Photo 366 #9

Lots of outdoor time was had this week.  I have put in over 30 new plants in the ground in the past two weeks.  The kids have played in the dirt even more and we have been out and about at the parks quite a bit.  The weather  has been quite wonderful.  I am sure some of my photos reflect that.

February 21 - I beautiful bloom from the Nun's Orchid I planted in my front flower bed.  So pretty!

February 22 - A pair of geese that swam by while the boys were playing at the park nearby. 

February 23 - Maben spotted this Question Mark butterfly on the way home from school.  The reason why it's called a Question Mark is due to the white mark on it's wing that looks like what else...a question mark.

February 24 - Doing a trial class at a new gym in town.  The boys had fun, but at their prices...not enrolling them.

February 25 - I have mentioned that I have been taking a stained glass class.  Well, have a look at my third project as a work in progress. 

February 26 - After working in the yard all morning and most of the afternoon, a well deserved ice cream break was called. 

February 27 - Colton and I headed to the duck park in search of what wildlife we could find.  Well, some of them came flying right at us!  These poor Muscovy ducks assumed we had food. 

I Love the Rare

I love the rare and unique things in life.  I like the different and unusual.  I love my friends for their oddities and things they may not like about themselves.  I find it amazing when the rare things in life are just thrust upon you.  Such a thing happened to me today.

I was leaving JCPenney after a failed shoe shopping trip for the kids.  Only Colton in tow.  He fell asleep in the store and I managed to miraculously transfer him to the car still sleeping.  I go to leave the parking lot, I stop at the stop sign and out of no where across the hood of my car is a white flash! 

I'm not one to scare easily, but my heart was racing.  I look over and about 15 feet away landed this beautiful white hawk.  Now, a white hawk is not something that happens every day.  This hawk is BEAUTIFUL!  It looked me right in the eye, I fumbled to get my camera out of my bag and as luck would have it, all my settings are all wrong.  I did some product photography indoors last night.  My ISO is all wrong, my white balance not properly set for an outdoor shot. 

Then...the moment was gone.

The hawk took off.

My heart sank a little until I saw that he perched himself up on top of a street light.  I hung back, fixed all my settings, put on my telephoto lens and slowly creeped up.  He perched for quite some time, letting me get much closer than I could have ever anticipated.  Colton remained sleeping in the car with the windows unrolled no more than a few feet from me.  I wish he could have been awake to see him, but he is loving the photos.  I hope you love them too!

I have come to love hawks and birding this year.  I see them everywhere, but I don't think I will soon forget this beauty.  Now, I can't wait to show Maben...he is truly my birding enthusiast and one of the reasons I have gotten into it.  I am off to go get him from school in just a few moments, but I first had to share the truly rare beauty that struck me with its presence today.

Photo 366 #8

This week, spring has sprung.  South Texas has definitely not had a winter this year.  Not even a single night below freezing.   I am super happy to report that we are starting to recover from the worst drought in history.  Lots of rain and warm weather has been greatly needed for the recovery.  Due to all that warm weather and rain, everything thinks it's spring.

February 14 - Colton was so tired that he fell asleep in the stroller on the walk to school to pick up Maben.  I decided since he was a willing subject for photos, I would play with some of my camera's filters.  This one is a retro with sepia tint.  No photoshopping this pic, other than adding my mark.

February 15 - I have been seeing air plants all over the place.  I think I should start plucking them off of random trees in my neighborhood and selling them.

February 16 - Some pretty yellow flowers in bloom near a park we frequent.

February 17 - Maben had the day off from school, so we headed down to the Children's Museum.  Maben was also sent home with the class "pet" for the weekend.  Of course Jojo had to come along.

February 18 - I almost forgot to take a photo.  So here is a photo of my nighttime snack.

February 19 - A beautiful rose from the bouquet that my hubby sent me for Valentine's day.  Thanks for the flowers hunny!

February 20 - Maben helping me put in a lot of plants.  I was serious when I said that spring was already here.  I have also pulled enough weeds to prove that!

