Jack is Back

Jack Frost, that is.

Doesn’t this poor car just look cold?

Brrr

We had a pretty heavy frost here yesterday. It was 26 degrees when I left the house to walk the dogs.

I’ve been slacking a bit lately in the two-walks-a-day department. I was determined to get out there with them this morning, but it was one of those days when I checked the work e-mail around 7:30 and barely stopped until my project went out the door at 6:00. I really intend to get back out there tomorrow.

Frosty Bridge

See the frost on the bridge? It was so thick, it actually crunched a bit when we walked across.

Let's Face It

Even in the cold, I enjoy getting out there and walking. Although everything is brown and dreary, there is still interesting stuff to see if you just take time to look.

Like that building. Don’t you think it looks like a face?

Frosty Grass

You can see how white the grass is in that shot.

The Greenway

And the sky was quite a nice shade of blue.

Intersecting Lines

By the time we got back to the bridge about half an hour later, the sun had melted most of the frost away. But look at all the interesting lines in that picture.

Hubby said they’re calling for some sort of snow event tomorrow. No significant accumulation, just enough to make the morning commute treacherous and long.

Lucky for me, I’ll probably be walking on the Greenway during rush hour. It may be cold, but it certainly won’t be congested.

The Shot

I’m not a huge football fan, but I do enjoying watching games occasionally. If I have nothing better to do.

The Super Bowl would have been so much more exciting had the Ravens made it. But I watched anyway. I like to see the commercials, and I was hoping to see the Patriots lose. They got lucky beating the Ravens, so I didn’t want them to walk away with the title. It was a close game the whole way.

This morning, I just happened to see a link somewhere for SI’s “Best Shots of Super Bowl XLVI.” I like pictures, so I had to check it out. I literally laughed out loud when I saw this shot…

The expressions on the faces of both the ref and Tom Brady are absolutely priceless. (Click on the image and you’ll see a slightly larger version.)

Lots of cool commercials. Several stand out, but I think I liked the M&Ms the best. And the “Here We Go” rescue dog. The sling baby was cool. So was the “what happened to the cat” one. Oh, and the Chevy apocalypse.

I like the ones that make me laugh, can you tell?

As far as dramatic messages, the Clint Eastwood commercial gets my vote in that category.

What was your favorite commercial? How did your team fare?

The Purse

Purses aren’t something I typically get excited about. But I really like this old patchwork bag I have. Problem is, it’s sort of worn out. I tried to buy a new one last year in a real store, but they all had huge badges on the side featuring the designer’s name. I think that is just dumb. So I didn’t buy any. I’ve been using my plain-Jane brown leather bag instead. But even it is looking frayed.

So I turned to Etsy and lookie what I found…

My New BizzieLizzie Bag

Isn’t it cool? Don’t you just love those colors? It is very well-made, too. And it came with a matching key fob. The lady who made it does far more than just patchwork stuff. If you’d like to see her line of products, visit BizzieLizzie on Etsy.

The girls were less than thrilled, as usual, that I stopped to photograph my purse instead of getting them a treat and/or letting them outside.

Impatient Bitches

Actually, that would be letting them outside and then, after they came back in, giving them a treat.

Whatever.

Blue-sky, 70-Degree, February Day

Our very abnormal winter continues. It was 70 degrees yesterday. And the day before that, too. in February.

How Much is That Doggie in the Window?

Strolling down Main Street in Warrenton yesterday, I just HAD to get a picture of that. 🙂

I hope you’re having a good week.

Grumble, Grumble, Bleh

I woke up ungodly early this morning. Really. It was 5:15. I thought about rolling over and going back to sleep. I mean, the dogs were even still all sleeping. But I had to pee. Plus, I knew if I did go back to sleep, I probably wouldn’t wake back up until about 8:00 and then most of the morning would be GONE.

Isn’t it odd how the older you get, the more you hate to waste your mornings in bed?

Anyway, I got up.

First thing I noticed was that our thermometer appeared to be broken. It had been registering the same temperature since yesterday afternoon. Or so it seemed. Every time I looked at it, the darn thing said 31. Until I told Hubby about it. He looked and, of course, the thing said 32. Of course. It’s Monday. A rainy Monday at that.

At least I had some good coffee.

