Weekly Summary ~ 6/14/15 - 6/20/15

Our first week off from school!  Finally!  Thanks to all the "snow" days, which were more like "too stinkin' cold to go outside" days, the kids' school year got extended by a week.  After losing almost their whole Easter break.  :/  It was another busy week (aren't they all?) but we had some fun in there too.

{June 14: Within My Reach}

My camera is almost always within my reach so when I see something cool, like one of my Black Swallowtail caterpillars eating while upside down, I can snap a quick pic.  :)

{June 15: Masculinity}

Apparently the proper way to show their masculinity was to scowl at the camera. No smiling allowed when you are trying to look manly.

{June 16: Hat}

About this time last year Nick learned how to make paper hats. This is one of his creations.   

{June 17: Begins with "C"}

I was pondering what to photograph for this prompt and then it hit me. Caterpillars and Chrysalises ... in a Collage.  :)

These are my babies right now. As of today, we have three Black Swallowtails in chrysalis, one getting ready, and two still munching away. Their names are (top row - left to right) Cupcake, Sylvester, and Stallone; (bottom row - left to right) Rocky, Pickle, and Rambo. Nick named four of them and Alex named the other two. I'll let you figure out who named whom.  :)

{June 18: Inside}

Alex bought a new toy at our church's rummage sale today and then we went to buy batteries for it. He loves it! However, he's not allowed to play with it inside because it makes a lot of noise.   :)

{June 19: Casual}

Just a casual, make-believe phone conversation on a cool, old-looking phone that doesn't work.  :)

{June 20: All Dressed Up}

How convenient that Keira was participating in a Story Book Princess day today and the prompt is All Dressed Up. She certainly was all dressed up and had a great time playing princess with some sweet little girls.

About our week:

Doug cooked supper on Sunday.  I love when he cooks!  Even if it does usually involve sweet potatoes and corn.  :)  I'm actually starting to like sweet potatoes.

Monday morning I taught a friend how to use her camera in manual mode.  We had a fun time learning and exploring her property.  Alex came with me and had a great time playing with some trains she has for her grandkids.  After that we went to my friend Sam's to fill up her bird feeders.  She was away on vacation and wanted to make sure the birds didn't go hungry.  :)  Keira's violin lesson in the evening wrapped up our day.

Tuesday we lost power for 9.5 hours.  It went out while I was in the shower.  I was almost done so it wasn't a big deal.  But it is so dark in the bathroom when the lights are out!  :)  We were gone for a lot of the down time.  I had a meeting regarding VBS prep work.  And we finally had a day that was nice enough to get in Abby and David's engagement session!

Wednesday we did more VBS stuff.  :)
Thursday too.  And the youth group's rummage sale started.  Keira helped with it all weekend.
On Saturday morning Keira got to dress up like a princess and help entertain some little girls.  She had a great time.  I stayed to help with registration for a little while.  I went home for lunch and then the boys and I piled in the car with my sister in law and one of her girls and drove to Pittsburgh for my cousin's birthday party.  The kids had a blast!  The rain held off until almost the very end.  My mom and sister were there along with a bunch of other people I didn't know.  :)  The boys swam and played kickball and had a really great time.  We all came home exhausted.  
I have to add that I am proud of Keira for making the tough decision not to go to the birthday party.  She had already agreed to help tear down the rummage sale and didn't want to go back on her word.

Tweet

Weekly Summary ~ 6/7/15 - 6/13/15

I realize that it is already Thursday and I am just now getting a chance to post my weekly pics, but I didn't want to have a super huge post next week.  Besides, VBS starts on Monday so who knows if I'll get a post up next week.  :/  Between VBS prep and having no power for almost a whole day on Tuesday, I'm just a little behind. :)

{June 7:  Inspired}

A friend first inspired me to raise Monarch butterflies several years ago. She gave me 4 big, fat caterpillars to take home and raise. It was the coolest thing. Since then I have raised approximately 250 Monarchs over a 5 year span. This year I am branching out to raise other butterflies. Like this black swallowtail. Sylvester, our largest caterpillar, is getting pretty big and will be pupating soon. I can't wait to see if Sylvester is a male or a female!  :)   I also can't wait to start finding Monarchs to raise! Hope they get here soon!