Photo 366 #7

So there are two things that are very evident from my photos this week.  I am really digging the awesome hawks and I love my boys!  I would love to take a truly inspired photo everyday, but it's just not realistic for me.  I do love that I am capturing everyday moments, because they are the moments that I reflect on.  They are the moments that I really cherish and this week, there are a few of those moments.

February 7 - Peek-a-boo!  Another Sharp-shinned hawk.

February 8 - I finally caught a great picture of Maben's beautiful eyes.  They are a hazel/green and not just any green, they have a tendency to be an olive green.  Gorgeous, just gorgeous. 

February 9 - I spotted a very fluffy looking red tailed hawk hanging out on the power lines on a windy day.

February 10 - My boys having lots of fun.  Who doesn't like to dog pile?

February 11 - Hubby and his lumber rack.  Finally complete!

February 12 - Maben presented daddy with his Valentine early.

February 13 - Maben gauging my response.  Smart little guy!

Happy Valentine's Day

I hope today that you are able to enjoy the love of your friends and family. 

I will be spending the day with my two little guys.  Without a doubt, I will be feeling the love today, especially since every morning starts out with some snuggling on the couch while we watch Curious George.  I am really starting to love that monkey.

I Mustache You To Be My Valentine

I have really been digging the mustache trend and all the crazy 'mustache' sayings.

I mustache you a question.

I'd love to stay and chat, but I really mustache.

I really mustache you a question, but I'll shave it for later.

Of course I had to come up with my own.  So, I decided that if I could get Maben to pose with his finger under his nose, I could turn this into something great.

Now, I wish I could say that Maben let me draw that little stache on his finger, but I didn't.  Photoshop all the way!  I love this little Valentine and it gets even better.  I mean, you can't really give a Valentine without a little sugar.

So, I found this awesome mustache sucker mold, made by Wilton.  I bought mine at Michael's.  Poured melted chocolate into the mold and let them set up in the fridge.  It took about 15 minutes to set up and they popped right out..

Once they were done, I wrapped them up and attached them to the Valentine Photo Card.

It has been so cute, Maben has been telling me all week that Valentine's mean Love!  So, we spread the love to daddy a little early and Maben gave him his Valentine.

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Photo 366 #6

January 31 - Waiting on all my gals for book club.  Absolutely loved my choice for the book club.  Born to Run is an amazing and very inspirational book.  Made me want to go out for a run and also solidified my choice in footwear for running, working out and other various activities.

February 1 - An amazing daytime moon.

February 2 - My handsome little guy actually throwing a "cheese" smile to the camera.  A very rare instance lately.

February 3 - A budgerigar hanging out on the shopping carts as I was walking into my local HEB.

February 4 - I almost forgot to take a photo, so I snapped one of my lens that has been giving me all these great bird shots.

February 5 - The boys entertaining themselves at my husband's new office.  We were busy hanging pictures.

February 6 - This guy surprised the kids and I on our walk to school.  We walked under a tree and I saw his head snap and focus on us.  The kids thought it was so exciting and so did I.  We were really close to him!

{P}Inspiration: Oven Baked Fried Pickles

Since joining Pinterest, I have spent far too many hours on there.  I finally decided after seeing this pin for Oven Baked Fried Pickles that I had to try them.

Verdict: DELICIOUS! 

The bonus, really easy to make.  The only thing that the recipe didn't describe well, you need to dry your pickles first.  I placed mine out on some paper towels while I got the batter ready. 

I used the larger pickle slices and dipped them in a yogurt ranch dressing.  If I was going to save some calories by not frying them, I wasn't going to add them by dipping in regular ranch.  If you haven't tried a yogurt ranch/bleu cheese dressing, definitely try them.  I personally like Bolthouse Farms. 

Colton wasn't sure about the first bite, but as soon as he took a bite, it was all over from there.  He didn't want to eat anything else for dinner.  So, if you like pickles, give these a try.  I will be making them again...soon!