and baby makes 6!

It is strange sometimes to see how animals slide into our lives, bringing love into it that is just nothing short of magical.
Our little dingo like creature has stolen everyones hearts, including my husbands.

She is the first one to great him when he comes home, and his stance on “Animals must be outside at all [...]

I’ll walk in the rain by your side
I’ll cling to the warmth of your tiny hand
I’ll do anything to help you understand
And i’ll love you more than anybody can
And the wind will whisper your name to me
Little birds will sing along in time
Leaves will bow down when you walk by
And morning bells will chime

I love [...]

Do you like this photo?

Or this one?

I am learning how to do photo enhancements etc, but have to wonder if sometimes just the raw photo is best. Is it cheating to enhance your pictures?
What do you think?

I imagine this has other names, but this is the concoction that we came up with one day when we were out of rum (gasp! Never run out of rum at the coast).
-Frozen Bacardi Real lime Mixer (or frozen lemonade)
-gin
-ice
-lime seltzer water (or lemon)
-lime sugar (or lemon…I am sure you got that by now)
Fill blender [...]

The compass that is.
One more thing a child can learn on a boat.

I am trying very hard to turn loose of my frustrations and not allow them to jack with my life. But, damn, Thursday was rough.
Nothing in particular happened. That is the absolute beauty of hormones. Nothing has to happen to make me feel like this. It just comes out of [...]

Just a quick update before the weekend on the status of Miss Mimi Smartiepants and her arm.
In answer to a couple of questions….she is doing great and yes, she did break it jumping on the couch. Thank you for asking in comments and via e-mail.
All I can say is, ugh.
She was flinging herself around the [...]

The teacher with her students.

Class dismissed!!!

I love pelicans. They are so strange and prehistoric looking.
I enjoy photographing them in all their ancient weirdness.

Look at the feathers on these white pelicans, all fluffy and white. Can you see each feather…each strand of down?
Oh, you can’t see them that well. Here, let me help….

Your old eyes still need [...]

Photography just got more interesting for me.
I have discovered the world of “no flash required”…..anywhere or anytime.

Ignore the food on her face, and the bug bite on her lip….focus instead on counting her eyebrow hairs….or her freckles…or possibly her skin cells.
This was taken using a new Nikon 50mm 1:1.8 D lens, fresh from [...]

If you have not already, you really need to make this adorable meal for your kiddos. We made this for the kids Valentines Day meal, and they loved it. Easy to prepare and so fun. I followed the recipe, save for the baking part. I just added the cheese and milk while [...]

In case you were wondering, the Heineken was for me.

Getting old is hell on the body. I experienced another birthday a few weeks ago, and with it a new resolve to get fit this spring.
I have lots of incentive……a long boat trip in which I had better have some upper body strength in which to haul and trim sails with.
And beach [...]

Thursday night has a new tradition……invented by mom and dad.

They get to plan, shop for and prepare the family meal on Thursday nights.
Last week they made Pad Thai.

Even the little ones contributed by squeezing some fresh lime.

They even get the honor of washing all the dishes while mom and dad kick back.
Frying up [...]

Dingos know to always wear a US Coast Guard approved PFD (personal floatation device) while sailing.

When should you REALLY give up coffee?
When you make the perfect cup of cappa, sit down to browse the net, and knock the perfect cappa over onto your new laptop.
How do you know that you have your priorities in order and money means nothing to you?
When, instead of rushing to remove the keyboard [...]

Mia: I want something to eat.
Me: Please.
Mia: Get me something to eat! Please.
Me: Do you want an orange or an apple?
Mia: No! I want you to get me something to eat.
Me: Well, I need you to tell me what you want?
Mia: I want that thing that we [...]

Watch out, these are so sweet they will make your teeth hurt.

When the screaming, whining and overall noise level in your house reaches a point in which you are quite certain dead people would be begging for Valium, enter your husband…home from work early, with a fresh, creative mind that has enough sense to know that mom is about to blow, and moves the chaos to [...]

I have had a cooking bug lately. It must be the coming of spring that is bringing it on.
Or the fact that my friend Pam sent me The Mediterranean Light cookbook for my birthday just a couple weeks ago. Pam is a real life friend who I have known my whole life. [...]

There are times in life where something significant happens, and you do not recognize it until hours later when you are in bed, pondering the event.
Much talk has been going on via the internet about purging and letting go of all the “stuff” in our lives. I am a big fan of this idea, as [...]

For the last few months Bill and I have been able to take an evening to ourselves each month.
The babysitting situation is premo….it only costs $15 for the entire evening. The cost of finding a baby sitter was what had kept Bill us from wanting to do it more than, say, once [...]

We went, we saw, we did..and it was cold.
I think that the next time we go to the beach and work with plaster of paris, I will wait until it is a more comfortable 98 degrees outside….or 100.
Apparently the cooler it is outside, the slower plaster dries. We found this out…this little fact……and spent [...]

We did a craft this morning. It involved paint and glue guns, and lots of paper towels. And patience, which surprisingly I had even after 2 espressos (my sin is out….I am back on the beans).
Can you guess what it was.

Yes, we actually cut that square piece of felt…and also glued felt to [...]

Hey guys, Mary from Owlhaven is holding a blanket party on her site today. She is raising money to purchase blankets for newborns in Ethiopia.
Just imagine not having a blanket to wrap your newborn in. Just so very humbling.
Please head on over and help her reach her goal of $500!!

Quinn and I have been having a battle of wills when it comes to sitting down and doing his school work. Everything is much more interesting to him…playing tag with the dog, his gecko, the sun shining outside…..it was getting to the point that instead of being fun like I had hoped, it was [...]