May 31

Dignan Longstocking

May 30

Two years ago, Matt and I were in Salzburg. I wish I was there...since the hills are alive with the sound of music and all.

This was taken at a marionette museum. Gee loved it.

May 29

Someone loves carrots...

even the deformed ones from our garden.

May 28

One of our neighbors works for the Rancho Bernardo Historical Society and they have a fundraiser every year at the Bernardo Winery. It's a pancake breakfast with bouncy-house for the kids and raffles for the adults. As I crossed through the archway into to the open field, I felt like I walked onto the set of "The Gilmore Girls" (totally small town feel). There was an old time band on a little stage and picnic tables all around.

The event was also to honor the veterans so the band played the theme song for each military branch and all the veterans from each branch stood for acknowledgement during their song. A sweet old man was sitting across from me and I noticed he wore a Navy cap and had a walker right next to his chair. When the Navy song played, he stood right up and he was not going to sit down until his song ended. He was leaning on the table and his arms started shaking but, still, he wouldn't sit down. His wife tapped his arm and it really seemed they were going to give out but he still kept standing. Thankfully, the song ended after a few minutes and he dropped back on his chair with a thud. I just thought he was so cute because he was obviously so proud to be a veteran.

May 27

Whenever Matt and I blatantly ignore him, Dignan always hides.

Of course, he always crawls into the same place under the bed so it's pretty easy to find him.

May 26

Arugula Aftermath

May 25

So sad. I finished the final book in the trilogy. This was my least favorite of the three but that doesn't mean I didn't like it. Once again, I couldn't put it down and my body protested late at night. This one was more violent than the others which could be part of the reason I didn't like it as much but it was also missing a little of the tenderness that could be found in the first two novels. All in all, a very enjoyable series. I am looking forward to the audiobooks and, next year, the first movie.

May 24

Onions gone wild

May 23

Mr. Plant has worked so hard all year growing and growing. So much time and effort...all for one baby artichoke that just started showing it's little head. I thought there would be more than one per plant. Geez.

May 22

Relaxing with some cocktails on the patio. Matt ran the gas and water lines for the barbecue/bar we plan to build some day. It's been a slow process. The outside frame has been standing for at least 8 months. Now, with our mortgage being refinanced, we won't have as much money to spend on it each month. Hopefully, it will be done by NEXT summer and then we'll have a party. You're all invited.

May 21

Sick/lazy day.

We only left the house once because we had nothing for dinner.

Wahoo's tacos hit the spot.

May 20

We watched "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1" tonight. Thank heavens I didn't see it in the theater! I had to pause the movie near the end because I couldn't take it. How will I make it through Part 2?

Needless to say, my Dobby bobblehead stayed on my nightstand last night. I couldn't bear to leave him alone in my office.

May 19

Lovies.

(somehow this lens/film combo in Hipstamatic turns Matt's arm into Bigfoot's)

May 18

Palm Gee

May 17

Dignan...before he was Dignan. His foster mom sent me this photo of him, taken after he was rescued from the shelter but before his surgery.

May 16

Waiting for dinner

May 15

We went to Emily's Irish Dance recital today and it was very cute. She was a lion and they danced to "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". I wish they would have a recital with everyone in their cute Irish outfits, dancing to traditional music, but this was still fun to watch.

May 14

Apricot update - still plugging along

May 13

I love hydrangeas. This one is so beautiful.

I got my mom a bright pink one like this for Mother's Day and it was just as gorgeous.

May 12

Bone Frenzy

May 11

I am addicted to the Hunger Games trilogy. This is book 2 and I raced through it almost as quickly as the first one. Seriously, I hate to put them down at night.

May 10

Whomping Willow?

May 9

Julian forest

May 8

It is MOTHER'S DAY! I spent the day with my mom so, of course, I didn't take one photo of her.

Oh, well. At least I have this little gem.

I think I still have those glasses. They are awesome.

I love you, Mom.

May 7

It's a good thing I wasn't the hired photographer for this party because I sucked. This is little Draven's 3rd birthday. That's him in the lower right and he had a little dinosaur pinata. His mom, Felicia, is getting his mask ready while his dad, David, and Matt were up on the roof so they could swing the pinata up and down. It was weird when all the candy fell out because the kids just walked over and slowly picked up one piece of candy at a time to put in their bags. They were way too polite for pinata-time.

May 6

Scenes from our walks, Part 10.

Succulents...my favorite plants.

This bush is so cool but there must be something living in it because one second after snapping this shot, Dignan had his whole head inside the bush. I couldn't get the next shot fast enough! The headless image was awesome.

May 5

Scenes from our walks, Part 9

Lavendar.

I want my backyard hill to be covered with these bushes.

May 4

Last image from the zoo. I like this one because it was taken through glass so the underwater portion turned really blue and the above water portion became green and ethereal.

May 3

In honor of my parent's anniversary, I thought I'd post a picture of one of their greatest accomplishments. Hee hee.

Of course, guess who forgot to call them today?

May 2

Giraffe family portrait

May 1

It was really cool to go to the Zoo yesterday with the Bio Club because we had a few backstage talks. One was with the gorillas and the other was in the reptile house (Matt's favorite).

Who would have thought that the highlight of my day would be in the reptile house? Crazy, right? Well, they had a rattlesnake that was scared so it coiled up and was shaking it's rattle like there was no tomorrow. It was so cool...and something I hope to never see again.

April 30

Matt's brother, Blake, is the head of the Biology Club at Santa Barbara Community College. They had a weekend trip down to San Diego and visited the Zoo on Saturday. He brought his son, Eli, also so Matt and I met up with them. It was a perfect time to test the various Hipstamatic lenses. The only thing I've noticed is that it doesn't always focus properly. Still, I like this shot. We were watching some monkeys...who must have done something interesting, judging by everyone's expression.

April 29

Hipstamatic Strawberries

April 28

I'd heard about this book series for a while so, when my friend Stephanie asked if I wanted to borrow it, I thought I might as well check it out.

Wow! I could not put it down. I actually got mad at my body for getting sleepy at night because I wanted to keep reading. The premise is horrible but I was completely sucked in. Can't wait to read Book 2.

April 27

I got a new app for my iPhone. It's been around for a long time but I only got around to purchasing it today. This is only the 2nd app on my phone that wasn't free.

It's called Hipstamatic and I love it. I never quite know what I'll get. So far, I've just been playing around with the lenses and films that come with the app. First test shot was of my work desk. Even that looks cool.