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January 1, 2011

On the Rewind Bandwagon

Happy New Year!

I hope all of you had a safe, warm, and happy New Year’s Eve celebration. And I wish you a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2011.

WAY back on December 10, one of my blog buddies (Fuzzy aka Rachel) posted a very cool slide show featuring her motorcycle memories from the year. That’s what first got me thinking of stuff that had happened to us or that we did during 2010. Coincidentally, Rachel and her boyfriend spent some time in the same region in Europe where Hubby and I went in June. Her slide show includes pictures from that as well as stuff she’s done here in the US. Rachel rides a street bike AND a dirt bike. She’s a Mom, too. You go, Rachel! Thanks for entertaining me throughout the year. And letting me do that virtual ride along through the Dolomites.

So I was already thinking about doing a year in review post when I saw that this week’s You Capture theme/assignment is to pick our 10 favorite pictures of 2010. I told Hubby I needed to get to work on that one immediately. Do you have any idea how hard it is going to be and how long it will probably take to narrow that down?

How many pics do you think the ole ToadMama shot in 2010?

A lot!

Ready for this? I shot 10,350 images since January 2010. And that’s just with the digital SLR. I’m sure there were a couple of hundred other images captured with the point-and-shoot.

This is not one of those images, but I thought it was funny. I found it by accident when searching for the party wallpaper I needed for the first image in this post.

I did start going through images yesterday. But then or server crashed. Hubby told me he could rig something up so I could access the files, but you know what? I just don’t feel like sitting here today, staring at my computer. Maybe I’ll do that some other time.

For now, I’ll tell you about the new tradition I started this morning. I didn’t intend for it to be a tradition, but Hubby declared it to be one. So… drum roll please… the new New Year’s Day tradition in the ToadMama abode is a breakfast of Stuffed Blueberry Pancakes and bacon.

I am a decent cook. No gourmet chef, but I can whip up some pretty good stuff. This wasn’t good. This was one of those “Oh My God” dishes.

Really.

Blueberry pancakes with big, fresh blueberries in the mix. The stuffing was a thick pastry cream. Think of the kind of cream that’s in a chocolate eclair or Boston cream pie. Only thicker. And richer. It was all drizzled with real maple syrup. And served with baked bacon that was perfectly cooked.

Really. Oh. My. Gawd!

Hubby and I both want to lose weight this year. So we can’t eat like this all the time. But I’m glad we had this today.

Now hurry up January 1, 2012!

I’ll do a year-in-review post one day. Maybe.

For now I am going to relax and enjoy my day. I hope you do the same.

December 30, 2010December 30, 2010

You Capture – Holiday Favorites

Those of you who saw my post the other day know that my currently deployed son-in-law is home for a brief visit.

What I did not explain is the fact that their three kids were at another grandparents’ house for a few days so they could have a little bit of adult time. They knew, once the kids saw their father, there’d be no such thing as adult time. They’ll be on him like glue. Not just any glue either. Super Glue.

I’m proud to say that my obsession with photographing or otherwise recording special family moments has completely rubbed off on Amy. It was her idea for me to accompany her to the airport so I could get pictures of the reunion. And we were both thinking about possible video opportunities. The only problem was that the kids weren’t staying at our house.

No problem. At a little after 6:00 AM, she called us (under normal circumstances, that would be a no-no) to say she was bringing her husband to our house. She dropped him off here then went and picked up the kids and brought them here, too. At Hubby’s insistence, I was positioned behind TJ with the video camera. Shannon was on the sofa with the still camera. It was Hubby’s job to answer the door and corral the kids in the foyer so they could remove their coats before coming all of the way into the house.

It worked like a charm.

Oh wait. I forgot to tell you to grab a tissue, didn’t I? Sorry!

The video is awesome, yes. But this next picture is most definitely my holiday favorite this year. Can you see the glow of happiness on each and every one of their faces?

