Tuesday, April 29, 2008

The Wedding!


The wedding was beautiful! The bride looked like a princess! The groom (my brother) was so handsome! We all had a great time! Even though it was HOT!



This is one of my favorite pictures. I love how it shows all the "fru-fru" of the wedding day (shoes, flowers, dress, etc.) next to the tattoo on her foot. I really enjoy trying to capture things in my photographs, that others may not consider taking a picture of. (She was sitting on the ground, taking off her wedding shoes, to put on a pair of flip-flops. LOL)



This was another one of my favorites. Can you tell that I love ZOOMING in for close up shots? LOL I am the queen of ZOOM!



Even Mr. Mister got in on the picture taking action. He caught the bride playing football with all of the kids. (It was hilarious, because it took two other people to help lift her dress up, so that she could kick the ball! LOL (She definitely was NOT your "typical" bride! LOL!)

Between the two of us, there were almost 500 photos. I would show you more, but I don't want to make you scroll down the page for days! Plus, I am not sure that everyone would appreciate their picture being posted on my blog.

We did have some crazy people there! There was even a little bit of pole dancing going on! LOL By the end of the night, my cheeks hurt from laughing so much.

It's so great when everyone can get together, have fun, and enjoy each other's company.



After seeing Sedona for the first time last year, Mr. Mister and I, fell in love with it. It is absolutely breathtaking! So, of course, we planned another trip there this year.



This time, we rented the diamond cabin at Forest Houses Resort for two days. It was HEAVEN! So peaceful and quiet. We relaxed, talked, BBQ'd, and didn't ever want to leave.

Our next visit will need to be for at least a week! There never seems to be enough time to do everything we want to do.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Vacation!



Thanks for stopping by to visit me! I am in Arizona, for my brother's wedding. I am also catching up with other family members, and being stalked by some guy at the casino! (I guess he thinks rubbing my arm, and saying good luck "baby" will make him my good luck charm! So NOT!) Please come back and see me soon! I will have LOTS of pictures to share with you!

Thursday, April 17, 2008

GAS!

This sums it up PERFECTLY! LOL!



Yesterday, we were excited, because it dropped from $3.59 to $3.57! WOO HOO! We can plan that cross country vacation NOW!

UPDATE! Forget the road trip! I just came home from running errands, and it's now up to $3.69!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Baltimore Aquarium!

Everyone knows that I CANNOT pass up going to an aquarium. Everywhere we go, one of the first questions out of my mouth, is "is there an aquarium here?"

I can spend hours wandering around looking at all of the pretty fish. I always get excited when I find the sea horses. And I stand mesmerized, while I watch the jelly fish swim gracefully by. Aquariums are very peaceful to me.

This trip included a visit to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. What a fun place! Lots of cool things to see. But at this aquarium, for me, it was all about the frog exhibit! I was obsessed!

Over these particular frogs!





Aren't they pretty? All different shades of blue. (The pictures are a bit blurry because they were taken through the glass. They also continuously mist the habitat so that their environment stays moist.)

The Poisonous Dart Frog! (The following information was taken from the National Aquarium of Baltimore's website)

The most poisonous animal in the world is not a snake or a spider – it’s one of the most dazzling frogs you’ll ever see. Poison dart frogs come in a dizzying array of colors and patterns.

The golden poison dart frog, called terribilis (the terrible), is so toxic that it can kill 20,000 mice or 10 people!

Native tribesman in their ranges have been known to poison the tips of blowdarts with the frog’s toxin when hunting.

Complex compounds in the skin secretions of dart frogs are being studied by scientists for potential medical use. These hopping pharmacies have already provided a possible substitute for morphine which is non-addictive and 100 times more potent.

All I can say is WOW! I knew once I read the description about them, that they were something I HAD to see!

The exhibit included many different kinds of frogs. And as always, I took way too many pictures, but I wanted to show you this one because it totally cracked me up! (It's nice to know that it's not only humans with weight problems......ROFL)



This was Mr. Mister's favorite fish. "She" kept blowing him kisses, and posing for the camera. Such a FLIRT! Girlfriend! Get your own man! ROFL!

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Celebrities, Politicians, & Basketball

While in Washington D.C., we had the chance to purchase tickets at $25.00 per person, to get into this “swanky” place, that a lot of celebrities and politicians like to hang out at.

We had some time, and decided what the heck? Let’s check it out.

