Hot (pink) Flash

Autumn pulled through again with another photo inspiration today when she paraded past me with freshly painted hot pink nails. She was more than happy to pose for a few shots. Another sure sign of summer creeping in daisy's and painted toe nails.

Memorial Day!

First let me say thank you to all the service men and women who make days like this possible. What a great day, Cliff and i got so much done around the house including getting in the annuals and some plants i brought home from up north. We cleaned and detailed another car making the weekend total four and have a great dinner of BBQ chicken followed by a quick trip out for ice cream!

What's new pussycat?

My mother in laws cat caught my eye and of course i had to take photos of him, love those eyes!

Elvis is in the house!

Took time out to run around town with the girls. We went out to eat at the Rivera a restaurant that was built to look like a chalet, embellished with American Indian themed decorations and the inside looks like it was decorated by Elvis Presley, circa 1970!  The food was good and i did enjoy looking around at the decor, one of my favorites was a old car driven by a deer with a couple of hunters slumped over the fenders. 

Grandma's Garden!

Road trip to Grandma & Grandpa's house in Houghton Lake, just cliff and I. Went up to clean and detail a couple of cars and take in some of the sights. Grandma has several beautiful garden's around her house so i took the opportunity to take some photos! The trip up went without incident and we hope to go home Sunday so we avoid all of the traffic.

Obviously i have limited internet access so i will post photos when i can. Sitting at the McDonalds having a Carmel Mocha coffee!

All grown up!

My oldest niece Chelsea is all grown up, i remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. We were at St. Johns Hospital, it was Meme's 50th Birthday and we were waiting for Paul & Sue's first baby to arrive.  Paul came out of the delivery room in tears at what he just witnessed, the birth of his first daughter Chelsea! Now she is going to her senior prom. Luckily she loves to be in photos and always asks me to take photos for just about everything she does.

The calm after the storm.

We had a pretty heavy rainstorm tonight which was good for the grass and and plants but i really liked the way the light was hitting my favorite tree in the backyard just after the storm.

Baby Gracyn

Today Papa and i took a trip out to spend the afternoon with Ms. Gracyn. Of course i had to take photos of her wearing Papa's hat and hanging out. Could she be any cuter

Rainy Days and Mondays

In a continuing effort to keep healthy (and save gas) i grabbed my cool new wagon and walked up to the grocery store this morning. Now i had a feeling it might sprinkle so i prepared myself by bringing an umbrella and a small blanket to put over my groceries. I had no idea it was going to be a torrential down pour. The umbrella blew inside out and and broke within the first 30 seconds i opened it and i ended up walking home in the rain, i was soaked to the bone when i got home and with in a half hour the sun had completely dried up everything, a pattern that repeated it's self several times throughout the day.

Sun Kissed Sunday

Today was bee-u-tiful and i spent a good part of the day outside doing work in the flower beds and just enjoying as much sunshine as i could get.

Saving the TaTa's

In an effort to kick breast cancer's ass, we set out for the 5th year in a row to walk the Susan G. Kohmen Breast Cancer walk in downtown Detroit. We could not have asked for better weather and as always the incredible feeling you get doing something like this is well worth the effort. My favorite part of the walk is the meeting we have after at Duggan's on Woodward where we laugh and tell stories about previous years and enjoy a bite to eat.

The Story of Trees!

TREES

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

by: joyce kilmer

Jesus saves and so do I . . .

unfortunately that isn't even enough sometimes. I found my External Hard Drive acting up today and found myself in a near meltdown situation. Everything i do is on that XHD, everything. In an effort to stave off panic i went out and bought a new one so that i can start saving anything that might be at risk and see if i can start fresh tomorrow and maybe transfer some of the files to the new XHD. All of this having nadda to do with the kick ass photo i came upon today. We have had a ton of rain and one of the places that frequently intrigues me are the golf courses in the area, on the way home from (ah here is the connection to the above story) getting my new XHD i came to a screeching halt and hung a right into Burning Tree Golf Course. Obviously the flood waters and some not quite in bloom trees created some fantastic opportunities and i wasn't about to let my rough day rob me of such a cool shot.

Beautiful but stinky!

Took a walk today and i couldn't help but notice how beautiful the Bradford Pear trees are, but if you have ever gotten up close when the first start blooming you will be appalled at how they smell, must be natures way of protecting them.

Healthy Habits

As the weather starts to warm up and change so do my habits. I move on from warm and hearty foods and to light and fresh meals. Pretty soon much of my vegetables will come from the garden in the yard. I have also been trying to spend more time outside and getting my "walk" on. Not only was this salad delicious but it looked so pretty.

One Purple Pansy!