I told Amy I thought this just might be her new favorite picture. I wonder if I was right?

As an aside… this is the sort of thing these soldiers of ours and their families, both here and abroad, have to sacrifice every day. So the next time you see a soldier, be sure to say thanks. Okay?

To see what everyone else is calling their holiday favorites, be sure to visit the You Capture page on Beth’s blog.

December 26, 2010

What I Didn’t Do

Wow, did the last two days ever FLY!

We had Christmas Eve dinner at our house because Amy and her kids couldn’t be here on Christmas Day. Eric’s girlfriend, Kelsey, was here, too, which was nice.

Then on Christmas day, Hubby’s Mom and my parents joined Hubby, Shannon, Eric, and me for dinner. Which was also nice.

I took quite a few pics on Christmas Eve. But I didn’t even think about picking my camera up on Christmas day.

Can you believe that?

I can’t. I missed getting a picture of Hubby’s Mom in her pretty Christmas outfit. I didn’t get a picture of my parents either. And I REALLY wanted to have someone take a picture of Hubby and I together in front of our Christmas tree. Really. But I even forgot about that.

Jeez.

It was a lovely day anyway.

At least I have a few shots to share from Christmas Eve.

IMG_8176_calm before storm — The calm before the "storm."

All of the gifts were wrapped and placed around the tree.

IMG_8178_angel — The "doll' atop our tree.

Last weekend, when Joey was here, he saw the angel that sits atop our tree. He either said our tree was stupid or funny because we had a doll on top of the tree instead of a star. I like our angel okay. But what I really miss is this awful cardboard star that Shannon, Amy, Eric and I made during one of our very first Christmases together. I wish I knew where that thing went.

I thought for sure someone would comment about the face on this Santa Claus. I’m not sure which of my girlfriends gave this one to me, but I think it was Carol. He’s got a very unique mug, wouldn’t you say?

I took a few pics of the ornaments on our tree.

I really like snowmen. And birds. From a decor perspective AND a real-life perspective.

My Aunt Kathy gave me this bird ornament several years back. She knows I like birds, but she didn’t know what this particular bird was called (Dark-eyed Junco) or that it is one of my favorite birds. They’re winter birds in this area. They’re pretty social and think nothing of hanging out on our back steps for the dogs to watch and/or salivate over.

IMG_8200_cards — All decorated for the holiday.

I also love the way our house looks during the holidays.

IMG_8205_brianna baking — Brianna couldn't resist helping Aunt Shannon apply the egg wash to her rolls.

I especially love the house when it’s full of our kids. And our grand kids.

IMG_8210_lego interrogation — Lego building.

The grand kids always enjoy playing with the gazillion Legos I have here. Some were mine when I was a kid and some were Uncle Eric’s. They asked Uncle Eric to build Legos with them. Shannon and I were busy in the kitchen. I did pop in long enough to get a picture of Eric surrounded by his niece and nephews. What I missed, however, was one of them asking Kelsey (Eric’s girlfriend) if she is their Aunt now. And whether she and Eric would be getting married.

The egg wash helps the rolls to brown AND helps the garnish adhere. In this case, there was poppy seeds, sesame seeds and kosher salt. Shannon makes excellent dinner rolls.

IMG_8215_the kids — Kids in the kitchen.

It was nice having all the kids together. Left to right are Amy, Eric, Shannon, and Kelsey.

IMG_8218_grandkids — Grand kids opening gifts.

I’ll be kicking myself for a while for not capturing shots of the parents. It really was a lovely Christmas celebration.

Tonight, we’re supposed to be getting together with some of our friends. Unless this “blizzard” actually materializes. We’re only expecting about six inches of snow, but you never know what we’ll actually get.

Rest assured, though, I won’t forget to take pictures of THAT.

December 23, 2010December 23, 2010

Happy Birthday, Brianna!

Today is a a very special day. It’s Brianna’s 10th birthday!

