/vacation..

If Wednesday was Wicked, then Friday was

Fabulous. We were thinking of going to a movie, because the weather was so crappy, and the only thing that came to mind as something to do for a good amount of time inside was the Butterfly Conservatory, Magic Wings. I hadn't been there in ages, and along with butterflies and moths, they have several other creatures in cages, or roaming (more or less) free.

Once we got used to the dive-bombing of the butterflies, we just stood still as possible so they would land on us. They definitely like bright colors. We both got some great shots! When we left there (3 school groups full of screaming children later) it had brightened up some, and was shaping up to be a pretty nice day.


Off we went for a drive up Mt. Sugarloaf. The view was awesome & the clouds were high enough that we could see the mountains beyond, and still see pretty far off into the distance. After Sugarloaf, it was off to Jeanne's to pick up her car, so we could both drive to Hamp. I had to be home by 5 to feed and let out the pups, and that would give us at least a whole extra hour in town.

We first went to Local's for those delicious Burgers, onion rings and fried pickles. It was so good, and there was no way we could even finish it all. After that we wandered around Upper Main St, and into St John's Episcopal Church, then up to Smith College for the Greenhouse, Botanical Garden and some fun pictures down by paradise Pond.

We had a blast here, recounting all the memories each of us had in the area. By the time we finished there, it was already time to head back toward the cars. We made stops into Faces (they have the best t-shirts here) and Starbucks on the way, of course.

More pictures to be posted soon!!

Wicked Awesome Wednesday

What a great day we had! The weather could have been a little better, but it also could have been a lot worse. I met Jeanne at her place a little after 2pm and we headed into town. There was so much we wanted to pack into the day, where to start? Starting from the top of the parking garage in town, and just wherever we went there was something to attract our attention. Here are some of the flowers we came across.

We had an early dinner at the Teapot Restaurant, including some Bubble Tea. Here is my Mango Chicken with both of our bubble teas in the background.

After walking around some and digesting that, we decided to stop into the new-ish Local Burgers & Fries place. Wow!! I had an order of regular fries, and were they delish! So good in fact, that instead of going up north a bit as originally planned for Friday, decided to stick around closer to home and go there for lunch! Not only was the food great, the service and people working there were awesome as well. Casual, friendly, fast, reasonably priced, clean. Pretty much perfect.

We checked out the Urban Outfitters, and hung out at Starbucks before heading down to Bishop's Lounge to check out the boys.

By the time we got home it was about 2am. Thursday I had no plans but to relax. Friday is another fun day!

My Vacation So Far..

On Sunday my plane flew into Bradley just ahead of schedule. There was a nasty storm brewing towards the south/southwest, so the timing was perfect. I grabbed a shuttle down to the rentals, and picked up my car. They gave me a Ford Focus. As someone who is used to driving a Toyota Rav4, I don't like it (small cars scare me), but it's better than not having a car. As a consolation, it *does* have Sirius satellite radio. As I was driving I got to see all the familiar sights along the way. Of all of them, nothing beats the sight of mountains and hills. That is one thing I miss, Florida is so flat. One thing I came across that I don't miss: potholes. Holy Moly, the roads on the outskirts of town are just horrible. Driving thru the center of 'hamp I was stopped at a red light and snapped this photo of the Academy Of Music. Great old theater. Since it was getting

late, I decided I should get a move on, and make my way home.

Monday's photos will be shared when Jeanne & I can put our posts up at the same time. I spent most of that day at the Holyoke Mall, Barnes & Noble, and later at a Cruise Night at Atkin's Farm.

Tuesday was pretty much moving from the word GO! I got up, showered and drove down to Dunkin's with my sister, hit wal-mart to pick up snacks for our long session at the Tattoo Parlor, Then it was back home to pick up the other people going (there were 4 of us geting inked that day: my mom, me, my sister, and my niece). We hit the 99's restaurant for lunch and made our way to Guideline Tattoos in E. Hartford, CT for our 2:00 appointment with Steve. In the process of deciding what to get for my second tat, I must have changed the design and/or placement a dozen times. This is what I ended up with, and I love it!

Here is the finished tattoo. It goes all the way around, save for maybe an 1/8 of an inch. When I take off the bandage I can show the rest of it, but this is the main part of the design anyway. The back is all vine and leaves, no stars.