It wasn’t Maui Grown Coffee. That just happened to be my mug of choice this morning.

With my coffee, I had some yummy strawberries.

How is it that the strawberries I have purchased in December and January taste better than the strawberries purchased during the summer? That’s just wrong. They’re from California, too. I think. (I’ll check the label later and if I am wrong, I’ll let you know.)

That’s a very unflattering picture of Meg. It looks like something you’d see on some crazy paranormal show. Although, she was pissed. Either because I wouldn’t give her a bite of strawberry or because K was hogging my lap.

Whatever…

On another note, Amy, our middle child, thinks she found me the perfect frog.

Click on the image and you’ll get views from different angles. She’s even wearing assless leather chaps.

I have to admit, that’s pretty funny. But I have ditched the assless leather chaps for real riding gear. So she won’t work. But thanks for thinking of me, Amy!

And now, since it’s Monday, I have to get to work.

Ugh.

Identifying a Successor

Some of you may remember the tragedy that struck back in September while on vacation in Utah. One of my traveling companions went missing. It didn’t take long for me to realize that not only was he missing, he was LOST. As in gone for good.

It was sad. Really. But I took comfort in knowing that at least he was lost in a warm, beautiful place.

Near Moab, Utah

And before he was lost, he got to see some really cool stuff.

Sprague Lake at Rocky Mountain National Park
Overlooking a Canyon at Colorado National Monument
Rocky Mountain National Park

Yes, I am talking about my frog.  At first, I didn’t let on that he was missing. Only because I knew my human traveling companions would make fun of me. But then I realized I would have to let them know, since I needed to find a new frog to take his place.

He’d been with me for years. Since early 2002, I think. It’s odd that I never gave the little guy a name.

You may not realize what a big role he played on this blog until I show you some of the many images in which he appeared. First, some of the blog headers…

An Early Blog Header (Date Unknown)
Wintry Header (January 2008)
Brrr (January 2010)
Here he only looked like a traveler. (June 2009)
May 2009 Header
Hey There, Spring! (April 2009)
Holiday Fun (March 2009)
Mountains of Snow (February 2009)

Those were all back when I had a larger header image. In a way, I sort of miss those days.

There were various holiday images, too.

All Dressed Up
Just One of the Herd
One of Santa's Helpers
A More-natural Setting

I haven’t done much with the frog recently because those things takes time. Not to mention the fact that I now have a much less obnoxious creative blog header.

Though smaller, his image on the blog still made an impact.

Most-recent Header Images

There’s been another frog on my header for a while now, but I am not convinced he is “the one.”

The search for a replacement started soon after the frog went missing. Only because I knew it was very unlikely that we’d ever get him back.

I’ve actually amassed a collection of five viable candidates. But I can’t decide which one I should choose.

The Lineup

There they all are in order, left to right, of procurement.

I gave them names only for the sake of convenience when discussing them during this post. Those names may or may not stick.

Rocky

I actually got Rocky while we were still on vacation. I found him in the gift shop at Utah’s Antelope Island State Park. I like him, but he’s sort of boring color-wise.

Mr. Colorado

This little guy is not only colorful, but fun, too. When you squeeze him, his tongue unfurls. I got him at the Denver airport.

The Gardener

I found that happy-looking guy on Amazon. I like frogs and I like gardening, so he seemed like a good fit.

Tiny Tim

I found Tiny Tim in a bin amid various other critters at the local Tractor Supply store. He’s really little.

Liberace

The latest addition is Liberace. He’s a jeweled enamel frog I purchased at a local jewelry store.  I don’t know what you call those little things that open. Usually, there’s a tiny figurine atop a small box with a clasp that opens to reveal a small compartment. I know they have a name, but it escapes me. Pill boxes, maybe?

Here’s what he looks like when open…

Wide Open

As far as the frogs themselves go, I like Liberace the best. I think he’s way cool. But, if I do decide to get creative with my headers again, there’s only so much I could do with him.

Outdoor Group Shot

The Gardener is probably best-suited for situational photos. He’s the biggest of the group, but that’s okay since I won’t be taking anyone traveling again. I learned my lesson on that score.

Group Shot in the Office

From the colorful and fun perspective, Mr. Colorado is the winner. Rocky just tends to blend in with the scenery. And Tiny Tim is, well, just too little.