{June 8:  Urban Geometry}

This prompt taught me something about myself. I very seldom take photos of buildings and such. I'm such a nature lover and people person. However, I did take a few photos with my phone when we went on my son's field trip last month. (I actually left my big girl camera at home). And since we went to the city and this photo has geometric shapes in it, I'm using it.   :)  The artwork is made entirely out of license plates.

{June 9:  Smile}

Somehow I got a "smile" out of Kobe during a recent visit.   :)   She's so much fun!

{June 10:  Balloons}

Or in this case ... balloon. I ordered these "light-up balloons" to try and they just so happened to come in the mail today. Alex couldn't wait for it to get dark(ish) so we could try them out. However, we were a bit disappointed as they don't light up very well. At least this one didn't. We will try the others tomorrow night when the kids can stay up later and enjoy them if they do work. Tomorrow is the last day of school before summer break. Yahoo!

*** This photo was chosen as one of the Top Shots for the day! WOOT! ***

{June 11:  Jagged}

The jagged look of a future coneflower that is ready to bloom in my garden.

*** This photo was chosen as one of the Top Shots for the day! WOOT!  Two days in a row! ***

{June 12:  Forced Perspective}

This was not my original plan but rain keeps interfering with that idea, so when the sun actually came out for a bit today, I ran outside to capture this.

{June 13:  Clever}

Keira is so clever. She sees something she wants to make and figures out how to make it. Like this crocheting project which she says will be a shawl when it is done.

*** This photo was chosen among the Top Shots for the day!  WOOT!  That makes three in one week! ***

Normally I link up with Tamar but I missed the link up this week.  I think things will be hit and miss around here this summer.  Spending time with the family and in my garden instead of on the computer seems more important.  :)  Instead I will link up with image-n-ing this time and see how that works out.  :)

My quick rundown of the week:
Sunday after church Keira and I went to my friend Rainey's for some crafting and girl time.  We did more girl time stuff than crafting but that's okay.  We had fun and got away from the boys for a few hours.  :)  We ran to Panera to pick up dinner.  Yum!
Monday was all about VBS.  Met with Sharon, the leader, about what still needs done.  We were supposed to take Abby and David's engagement photos in the afternoon but Mother Nature had other plans for us.  Just at the time we were to start (after we had already decided to reschedule), the skies opened up.  I did manage to get some weeds pulled in my garden before and after the rain though.
Tuesday I made cupcakes for the 6th grade awards ceremony and Keira had a violin lesson.  And I spent more time pulling weeds.  So.many.weeds!  :)
Wednesday I attended the 6th grade awards ceremony at Nick's school.  Honestly I wasn't expecting him to get much in the way of awards based on his performance and attitude this year but I was pleasantly surprised that he received a few.  Even an academic one!  And every year the teachers give candy awards based on the kids' personalities ... Nick got the Whoppers award for being quite the story teller.  :)  At the end they showed a slideshow of photos from the year.  I somehow managed not to cry.
The kids brought home the yearbooks on Wednesday also.  They turned out great!  Diane did a wonderful job designing it.  It was fun being a part of making the last Oakland yearbook the best one yet!
Thursday was finally the last day of school.  The kids only had a half day.  I picked Keira up at 11:15 and we zipped home to be here when the boys got home.  Once they did we hopped in the car and went to eat lunch at Valley Dairy.  I usually try to do something with them on the last day of school.  The restaurant was busy and the kids were whining about it taking so long to get our food.   I joked with our waitress when she finally brought our food that I wasn't going to be able to take their whining much longer.  :)
Later in the day Alex managed to get a wire stuck in his mouth.  Apparently he was trying to straighten a wire that was in a circular shape - like a key ring - with his teeth, and managed to get it through his bottom gums.  I took one look and knew it was more than I could deal with - beyond my mom expertise.  :)  So off to the ER we went.  They were really great.  The PA that took care of him was incredible.  She answered all his questions and made him feel at ease.  She numbed up his mouth and wiggled the wire out.  We were in and out of the ER in just about an hour.
In the meantime Keira was supposed to be at worship practice at 6:00.  But we were at the ER.  Thankfully Doug got home just after 6:00 and took her.
When we left the ER, we zipped home, picked up Nick, and went to the church for a pasta dinner fundraiser for MS.  I wasn't all that hungry after eating lunch late, but I ate anyway.  The boys both took a few bites and went off to play so we ended up taking their dinners home.  Along with a couple to-go dinners for Doug and Keira.
Friday I spent a good part of the day in my garden pulling weeds.  So.many.weeds!  Wait, I think I already mentioned that.  My strategy is to dig up everything and pitch the bad stuff and save the little milkweed seedlings that are growing.  I have way more milkweed than I will ever need so I plan to give some away to friends.  I'm about 1/3 of the way through the garden.
The sun actually came out on Friday for a while.  We have had so much rain and so many thunderstorms, it was so nice to have some sunshine!  Even if it didn't last.
We also went up to help our neighbor with her pool.  She told me that if I helped her get the pool ready to swim in that the kids could swim in it whenever they wanted.  With all the rain and thunderstorms, however, it has been hard to find time to get it going.  And now with VBS coming up, it may not be ready until July.  She shouldn't have to worry about the water getting low though.  :)
Saturday was spent pulling weeds (when it wasn't raining) and doing stuff in the house (when it was raining).  I made gnocchi soup for supper.  Yum!