Today it is raining, so it remains to be seen what Jeanne & I will do this afternoon. Tonight is definitely drinks and music at Bishop's Lounge, though!

One Weekend in the Life of Me

Ali had a great challenge on her blog this past weekend to document our weekend. I plan on sharing a few of my favorite pics here, and probably will make a mini book out of this project. I had a great weekend, even though I had to work on Saturday morning. The good thing was it was just me, so I could go in whenever, and that whenever meant that the sun was up. It's dark when I go in during the week, and that makes for a very boring and picture-less drive.

Saturday was also the date for the annual Dancin' in the Streets celebration in downtown Neptune Bleach, FL. They block off the end of the street and it's one big party for the whole day. Like all the events, the food was expensive, but the entertainment was great. I hit the beach for a short walk before I was able to catch the last 2 bands. First up was the "Little Green Men". They played all the great hair bands and sing along anthems of the (mostly) 80's! Add some beer and sunshine, and it was like one big karaoke session! We sang along to Def Leppard, AC/DC, Bon Jovi, Journey, Katrina & The Waves, and I'm sure many more that I am forgetting. After they played we heard "Straight Up". They played Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, and the like. Very happy movin' music, for sure! About halfway through their set, I decided to beat the traffic and head back to the car. Yes, they had on funny green wigs and space-suits. But they had fun, and we had fun, and that's all that matters!

Along with the painted Jaguars they have around town, we now also have Sea Turtles. I saw only one other so far, but wasn't able to stop to get a shot of it yet.

So that was my Saturday. Here is my sunday:

As always click on the photos for a closer look, and have a great week! This coming sunday I will be on a plane headed home for vacation!

Spring goslings..

Several days ago I was leaving work and saw some baby geese waddling alongside the parents, and darned if my camera battery was dead, and no spare handy. **hangs head in shame**

All was not lost tho, as I was leaving yesterday, I stopped in the front parking lot and walked across the street to where the pond and clock tower are, right in front of the Coach building. Too cute! I wandered down the where there is a little area with benches and low overhanging trees, very nice area to sit and relax. If you don't mind the noise of the fake birds in the tower to keep other critters away. LOL

Here are a couple photos of some of the babies.

The one to the left is a different group, and if you look closely you can see a second baby behind the adult.

I also saw these very bright and cheerful flowers. I have no idea what kind they are, but they are oh so lovely!

Last but not least, today we had an hour for lunch instead of our usual half hour, so me and a coworker went to a newly opened frozen yogurt place down the road.

The owner waved us in, (he was on the phone) and I asked him if I could get a couple pics for my scrapbook and he emphatically shook his head no, as if I would steal ideas or something. I dunno. So, on his phone, loudly speaking in chinese, and paying us no mind at all, as soon as we paid for our dishes (all self serve, 45 cents an ounce, so a good size dish is about 4 bucks) we sat down and proceeded to take pics anyway. he never noticed at all. If he did he didn't say anything. Lots of flavors, tons of different toppings, including lots of fresh fruit, and cool prismatic tables! Here is a collage of photos I was able to get.

I'm so glad I only have a week to go before my vacation. I fly out on sunday the 24th, and should be landing in Mass about 8pm. A bit later than I like, but oh well, better late than never! I better start packing! :-)

Weekend photo dump

Out driving with my cousin, I had the chance to stick my camera out the window a few times and catch some of the beautiful color on the side of the road, not to mention said camera hanging out the window.

We did some shopping at the mall in Lake City, and I had a blast trying on stuff I would never actually buy. I did buy a cute outfit for church on Sunday. It was casual day, since there was a big get together in the park below the church. Here it is:

I also got some really cute layering t's at Rue 21, another store I didn't think I'd ever buy from, seems like a cross between old navy and Hot topic, lol

It was taken in the girl's mirror before we left. I got some cute hammy pics of us, but don't want to post without permission from their mom.

Kinda bummed that I missed NSD, but it was nice to get away from home for a couple days, despite the hell i'm dealing with here. I'm trying to keep it into perspective...if the broken AC is all I'm dealing with right now, it could be much, much worse...

OK, this pic does not do it justice, but there is a field full of these beautiful yellow flowers, and this is all I managed to get. Notice my lovely reflection right in the middle, lol.

Have a great week, everyone!