Yep, the oldest grandchild has hit the double digits.

Wowza.

On one hand, that seems hard to believe. But after seeing her grow and blossom over the last few years, I can totally believe it.

It’s fun having a granddaughter. Especially one who likes to do word search puzzles. And who likes to help me cook stuff. Who is such a good big sister. And helpful to her Mom. Who has such a good sense of humor, likes bike hikes, loves to read, digs Legos…

I could go on and on. Except I don’t have all day.

And I have to share some pictures of the not-so-little-anymore kid that is always so full of smiles.

This year has been a difficult one for Brianna. Not for Brianna specifically, she’s actually had a great year, but for all of the kids in general. Their Dad is deployed. And they miss him. But Brianna has been handling it like a champ.

That picture was taken during the weekend she spent alone with me at the WV place. We had a blast.

brianna_soccer_7_18Sep2010 — She loves sports, too.

This picture, obviously, was from one of her soccer games.

And that last picture was taken when I dropped her off at her first ever sleepaway camp. She was going to spend the weekend with total strangers and wasn’t even one little bit apprehensive.

That’s Brianna. She’s happy, friendly, outgoing, smart…

Again, I could go on. She’s a great kid. And she has fabulous parents.

Happy Birthday, Brianna!

I look forward to many, many more good years to come.

December 15, 2010December 15, 2010

The Pope of Dope

Hi there. Did you miss me?

Sorry, I’ve been busy. With work mainly. And getting ready for Christmas. And more work. And shopping. Wait, that’s part of the whole getting ready for Christmas thing.

Anyhoo…

I’ve actually been collecting stuff to post about. AND I have pictures for You Capture tomorrow.

I have so much different stuff to post about (“different” is not always a good thing), that I just don’t know where to start. So I’ll start with The Pope of Dope (video embedded below). The first thing I had to so this morning was to respond to an e-mail a dear friend sent to me on November 28. It started off with “Happy Thanksgiving.”

See? You, blog readers, are not the only peeps I’ve been neglecting. Although she’s a blog reader, too. Sometimes. So she has been doubly neglected.

Why did I just tell you all that. Because it was she who sent me this lovely video. 🙂

Only a small percentage of my readers will like this video and/or song. I happen to like it. If it gets on your nerves, just skip over it. ‘kay?

I also owe some people a phone call. Another friend called me over a week ago. I keep meaning to call back, but the days just get away from me. And now it’s way too early. Hopefully, I’ll get to call her today. You know who you are!

As for that stuff I have been collecting to share…

Here’s a picture of K in front of our half-naked Christmas tree. I’ll try to get a better shot with all of the dogs included. For now, maybe this one will make you smile. It made ME smile.

IMG_7812_ks_ho-ho-ho — "Ho. Ho. Ho. Happy? Now get this stupid hat off of me!"

Yes, we Americans even decorate our pets for the holidays.

Speaking of pets… what does my yard have in common with the US-Mexico border?

Even though it is the same color as those worn by the Customs/Border Patrol folks, it’s not the jacket.

Contrary to what some of you think (“Oh, lord, is she on drugs or what?”), it’s not the dope constantly flowing in either. Or even trickling in.

Give up?

Well, I’ll tell you.

I mean, I’ll show you AND tell you.

Hey, cool. Show and tell!

It’s the tunnels. More specifically, KILLERS digging tunnels.

tunnel_3 — Digging killer caught in the act.

K is quite the hunter. She’s not trying to escape. She is after a mole or moles that in this case happened to go under the fence.

She digs in other spots, too.

Fortunately, she doesn’t usually dig in the middle of the lawn. And she’s not digging just to dig. She is HUNTING. Trust me. Her kill list seems to grow every day. Mice, moles and voles mainly. But she gets a squirrel now and then, too.

She’s not alone in her quest, but she is definitely the ringleader.

Do you have this kind of excitement in your backyard?