Well, I think that's about it.  If you made it through all of that, thank you for stopping by!
I will be posting a movie review and giveaway either later today or tomorrow so be sure to check that out.

Tweet

Weekly Summary ~ 5/17/15 - 5/30/15

Let me just say - I apologize for slamming you with two week's worth of photos.  Memorial Day came and went and we had a great time parading and visiting with family, so blogging didn't happen.  Then the rest of the week was super busy - all with school-related activities, so yeah.  I really should try to get the posts ready on Sunday night.  Someday I'll be that organized.  :)

{May 17:  Windows}

Another photo from our trip to the zoo on Wednesday. (Sorry, not sorry!)   :)   Kobe, the female polar bear, swam up to the window to say hello to my friend Sharon and me. You can see Kona, the male, in the background. We are hoping the two of them make beautiful baby polar bears together.

{May 18:  Laughter}

Okay, so I have been back and forth all day about whether to share another polar bear photo and, as you can see, I decided yes. :)

Our day with the polar bears was filled with smiles, laughter, oooohs and aaaahs, and even some squeals of delight from the kids passing through. I think I'm going to have to go visit them again soon. I'm having withdrawals. 

{May 19:  Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner}

When these Black Swallowtail eggs hatch, my dill plants will become breakfast, lunch, AND dinner for the hungry caterpillars. I'm so excited to be a caterpillar mama once again! Hoping this is the beginning of a great, butterfly-filled summer!  :)

{May 20:  Running}

I have never considered running for an elected office, but I will be sure to exercise my right and privilege to go vote on Election Day. Yesterday was a Primary Election Day in our area. I almost forgot to go vote but thankfully remembered just in time!

{May 21:  Odd}

This odd, unusual thing caught my eye the other day. I believe it is a cluster of leaves waiting to open up. Nature is so fascinating!

{May 22:  Brilliant Invention}

The key fob is a brilliant invention in my opinion. Being able to have your arms full of groceries or whatever and still be able to unlock and open your car doors comes in very handy! Must have been invented by a woman!

{May 23:  Tree}

I really loved the way the sun was peeking through this tree. And I love that there are leaves on it again!

This photo was chosen as one of the Top Shots for the day! WOOT!

{May 24:  Daily Habit}

I have several daily habits, as I'm sure most of you do also. Of them is, of course, photography. I try to take at least one photo a day. Usually for the 365 Photo prompts. Most days I take many more photos.  :)

{May 25:  Street Art}

I spent this Memorial Day holiday with family so I had to pull a photo from the archives for this prompt. We came across this mural painted on the side of a building a couple years ago. Since my youngest is crazy about trains, we had to stop and take a photo.