When my childhood home in Sterling Heights was sold i was not really effected by it, probably the age i was played a part in it, i thought i was onto bigger and better things. But when my parents sold the house they lived in on North River Road i felt like i was losing the one house that really held some great memories, i did not live there for long and i always came with some baggage, a kid in tow and as my mother put it a box of f'ing tupperware! This house is where i told my parents that i was going to be a mother and the house where they first became grandparents and after all isn't a grandparents house always a magical place. It is the only house Crystal ever knew as Meme & Papa's house and she did a lot of growing and playing in that old house. She even ran away one day when she got fed up with me, a bag of cheese and probably a book in her hands, she only made it 100 yards but she looked so little on the hills in front of Markley Marina next door. One day when i was feeling sentimental i decided to drive past the old house, by this time it had been torn down but i needed to be in that familiar place. I pulled up and parked and the space that once seemed so big was now just a small empty lot. Just before i got back in my car i looked down and one lonely pansy was staring at me, one little sign of life in what was now a barren reminder the the house i loved was no longer there. I took my car key and dug up that little flower and the clump of dirt it was clinging to and took it home to my house and planted it by my pond. Now each year when that pansy comes up i am reminded of that old house and how if given a chance your memories will continue to grow and multiply much like that one purple pansy.

Wood you let me help you?

I kind of got out of the groove of posting to my blog because of the recent crash to blogger. Of course it crashed on a day when i had updated several of my posts from the past weekend when i was out of town. Well apparently one thing led to 5 more and here i sit in bed thinking holy crap i didn't take a photo today. So when in a crunch i say to myself "self, you can always count on a friend" and my little wooden guy is no exception.

Double Trouble

I started my day off working with my favorite little twins Landon & Elyse and honestly they are no trouble at all. But usually when i get out side with my camera in hand i always find something that catches my eye and today was no exception - i love the way the water beads up on these leaves and the random way they criss cross all over the place, i usually keep things very symmetrical and i always envy people who can create with out those limitations even if it is mother nature.

Prom Night

Cameron wanted to cap of his senior year by attending his first dance which happened to be the last dance, his senior prom.  He looked so handsome and his date Becca was beautiful in her aqua colored dress.

What an Angel!

On the way home from a session in The Clem tonight i was pulled into this cemetery.  When i saw this Angel i immediately thought it looked like something from the Garden of Good & Evil.

The maiden voyage!

Well as if two kids on the road didn't provide me with my maximum quota of worry time, Cameron got his license today and we let him take the car to work tonight. Congrats Cam!

Bye, Bye, Baby!

This is a sight i hate to see because i know for the next three hours i will be on pins and needles till i get a call or text saying that she has made it to Kalamazoo safely.  It makes me wonder if it ever ends or if i will always feel this way as one of my kids drives off?

The Hue of Blue

I love all flowers of the blueish hue! These are the grape hyacinth out in front, if you look closely at the photo you will see that some of them start of blue and work their way into a purple color.

Horsing Around

As we got ready to leave the Grand Hotel we decided to take a taxi (horse taxi) to the dock and because i had made friends with the taxi driver (i know, i will talk to anyone) he let Sharon and i sit up front on the carriage. He told stories and pointed out landmarks as we slowly meandered through the streets to our destination.  (sorry i just wanted to use the word meander)

Having a Grand Old Time

(note this is one of the posts that was lost in the crash - so i am resubmitting it)

Had a wonderful weekend up at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, the weather was overcast and drizzly for most of the morning and then it finally broke and i was able to get out and shoot some beautiful photos including this one.  What a place this is and i did so much walking but it was nice to enjoy a much slower pace!

The lap of luxury!

I am not sure who designed these rooms but i have a strange feeling someone consulted Strawberry Shortcake!  All kidding aside, the hotel was just beautiful and as a matter of fact while we were here Town & Country was doing a photo shoot on our floor.

Locks of Love!

Crystal wanted a change and figured since her hair grows like a weed she was going to cut it all off - so she got an appointment and went for it. The girl said she could probably donate two long ponytails to Locks of Love and she plans on taking it to a place in Kzoo where they collect donations.

(photo of actual haircut to follow - she didn't want me to post one until her friends saw her hair.)

By The Light of Her Silvery Macbook!

While this would not be a very catchy tune, the light from cyrstal's silver macbook does provide some cool lighting for photographs.

"These boot's were made for walkin!"

And that's just what they'll do this weekend when i bring them with me on my trip to Mackinac Island. Can't wait to break in these little butt kickers an early Mother's Day present.

Monkey Monday!

"Hey, does this hat make me look like a monkey?"

Could this little monkey be any cuter? Yes, the answer is yes, but i just loved this photo and wanted to post it on my blog. Little Dallas you were a delight and i really enjoyed monkeying around with you today.

Tulips

I love tulips and it seems that every time i plant bulbs the squirrels eat them or they never bloom, but this year i finally had some results that i can be happy about. Now if they only come back next year!