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!

Spring has Sprung

The snow is almost melted!
.... muddy puppy feet everywhere.

The temps are rising!
.... did I mention muddy feet?

I took my first ride of the season!
... 8.5 miles in the rolling hills.  Ouch.

Maple Festival Weekend!
... Yummmmm, lots o' maple syrup on homemade pancakes.

Finally, Geocaching!
... first find since January - way too long between hunts.

And the crocuses.... oh, they're poppin!
... if the rain ever stops, I'll post pictures.

HAPPY SPRING!

Happy Birthday!

My girl is 6!

We're not exactly sure when she turned 6.... 

but it was around this time, 6 years ago, when she was born.

Since we didn't know her REAL birthday, we gave her one... an obscure, elusive birthday - 

February 29 (curious how 2004 was a Leap Year).

So we celebrated yesterday by making her a cake.

 

She LOVED it! (pushing brother out of the way)

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!

P.S.  By the way... all this snow?!  We got about a foot in the previous 24-hours.  NOT during the "big storm" the weather people promised, the following day (Saturday).  Lots 'O Lake-Effect.  Whew!
Sure made for a fun snow-sculpture day, tho.

Say goodbye, 2009

Here we are, at the end of 2009.  Like all years, when looking back, it seems like it went by so quickly.

So, what happened?  (do I go chronologically, or in order of importance, or just follow my stream of consciousness?)  How about it just start....

• 2009 is the year I REALLY got myself in shape... making what I hope to be a permanent change.  February - April I followed the P90X workout program, then fell off the wagon a bit, then jumped back on in October.  Since then, I've followed a 3-5 day a week workout schedule (promising myself 30-60 minutes of "good sweating" during each session - whether it's following a DVD, a hike in the woods, or intense yard-work).  I haven't lost any weight (?!?), but I feel great and clothes are fitting in more flattering ways, so I'm happy.
• I blogged a LOT more and met some amazing other bloggers in the process.  I made a point to post comments on blogs I wandered onto (I LOVE "blondering" - blog-wandering - clicking on links on blogs to other bloggers' sites and then clicking on a link at that site and so on and so on and so on).
• I also participated in the 12-of-12 regularly.  What's the 12-of-12? ...check out my site.
  
• OH, and the home improvements of 2009... 
• It started with the "guest" bathroom upstairs (a carry-over from late-2008).  I cannot be happier with how it turned out.  It went from vomit-pink wallpaper with green tub/toilet to "pretty in green" coordinated bathroom.  Want to see???  Click here. 
• Next, I FINALLY turned the Room-that-holds-junk-you-don't-know-what-to-do-with Room into a Guest Room... then had GUESTS!!  Yay!  From my 8-year-old niece (who calls it her room and spent a handful of nights/weekends with us) to REAL guests - new friends from Massachusetts; the door is open now, awaiting it's next visitor.  Wanna see??  Here's the transformation gallery.
• With the Guest Room renovations, I lost my office space.  But that's okay!  My desk is in the loft now which has an AWESOME little reading nook now that I put curtains over the closet doors and got a "new" chair.  I blogged about it here.
• Finally (the last project of the year) was a repaint of my front hallway.  It was my first painting project when we moved here 5+ years ago and I've hated it since day 1.  I wanted a nice earth-tone mauve-brown.  I got pink.  No.  Don't like pink (on walls).  Now I have a great mango-apricot color.  MUCH BETTER!  I have a photo of it... somewhere.
• On the "crafty" side of things... well, I knitted my first hat (then a 2nd), learned how to tie a number of ornamental knots, "refinished" an old treasure-chest looking antique chest, and cooked up a storm - from new and unique stuff to healthy stuff to jars and jars of jam.  I made venison tenderloin for Christmas Eve dinner and it was out of this world.
  