The heat is on...**warning: ranting ahead!**

I had a great time at my cousin's this weekend, even though we didn't end up having the time to go to my aunt's to swim. I came home early evening yesterday to a 92 degree F apartment. Yay, the AC picked a great time to crash. I went online and got the "emergency" maintenance beeper number and called it. 6 times within an hour. No answer, no callback, nothing.
This morning, I locked the cat and his neccesseties in the bedroom with the ceiling fan on, and called the office at my 10 am break. I called at my 2:30 break and they still hadn't gotten to it yet. I got home at 6pm, and they were just starting to look into it. Turns out the fan wasn't turning. So he told me if it happens again to just tap the fan with a screwdriver, until it can be fixed properly...WTF???? **sigh**
I also mentioned that the windows needed better weatherproofing, along with the space under my door...the whole place needs updating, badly. I should just get this stuff fixed myself and take it off the rent.

/rant

St Augustine continued..

Here are some more photos from my visit to St Augustine on Sunday. First up are a couple pictures from the little walk I took before I went in. These are the steps leading up to the path. The cement path has palm fronds engraved all the way around. They look a little like fossils, pretty neat.

The music was as awesome as the food. As I said before the stage setup was much smaller than last year's, but that didn't affect the enthusiasm of the players at all! That's one thing about the blues bands, along with original songs, you're also likely to hear a few familiar songs as well. At right is JW Gilmore and the Blues Authority. Love the singers purple suit!

The band below (Stormy Weather Blues Band) did an awesome version of "You Didn't Think About That", a song I know from Coco Montoya's Suspicion album. The guitarist was a riot to watch on stage. besides playing the guitar, he took pictures of his band mates, and pretty much was all over the place. The singer reminded me of a cross between Joe Cocker and Jack Nicholson, a la The Shining.

At left is the Regi Blue/Al Stone band, (links go to to their respective, seperate MySpace pages) they were fantastic as well. So all in all, with the food, and the music, and the stupendous weather, it was a great day! After all the food I ate, I decided to drive south just a bit further and hit the beach for a short walk, since I had some time still before I had to get home to the televised Red Sox/Yankees game.

Phew!

Oh. My. Goodness.

Sunday I met a friend of mine at the St Augustine Ampitheater for the Taste of SA, and the Birth of the Blues. Last year it was a 2 day event, this year they've shrunk it down to just one. The weather was beautiful, with hardly a cloud to be seen.

On the way down I stopped at the SA outlets to walk around and pick up a new pair of sport sandals, and a 3 pack of "car jar" air fresheners (Vanilla Lime) from the YCC outlet store.

I pulled into the Ampitheatre a little after noon, and took a walk on a short circular stone path. I didn't venture too far, lest the parking attendants think I was trying to sneak in the back way. There were steps leading up, all but blocked by a large hanging tree branch. After getting a few photos in there, I paid my way in to the Taste. After purchasing some taste tickets I wandered about the booths looking for what I wanted to try first. Immediately the booth with the Pan Seared Mahi Mahi tuna wrapped in bacon caught my attention. The line and the wait never seemed to cease. Adding it to my "must try" list, I moved on. The A1A Ale Works had a busy booth as well, and the Shrimp 'n Grits were quickly purchased, photographed, and inhaled. Delicious!! While I was wolfing that down, my friend called saying she had just pulled in. I met her at the entrance and after purchasing her tickets, we wandered again, with me pointing out where the "good stuff" was. She started out with the sushi, and I headed to the booth with
Caribbean Jack Seared Ahi Tuna with Apple Mango Slaw. It included an edible flower, which I ate, but it was pretty tasteless. :)

Other items I had were the Maryland style Crab Cakes with a mustard sauce, Fried Custard, Garlic Fries, Mini Chocolate Torte, The Mahi Mahi wrapped in bacon mentioned above. Oh and 2 Starbucks Iced coffees, and a small pice of Orange Chocolate fudge to go. The only disappointment was the Pineapple Shrimp Fried Rice, which was very bland.

In between dishes we sat under the tent and watched the bands and chatted.

More pictures to follow!

Scrap Your Day 01

I randomly chose the August prompt from Shimelle's free online "Scrap Your Day" challenge/project she did last year. Jeanne and I decided to do it together this year, and alternate choosing months, as well. She already had a system that works for her down, and I'll be learning what works and what doesn't as I go along.

This months theme was "in the details", and I probably could have done better, but I had fun and that's what counts! :) It's a challenge after all, right?

