Celebrating 50 years!

12-of-12: May 2012

Hi again!
Here I am, 2 days in a row!
It's been a long (fun) day, and I'm exhausted, but wanted to post my 12-of-12 before I crashed for the night.

6:30am
Started the day with a run with my favorite running buddy, Brokk.  You might remember him from my last 12-set (in December).  We run almost every day, just a couple miles, but it's enough to keep us both happy.

7:30am
I thought his 2-miles was enough... but then he wanted to play Wrestle Mania with his sister.

Moving TOO fast for the camera - and catching air!

I wasn't the only sweaty one on the front porch...

11:30am
Kids (and I) couldn't pass up the opportunity for a nice walk in the woods today - the weather was perfect - sunny and mid-50s.

Look close... there are TWO dogs in this photo

Happy Hikers

12:30pm
We live in "farm country" - on our way home from the Forestry, we passed by these cows hanging in their pasture - just begging to have their photos taken.  I had to oblige.

1:30pm
The "World's Best Niece" had a softball game today... this kid is amazing... pitches, catches, and smashes the ball just over the infielders' heads.  Yep... I'm a proud Aunt.

... and she has a mischievous little brother, too.  Total cutie.

7:30pm
After celebrating Mother's Day a little early with my Mom (and the rest of the family), I came home to find a special little surprise in my mailbox... a BTC sticker from my friend and super-triathlete, Joe!  THANKS, Joe!  Subi is loving her new bling. 

So that's it.  It was a very fun Saturday... I hope to see you again next month (or before).

Hello??

Hello Blogger-land.  It's me, Jill.
Yes, it's been a long, long... long time since my last post.
I just haven't been ready.

I expect I'll be joining the fray again... tomorrow.  In case you're still interested in what's up in my world.

What better way to start up than in the same fashion where I left off.
... a 12-of-12.

Going to get the camera out tomorrow to see what we can see.
Till then.

12-of-12: December 2011

I wasn't sure I'd get this 12-done today.  BUT, I HAD TO!

Today marks the end of 12-of-12 creator, Chad Darnell's, 12-of-12 Project. He's got a ton of new stuff on his plate and can no longer produce this monthly photo event.  I participated for the first time in October 2008 and the 12-of-12 has been a pretty regular occurrence since then.  I've really enjoyed playing along and thank Chad for starting it all.  (This may not be the end of the 12-of-12, maybe just hosted by a different person... stay tuned).

So as I mentioned in my first line, I wasn't sure I'd be able to complete my 12-of-12 this month.  It's Monday, after all.  But it wasn't the day of the week that worried me... after I got a few miles from home this morning I realized I forgot my camera.  OOPS!  But, I compensated by using my iPhone.  All of today's photos were taken on my phone, edited, too.

7:30-8:30am - Buffalo, NY
Here I go... off to work!

Approaching  Buffalo, on the I-190 Northbound

New Courthouse (*and some Occupy Buffalo campers)

8:30am - I arrive at work, The American Red Cross, Buffalo

786 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY

How lucky am I to call this place my new "home" - I started my new job with the Red Cross a few weeks ago.

My view to the left

My view to the right

4:45pm - Heading home
Just  before the sun sets I arrive at my car, while it warms up, I snap one last shot of the former Clement Family Mansion.

5:30pm - at Home
Lots of puppy chores to do tonight - clean ears, trim nails, etc - but before I do that, I grab a little treat (my last reminders of my trip to Hawaii)... ya gotta love the name "Island Hula Yummies"!!

A little aloha in every bite!

7pm
Nails & toes are done... time to refill the bones & return them to the freezer for tomorrow morning.  (each kid gets one when the hubby leaves for work - there's one more hidden in the house somewhere, gotta find that sometime)

nom nom nom nom nom nom

The "new guy" - Brokk - he's been with us for 2 weeks

The princess, Mackie.... who loves peanut butter (and her new little brother)

7:30-ish

Time for a little TV...

Can you guess?

I thought this shot was pretty cool, even tho you can't tell what it is....

until you see this screen

So, that was my uneventful day in pictures.  I was hoping to get one more of the kids hanging out together, but they decided to do other things while I watched TV.  Hope you're having a good December so far - Happy Holidays & Happy New Year.  Hope to see you in 2012!

... oh, the 12-of-12-of-2012... such an exciting thought!

12-of-12: Fail

I had such good intentions to complete the 12-of-12 yesterday... but also a HUGE to-do list.  The to-do list won, unfortunately.

BUT... I did get a couple interesting shots in first thing in the morning.

6:30am @ home - The moon was beautiful!  My camera focused on the trees, but I still like the effect.

7:30am, leaving home - My sister asked me to watch her kids for the morning, so off I went to her house.  This is a shot of the same hill you saw in October... far fewer leaves and, yes, snow on the ground.  (We got about an inch Thursday night).

See the moon?

.... and that's the end of my 12-of-12. (frowny-face)

There is A LOT happening in my life in the next couple weeks which I suspect contributed to my lack of inspiration this month.  You'll hear all about them in future posts... hold tight till then, I'm SURE there will be plenty of pictures to make up for those lacking today.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend... see ya next month for Chad's final installment of the 12-of-12.

Turn the Page... Tuesday

Hello November!    (and hello 11/1/11!)
It's the first Tuesday of the month... that means book review time with Adrienne and Turn the Page... Tuesday! 