• I went to the movies... TWICE!  I know, it doesn't seem like that should be a big deal.  But, for me, it is.  The closest theater is about 25 miles away and my Hubby is a complete isolationist.  Those things combined make getting to the movies virtually impossible.  Which is probably why the 1st time was with my Niece (we saw 'UP' in 3D) and the 2nd time was with my Dad (we saw 'Avatar', also in 3D).  Both were AMAZING.  I'm thinking I might need to see Avatar again before it moves to DVD... the computer graphics blew me away.
• I kept my job!  For those of you who don't know, my company has laid off large numbers of people on the 1st of December for the last two years.  Last year was not as "easy" as this year.  Last year I got "displaced", but then was quickly scooped up by my 2009 boss and, subsequently, had a FABULOUS sales year.  I went from being ranked 57 out of 63 in Q1 to #1 in Q3!!!  Needless to say, my manager was less than thrilled when he found out the company transferred me to a new territory for 2010.  It's been a roller-coaster of a year - uncertainty combined with success, but oh well.  Change is good - and having a job in this sluggish economy is even better.
• As for the family... 
• The hubby and I celebrated the fact that we've been together as a couple for over 20 years.  That's over HALF our lives!  What's even better is that we have a fantastic relationship and it just keeps getting better.  We really are best friends and truly complements to each other.  
• "The kids" have mellowed a LOT this year.  They each turned five, one in February & one in April.  Mackie still has a ton of energy and gets mad at us if we don't walk on a regular basis, but Bug just wants to "chill".  He's turned into the total couch-potato Mastiff.  Just hug him & feed him and he's happy.  I guess that could be said for all of us, tho, couldn't it.

Well, I think that's it... 2009 was a good year.  Prospects are looking up that 2010 will be, as well.  May you have good health and happiness, thanks for visiting!  See you "next year".

The End

Peace to you this holiday season

Akron Falls Cache Log

At home, looking out the skylight... planning the day ahead

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Posted to GCZWFW: Akron Falls Earth Cache

We couldn't pass up an opportunity like today - it was sunny and warm (for late October) and with all the fall leaves, we had to do some caching.  We also have a book of the "200 Waterfalls of Central & Western NY" which lists Akron Falls. 

 

SO, we put those two things together and here we are!  (Seems a lot of other people were thinking the same thing, because the trail was packed.  Families, photography buffs, dogs, ... everybody!)

Will post pictures soon, but this was a wonderful little hike.  The large part of the Lower falls was really flowing, bubbling whitecaps crested here.  Plus, there had to be 8-10 small rivulets on the left side of the falls.  It's hard to put the entire falls into perspective and guess the width... I'll just have to look that up.

We walked up to see how much of the Upper falls we could see, but trees/branches made it tough.  It looked to be rather impressive, so maybe we'll have to make a trip up this way in the spring.

We'll also need to make a 2nd trip because we didn't have a chance to find the bonus cache.... there were just too many people.  Oh well.  This is definitely a spot we won't mind visiting again.

  Thanks for the cache!

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At home, after the cache... Swept leaves off the driveway (so you could see it) & found these five beauties while working... they needed a spot on the blog. 

 

12-of-12: February 2009

Thanks, as always, to Chad Darnell for creating this fun event called the 12-of-12 - the rules are simple, 12 photos to document the 12th day of each month. For those who want to know more about Chad & his Project (or to see other participants in the 12-of-12), visit his site here.

This month is dedicated to my "kids" seeing as how winter has returned with a vengeance today after a balmy 50-degree day yesterday (yes, temps above freezing are VERY odd for February in Western NY). There's been a nasty mix of snow and rain and wind all day that has made it less than conducive to play outside. Maybe next month I'll have some shots that exhibit more creativity.

Click here to view the February 2009 12-of-12

Here's an intro to the crew:

Mackie is a brindle Mastiff-mix who had a rough start to life... she and her siblings were abandoned at a local shelter one night and found the next day by the shelter staff. Sadly, her sister didn't make it and died of Parvo a few weeks after being found. She came to us at around 21 weeks (her birthday is not known) and had some "issues" at first - like the fact that she was terrified of men. She's almost 5 years old and a total spit-fire. She's super smart and loves to instigate trouble around the house with her "little" brother.

TaterBug is a purebred Bullmastiff who comes from AKC champion bloodlines. He's the little prince who has been totally spoiled since conception. He's a lover, not a fighter and just wants to be held 24-7 (or longer, if possible). We've trained him to give people a "small smooch" since his tongue is 3" wide and can take off many layers of skin if given the chance.

Tsunami is a gorgeous captive-bred Jungle Carpet Python. She's also a total b*tch. When we got her we were warned that she would be different from our Boa in that she would not be as receptive to being handled as he was (arboreal pythons like here live in trees and thus are more skittish than ground-dwelling boa constrictors). So, she has become more of a visual pet (like fish in a take - ya can't pet 'em) than one who likes to hang out and watch TV with you.

And finally the fish - these little guys live in a 5 gallon tank in the kitchen. They used to be in my office when I had a desk job, but now they keep me company when I cook (well... them AND Mackie & TaterBug who anxiously await a morsel that falls to the floor). BTW, check out the 2nd fish photo and look at the little Neon Tetra in the middle of the frame - Do you think he knew I was taking his photo?? What a pose!

Hope you enjoyed this month's 12-of-12. Think SPRING!