So we paid our money, and walked through the doors. Immediately, we started seeing people that we recognized! It was AMAZING!

As you can see from the picture below, Mr. Mister had his picture taken with Samuel L. Jackson. (This was a must for him, because he is always being told that he looks like Samuel L. Jackson. Even his “wiredawg” name (from the military) is “Shaft.”) My only regret is that we didn’t have a matching Kangol hat for Mr. Mister to wear!




We also saw Tom Cruise! Now, I know that he has turned a lot of people off in the last few years. But STILL!



After wandering around a bit, we noticed Whoopie over in the corner! She is one FUNNY chica!



I almost fainted when we walked into another room, and saw JOHNNY DEPP! OH MY GOODNESS! I was hyperventilating! (Now, if it had been my Orlando Bloom, they would have had to carry me out of the place! Probably in handcuffs.....ROFL)



OK! OK! By now you are probably figuring out that the "swanky" place was Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum aren't you? LOL! But, you KNOW that I had you going with those first few photos! GOTCHA! ROFL!

I love these of Mr. Mister and Duke Ellington.



More.........





We found that most of the figures photographed better alone. They were at weird angles, or their eyes were looking in a different direction. Not really great for trying to capture a "realistic" picture.

I have a lot more photos, but I am too lazy to resize and make them into collages. (I am bad! I KNOW!)

As for the rest of the day, it was pretty exciting too! I went to my first NBA game. It was the Washington Wizards vs. the Boston Celtics. We had really good seats, but I still watched a lot of it on the big screens they had above the court. The whole time we were sitting there, we were clueless that Clinton Portis, (running back for the Washington Redskins) was siting two rows in front of us. We also saw Wes Unsell. (Which, really doesn't mean much to me, but I am sure all of you sport fans out there will understand why the guys were all excited. LOL) I was REALLY bummed that I couldn't take my camera. I figured guys in shorts, demonstrating mid-air, gravity defying, crazy poses, would make for some great photo opportunities. But, NOPE! No pictures to prove that I was even there! LOL! If you were watching, you may have seen me in the crowd! (I was the one in the turquoise jacket) LOL! By the way, the Wizards beat the Celtics 109 - 95.

Monday, April 07, 2008

Traveling Adventures!

It all began, when the alarm went off at 3:30 and I hit the snooze button. At 3:40 the annoying beeping started again, and I started asking myself “whose bright idea was it to book a flight leaving so early in the morning ANYWAY?”

I finally drug myself out of bed and stumbled to the shower. The hot water worked its magic, a little too well, because I stayed in there way longer than I should have! By the time I had blown my hair dry, and put my bondo (make-up) on it was 4:10. I told Mr. Mister he had to get up, because we were supposed to be leaving the house by 4:30 to get to the airport in time for our 6:10 flight. I knew I should have gotten up at 3:00!

I still had to shut down my computer, pack our last minute items, make the bed, feed the animals, and find my mind that I had lost somewhere.

At 4:45 we left the house. Yep! We were going to be late! Hopefully, the lines weren’t long at the airport.

We made it to the parking location at approximately 5:15 and had to wait for one of the shuttle busses that would take us to the terminal. By then, we are starting to worry a bit more about the time. Finally, a bus arrived and we were on our way. We walked through the doors of the Southwest terminal, looked at the line waiting to go through security, and figured we were going to be catching the next flight out. It was LONG!

But first, we had to get through the line to print our boarding passes and check our luggage. Of course, that was when people decided to hold up the line, while they chatted with an acquaintance, telling them how little Johnny and Sarah were doing. Or they just stood there, looking dazed and confused, while there were two machines available for check in. Mr. Mister kept trying to tell them that there were machines they could go to, but they just stood there until one of the Southwest employees yelled SIR you can check yourself in over here!

After about ten minutes, we made it to the counter, took care of everything, and headed over to the security line. We could see our gate from where we were standing, and the other passengers were already in line. As we inched our way along, they started boarding the plane. The lady checking all of the carry on items was working so diligently. She would look, move the luggage forward, back it up, look some more, and then move it forward again. Such a good employee! Thank you for being so thorough!