This is where YOU come in. I need your opinion. Which one do you like best? Or do you like all of them? Heck, who’s to say I have to pick just one, right? Maybe I could just do guest appearances.

I do have other, older frogs still to consider, too.

Singing in the Rain

This singing frog is sort of fun. A bit tacky, but I like him. He lives in our bathroom and stands about eight inches tall.

Short and Stout

This little guy lives in our bathroom, too. Frogs do like moisture you know. He’s only about two inches tall.

Puppet Frog

As for this guy… he’s one of those little puppets where if you push a button under his pedestal, he collapses. Release the button and, voila, he’s back to normal. Honestly, though, he may have gotten lost in the move.

So, what do you think? Should I pick just one? Or give them all some time in the spotlight?

Please be sure to weigh in. This is important stuff.

Yet Another Another New Beginning

I’m back from Texas.

What? I didn’t tell you I was going to Texas? I’m sneaky like that. Now, I know I mentioned in passing that I was in Texas, but if you didn’t read the blog carefully, you might have missed it.

Anyway… I am back, much to the delight of my dogs who missed me terribly. I think Hubby missed me, too. He hasn’t been following me from room to room, though. Which is a good thing. A very good thing, actually. It would really be weird to have Hubby curled up on the floor of my office while I work. Dancing around when I get back from the store. Sniffing at the bathroom door while I am in there. Or sniffing at… well, you get the picture.

Why was I in Texas? I started a new job. Same job, different company. The last company I worked for grew very big very quickly. From about 500 employees to about 12,000. I am not exaggerating, it happened through acquisitions. I hated it.

Don’t get me wrong, there were some awesome people there. I just don’t like working for such a huge corporation. One sort of gets lost among the masses. I’d never be a good assembly line employee…

I had to go to Austin, Texas for a week of new employee orientation. Don’t worry, I’ll be working remotely from my home office. No moves to Texas in our near future. Although, I must say, Texas was pretty cool. It was way hillier than I expected. And the food was YUM-MO.

Unfortunately, I only took my point-and-shoot camera. So I didn’t get many fabulous pictures. But I did capture a few I thought I’d share here.

The Final Frontier

I took that space shot with the camera on my phone. Yes, I know it’s very geeky to take pictures from the airplane while flying, but I don’t care. The sky looked cool. And I thought the picture made it look as if I were flying in outer space.

Breakfast

The hotel I stayed at — Homewood Suites, which I just loved — had a complimentary breakfast every morning. With a waffle iron that made Texas-shaped waffles. How cool is that?

Yes, I get excited easily.

Them Thar Hills

Since I was supposed to be capturing morning images for last week’s You Capture theme, I snapped a few pics while driving. Actually, I should say “while in the car” since I wasn’t exactly moving. Traffic got a bit congested in spots. You can see how hilly the place is. Austin’s downtown is ahead and to the left, beyond those hills.

View from My Office

This was the view from the office they had me sitting in. Not bad, eh? Several folks commented that I had the best view in the building.

Sky Writing

Not much to say about that shot. I just think it’s cool.

Hello, Betty

When I say this mural of Betty Boop, I immediately thought of my buddy, Ally, who many of you know as ShyBiker. She loves Betty Boop.

Not only was I limited by only having a point-and-shoot and phone camera with me, the space was sort of tight. You see, it was on the wall of a women’s bathroom. A relatively small bathroom, I might add.

I got a slightly wider view with the point-and-shoot.

Betty Boop

I only accomplished that by standing in the hallway outside of the bathroom, propping the self-closing door open with my left foot while balancing precariously on my right foot. It wasn’t easy. But I just HAD to get the shot. Know what I’m saying?

I didn’t make too much of a scene. It was right before closing at Lone Star BMW/Triumph, where I’d gone to buy a shirt for my Hubby. (Yes, Rachael, I thought of you, too, being surrounded by Tigers and all.)

That’s it for my shots.

Next time I am there, I’ll have to go to the downtown area. To the city park specifically. Apparently, there are stray cows/steers (I don’t know how to tell the difference) roaming around.

Cow Power

No, I did not take that last shot. I wish I had, though. I think it’s pretty funny.