I could tell when I got up, that it was going to be a beautiful day!The sun was shining, and some high fluffy clouds.

Dinner last night was from a tasty recipe I found in one of the Taste of Home magazines. I love that they are fast, and always use easy to find ingredients.

This one has spiral pasta, diced chicken breast, diced tomatoes, black olives and some spices. It also called for sour cream, but had none, and it was still tasty. I have made it properly before, so knew it was one ingredient I could skip.

Most of the day was spent at the St John's Town Center browsing at Barnes & noble, and watching the free music in the small park there. There are ducks, koi, and lots of turtles in the pond there as well, so plenty to capture my attention.

They had an art show going on also, so I couldn't get too picture happy there, but there were some great drawings and paintings. very creative stuff!

I even managed to find my new bathing suit. hopefully this one lasts more than a year, since I may go swimming 2-3 times a year at the most.

Today it's off to St Augustine for the annual Taste of St Augustine, and Birth of the Blues festival at the Ampitheatre. I've even skipped breakfast so I can properly stuff myself later on. Carribean Jack Seared Ahi Tuna with Apple Mango Slaw anyone?? YUM-O!

Remember to go here to see some of Jeanne's pics from her day! I wonder what month she'll pick for us next!!

Lazy Sunday

On Saturday I had planned to go to the beach for Sunrise Service, but on Sunday morning that was not happening. I woke up, fed the cat and promptly went right back to bed. Ah, well. I finally got up about 8:30-ish, took my shower and proceeded to have a semi-lazy day.

I made cinnamon rolls, and coffee, then got on the computer. I always hit the Postsecret blog first on Sundays, then off to check out some crafty blogs.

Eventually Jeanne & I connect and decide to scrap. It took me a little while to decide what layouts to do, but I decided on one for the election (loosely), and one on the walk through Cradle Creek Preserve.

The photos on the right half of the page were from the rally held at Metro Park back in September.

~details: cardstock: The Paper Company, "memorable" stamp: Collage Press office policy, "imagine" & "dream" rub-ons: Junkitz, "change you can believe in" stamps: Scrappy Cat.

For the Cradle Creek layout, I wanted simple, and used a sketch I found in the newest, and sadly last issue of Simple Scrapbooks.

There are so many great places here to hike and watch birds, or other small creatures, that I just need to get out there and find them.

~details: Cardstock: Bazzill, Flowers: Prima, Letter stickers & brads: unknown, journaling font: Lucida Handwriting.

Have a great week and don't forget to go visit Jeanne's blog and see what she created!

Jax Beach & Springing The Blues

Between Friday evening and most of Saturday I spent about 10 hours at the beach listening to some great music, and eating some good BBQ. They had 2 stages, going and I found myself at the less crowded, but just as good, smaller stage. I listened to the Yankee Slickers for most of their set, and moved about between set-ups.

It wasn't as windy as the last time I was out, so I ended up on the pier again also. Lots of bluefish and some white being caught. From what I heard, there was a small shark sighting. The dolphins made a quick pass also.



This guy was hanging out on the pier for quite some time. I bet he was probably waiting for someone to toss him some fish.
I got a little sunburn, even with at least 2 applications of sunscreen, but it was a great couple of days at the beach.

Jacksonville Parks

After working several hours today to finish up a project at work I decided to take a ride to a local park/trail that I read about on this site. I chose the Cradle Creek Preserve to check out, will probably visit more of the other parks eventually.

I stopped at Dunkin's for an iced coffee, and headed a few miles down the road.

As soon as I got out of my car and saw the boardwalks I couldn't wait to see what was out there!

I mostly saw lizards and lots of large bird nests. I wish I had a better zoom, but I think this one may be an osprey. Heard some woodpeckers as well, but didn't/couldn't see them. Lots of elusive butterflies as well.

This little lizard was pretty neat. The photo is actually upside down, since that was the only angle I could get him at. I was hanging over the railing as it was. :)

Can you see the lizard in this photo?? He wasn't into getting his picture taken, and I took that as a personal challenge. Managed to get a couple of him, but he kept scurrying under the leaves, and boy, did he blend perfectly!

Also saw lots of flowers, spanish moss, and various palms.

Managed to get a shot of myself sitting on a bench at the end of one of the trails. I only saw one couple walking around, other than that I pretty much had the trails to myself.