We shoved our laptops back into their bags, grabbed our shoes, and headed to gate E-16 where Mr. Mister went from being the first person that was supposed to board the plane to one of the last. No picking the best seats this time! We were headed toward the back of the plane, to sit in the seats that everyone else had avoided like the plague. The seats right across from a couple, with a baby! And just to let us know how lucky we were, she decided to let out a squeal to welcome us. Many more screams followed throughout the flight. Especially when she fell out of her seat and hit the floor, because her mother was sitting over in the first seat (Dad had moved to the seats behind ours) reading a magazine, while letting the baby sit by the window (two seats over) so that she could look out and enjoy the view.

Thank goodness Mr. Mister NEVER goes on a plane without music and both sets of headphones. They came in handy!

Unfortunately, he forgot to bring the nose plugs! We had a wonderful passenger sitting somewhere nearby, that must have eaten beans or something, before getting on the plane.

Imagine my shock, as I was sitting there, minding my own business, taking pictures of the wing of the plane, (what else are bored people supposed to do on a plane?) and all of the beautiful clouds, when the funk came up and slapped me across the face! I about choked! What could I do? I couldn’t run! I couldn’t leave the room! I waited for the oxygen masks to drop from the ceiling, but they never did. So, I just had to suffer through it, and pray to God that nobody thought that it was ME!

Ummmmmmmm……Babe? How long did they say this flight was going to last???

Later, as we are making our descent into the Baltimore airport, the captain came on and announced that it was 43 degrees and raining. Obviously, there wasn’t going to be much sight seeing going on today.

We hopped into the rental car and headed for the hotel. It was too early to check in, so we decided to get something to eat. We checked the “trusty” GPS to see where the closest restaurant was, and headed for “Friendly’s.” The woman's voice on the GPS kept telling us that we were arriving at Friendly’s but it wasn’t there. Nope! There was nothing but a bunch of apartment buildings at that location. We continued driving around until we found an IHOP.

After eating we headed back to the hotel. As we were passing by the shopping center, right across the street from our hotel, we saw Friendly’s restaurant. We could have walked to it! It was so close!

By then, we were tired. All we wanted to do, was check into our room, and maybe take a little siesta. After all, we had to get up before the rooster crowed! I have another picture, that was taken through the plane window, to prove it! A beautiful sunrise!



So! ANYWAY! We walked through the door of our hotel room, and I headed toward the bedroom to put my bag down. While standing at the foot of the bed, I heard something hitting the wall from the room next door. Mr. Mister came in with a questioning look on his face. I looked at him, and back toward the wall, and asked “are the neighbors doing what I think they are doing?” Mr. Mister and I burst out laughing because by then, their headboard was really banging against the wall. THEN she started yelling! Not a quiet girl by any means!

OH YES! They were definitely doing what we thought they were doing. It was 12:00 and they were having some afternoon delight! Well, they decided to have some more at 7:30 and again at 9:00!

EXCUSE ME! Could you STOP now! PLEASE!

Friday, April 04, 2008

Bittersweet!

Today was a bittersweet day for me!

It was my last day at work. Mr. Mister and I decided it was time for me to "retire." YAY! YAY! YAY! This is something I have wanted for a VERY long time.

The bummer is that I am going to miss all of the girls I have worked with over the last nine (almost) years. It was so much fun, being around such talented and inspiring women. I know that I will be stopping in to see them, (I have to! I have been THREATENED! LOL)but it still makes me sad.

There were also many customers that I got used to seeing on a regular basis. It always brought a smile to my face, when I would see them walking through the door. I will miss catching up with what's going on in their lives.

But, I have to admit, that I am SO excited about being able to stay at home. Now I can lay in bed all day and eat bon bons! ROFL! Just kidding! Hopefully, I will finally get my rear up into my "studio" (I have come to the conclusion that a studio is what "serious" crafters/artists call their craft rooms.....LOL) and create something on a more consistent basis.

I am also looking forward to conquering some of the projects around here that have been put on hold for way too long. There are way too many things on the good old "TO DO" list!

Who knows? I may even get around to weeding the garden this year! HA! Maybe NOT!

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

F-Stops!

ARGH! I have been trying to work on my photography course, and I just can't get past the f-stop information. (Which means I haven't gotten very far because f-stops are at the very BEGINNING of the course!) It totally throws me for a loop. So, I have resorted to searching the internet for an easier explanation. Ya know! F-stops for dummies! LOL And most of it still sounds like gibberish to me.

I wish some of my photography buddies lived close to me so that they could "splain" it to me in person!