't go down well.

2. i like the bedroom to be cold when I sleep - love the feeling of cool air .. and the weight of a heavy comforter!

3. the kitchen sink needs to sparkle before bed -nothing beats seeing a clean sink in the morning

4. please let me load the dishwasher - can we say OCD .. (or is it CDO?).. I will unload just to reload! (yes .... sick, I know!)

5. i don't (can't?) iron - my mother never taught me, my husband had his way of wanting his shirts done, so he did it ... so.... I never needed to learn how to iron and quite frankly, that is okay!

6. i am not a shopper - going shopping actually stresses me out. I enjoy going shopping with a group of friends .. but that is social!

Consider yourself tagged!! List 6 things ..

Manic Monday ..

What is one thing you admire about each of your parents?
My dad had a lot of charisma ..
My mother was always the perfect hostess.

Which parts of your home do you like best?
I like the front porch .. the breeze is always nice .. and I can see when the neighbors are getting ready to do the wine thing!
Inside the house I like the master bathroom ... who wouldn't?? It has a full shower, jacuzzi tub .. separate water closet (WC) .. AND separate vanities!! .. but those aren't the reasons I like it ...
when I need to have peace and quiet and escape from the noise to talk on the phone ... that's where I go!!!

Which would you prefer and why? To have every stoplight turn green upon your arrival for the rest of your life or to have one week of the best sex any person ever had?
Now, wait a minute.... Do I get sex more than just for the one week ... or is it best sex for the rest of my life ..one week at a time????? LOL
I really need to have those occasionally red lights to catch up on my text messages ..... soooo ...
I guess my answer is THE BEST SEX .. ... LOL

Manic Monday ..

What is the most useful gift you’ve ever been given? On Mother's Day, 2 years ago, I received an I-pod shuffle ..(yes by now it is EXTREMELY outdated, with everything that is out there .. it has 512MB!!! LOL!) My shuffle is my escape partner for running.

Name the most terrifying moment of your life so far.
OHH, on Aug. 31, 2005 .. my son suffered a severe asthma attack, never having been diagnosed with it. To watch your child struggle, while his lips are turning white and have 4 people working feverishly around him, and him just looking at you with those eyes ... IT WAS HORRIBLE!! (After 2 days in ICU .. and a maintenance program he is doing great now.)

One hot summer afternoon, while walking through a parking lot at a large shopping center, you notice a dog suffering badly from the heat inside a locked car. What would you do?
Where's my cell phone....

The View

The View

I know this is an old picture, but I haven't found anything to replace it. This is the view from my dream house on Moosehead Lake in Greenville, Maine. When I went up for the summer last year, my dream house was for sale .. it was right next to the private beach that I would go to. This dock is part of the property ... how awesome would it be?? I would take my kayak right in the middle of the lake .. and just float. The house itself isn't anything fancy .. I am sure no granite counter tops .. no stainless appliances .. just the basic 4 bedroom, 2 bath camp/house .. not bigger than 1800 square foot .. but oh! was it my dream house!

I just found the listing online ... the price has dropped $60,000 ....it needs to drop a few more dollars ... lol! (one of those wishes!)
Not the most modern built .. but it was the view .. peace and serenity!! My kayak would fit perfect here!

Something different ...

This came from fondofsnape

Brandt!..
1. needs… an evening with the girls to have pure laughter and lots of alcohol!
2. has a dog named… Bruce (and of course Demi)
3. drives like… a woman with a purpose

4. craves…. all that is not good for me!

5. favorite TV Show is… the Office.
6. alcoholic drink of choice is…daily RED WINE .. BOLS Jong Genever (a dutch gin)…various martini's .. (oops ... it was drink of choice, not drinkS ..)
7. NON alcoholic drink of choice is… room temperature H2O

8. favorite musical artist is… depending on the moods .. Toby Keith has the sexy voice
9. hair is… starting to need something ...
10. celebrity crush is… Kevin Costner mmm..

11. favorite book is… most recent Randy Pausch Last Lecture.
12. favorite color is… eggplant purples or burnt oranges ..
13. wishes… for too much!

How about you? What are yours?