You might be interested in knowing... I have an alarm set on my phone to remind me about TTP...T every month on the first Tuesday.  I was prompted to post at 7:45 this morning... I even went to read Adrienne's post, then get started on mine... then... oops... I got distracted (probably by something shiny) and didn't RE-remember to post till just now (7:43pm).

BUT, it's still Tuesday, so I guess I'm not late!

I'm in the middle of two books, again, this month. Two VERY different books, I might add.

hmmm, which to comment on first...

I know!  I'll talk about Born to Run by Christopher McDougall first.

www.chrismcdougall.co

This summer, I have had no fewer than three people suggest I read this book... including Arienne!  (a marathoner friend was another, and my Triathlon club, too)

I'm about 1/3 of the way through and so far, it seems to be more of a "hunt" than a book about running, tho I see where it's going because we have just met one of the amazing members of the "Hidden Tribe" and I suspect this is where the story is about to take off.

I've been running now for almost 2-years... I still don't consider myself a runner, but I do enjoy the calorie burn and the amazing physical change my body has gone through since starting it.  I'm hoping Born to Run has a few secrets to share about additional ways I can be a better runner... even if it's all in my head.  :)

I'm looking forward to finding out what happens in the rest of the book.  Stay tuned!



Also, I'm reading Catch-22 by Joseph Heller.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22

I thought I had a copy of this on my book shelf, but after a couple days of searching (not 48-hours of searching... I would check the shelf, not find it, leave, go back, check again), I came to the conclusion that we didn't own it.  I wasn't sure I wanted to own it, so I did something I haven't done in a LONG time... I went to the public library!

Side note... WOW, the library has changed a lot since I was there last.  I used self check-out... where you just place the books on a little "scale" and *POOF* the computer lists the books you are taking home and posts them to your account.  NEAT-O!

So, after I got over the euphoria of borrowing books the new-fangled way, I started Catch-22.  Set during WWII, the main theme of the book is the ass-backwards reasoning and bureaucracy of government and war.  For example, you can't fly bombing missions if you're crazy, and only crazy people would WANT to fly missions.  But if you ask not to fly you're obviously NOT crazy, so you have to fly them... and things like that.

I'm not loving it.  I understand the power of the story (the insanity of war) and why it made such an impact on the literary world... but I'm not devouring it like I have other books.

Side note #2... 2011 is the 50th anniversary of Catch-22, so that's kinda cool.

Anyway, I'm reading Catch-22 for our Book Club meeting next month.  I'm wondering if the discussion will change my feelings about the story, or if it will just reinforce my current opinion.

I may rent the movie before our meeting later this month... I read that Alan Arkin does a great job as Yossarian (tho he didn't really think so), and that it's quite a good adaptation of the book.

HOWEVER... I'm not finished with the book, so who knows, maybe things will change before I'm done.  I'll have to let you know next month.

Till then, happy reading!

12-of-12: October 2011

Fall is in full-swing here in Western New York... the leaves are changing to beautiful reds, oranges, and yellows.  We've had beautiful summer-like weather this last week... until today.
Today, we had drizzle that turned into rain.
BOO!

Oh well, I think I still got a few nice shots that show you how awesome our fall foliage looks right now.

But first..
6:30am
Time for P90X: Shoulders & Arms and Ab Ripper X.  I'm totally loving this program this time around (first did it in 2009).  Today is Day 10 & already I'm feeling stronger!

Self-portrait thanks to the camera's self-timer

9:30am
Okay, workout done; now on to the fun stuff...
  Even with a little rain, the ski slopes are beautifully colored.

You definitely want to click on this image to see the full-size view

Old Glenwood Rd, look at those REDS!

Time for a little shopping.
Off to the Farm...

'Tis the week for pumpkin picking

...  and Farmer's Market!

It's been an excellent year for apples

I could not believe my eyes... $5.00 for these stunning Mums!

Noon-ish
My parents met me at the market, and they brought me presents!  My totally talented father made these gorgeous redwood tables for my back deck.  I'm SO excited to use them... and bummed that today's rain made that impossible. 

Thanks, Dad!

While I snapped photos of the tables, the little princess sat on her thrown with her new pumpkins and mums.

Mackie in her favorite spot

Oh.  Guess what else the rain brought down....  LEAVES!  

You'd never guess I cleared off the driveway just a few days ago.  Do you see it?  

Where's the driveway?

3:30pm

Off to the Library!  

I haven't been here in a while and WOW have things changed.  I got myself a new library card and selected a few books... but what blew me away was the "check out".  You simply put your books on a scale-looking thing and the titles automatically pop up on the computer screen in front of you.  Amazing!

I'm ready for Book Club!

6pm

My friend & neighbor had to be away from home most of this afternoon & evening so she asked me to stop by and feed her dog and the two she was babysitting.  No problem!    Lucky for me, these three would rather play in the warm, dry house than outside in the cold rain.  So I brought the camera along.

Sitting pretty:  Chestnut, Shadow, and Teva

... and then the insanity begins.

Once everyone was back in their crates, tummies full and ready to relax, I made my way back home... but not before I snapped a quick shot of "the aftermath".  

Your "baker's dozen" shot of the day

For more 12-of-12 info and photos, check out Chad Darnell's site.  Hope you had a good 12th - see ya next month!