{May 26:  Fresh}

I'm so excited to announce that I now have a freshly-hatched Black Swallowtail caterpillar happily munching on my dill! Actually I have two, but the one pictured is the first little guy to hatch today. So happy to be a butterfly mama again!

{May 27:  Parallel}

Had a bit of fun with today's prompt. Alex agreed to help me. He wanted to look like he was behind bars.  :)

{May 28:  A Dime a Dozen}

Canadian geese are everywhere around here these days. I have mixed feelings about them. I like seeing them around, but they make such a mess everywhere they go.

{May 29:  Close}

Thanks to my lovely macro lens I was able to get up close to this newly hatched Black Swallowtail caterpillar and watch him enjoy his first meal, his egg shell. I actually had the pleasure of watching him hatch. I was giddy like a kid on Christmas morning! :)  We now have 6 babies happily munching and growing.

{May 30:  Valuable}

It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Well, I think value is also. We all have different perceptions on what is valuable. My family knows what is valuable to me. Life. Even the life of a small caterpillar. My 12YO son brought this caterpillar to me this afternoon, so excited because he knew I would be excited. And I was, of course. It is another Black Swallowtail. The 7th and now the largest of the babies that I am currently caring for. (He's only about half an inch long - my macro lens makes him look much larger). I'm so excited to be a butterfly mama again.

Linking with the lovely Tamar:

Since I have two weeks to summarize, I'll try to be quick and just hit the highlights.  Of course, that's what I usually do anyway.  :)  Feel free to skip this part!
Doug was away the 18th through the 21st - in Scottdale working on his plant.  Fun times.
On Tuesday I watched a Black Swallowtail butterfly lay an egg on one of my dill plants!  So I checked the other one and found two more eggs!  WOOT!
Alex brought home a letter he received from his pen pal at his new school.  Turns out it is from my friend Julia's son.  What are the odds?!  :)
Oh, and I voted in the primary election.  I'm happy to say that several of the school board members that voted for the consolidation are no longer board members.
My friend, Sam, and I went to lunch after our walk on Wednesday.  It was nice to sit down and enjoy each other's company.
Thursday evening was Family Fun Night at the boys' school.  Everyone seemed to have a good time.  Before we left Doug gave both boys a Gatorade.  I was thinking I should have let him take them to FFN if he was going to sugar them up like that.  :)
On the days that Sam and I don't walk, I try to go to the bike trail for a change of pace.  On Friday Honey and I went and made it as far as the golf course (1.5 miles from where we parked) and saw a family of geese.  I didn't have my camera (can't carry it while I run) so I snapped a cell phone photo.  Instead of the geese being scared and moving away from us, they hopped in the pond and swam closer.  It was pretty cool.
Keira had a youth group sleepover on Friday night.  Then on Saturday morning the teens served at a prayer breakfast.  It was good food and a great message.
Saturday afternoon I went to a Lemongrass party at my friend Rainey's house.  Our friend, Kim, is a new consultant and this was her first solo party.  She did great!  They have some great products!  I wish I had more money; I would have bought more stuff.  :)
Sunday after church Doug, Alex, and I went for a bike ride on the trail in Emlenton.  We weren't even 1/4 mile down the trail when Doug's phone started ringing - trouble at work.  He told them he couldn't help them right now and we kept right on biking.  It was a beautiful day and a really nice trail to ride on.
Monday was Memorial Day so we went to the parade, as always.  Then my mom, sister, sister-in-law, and nieces came to visit for the day.  Doug cooked for us.  We played UNO, as usual, and just had a great day.
On Tuesday my first Black Swallowtail egg hatched!   I also spent a good part of the day shopping and prepping for our school's staff luncheon which was on Wednesday.
We had our last Wednesday night kids' class at church.  We celebrated with a pizza party and I spoke to the kids about Monarchs and other pollinators.  It was the fastest presentation I have ever done since I only had 30 minutes once they got done eating.
Thursday was spent at the school once again for Field Day.  I was the official yearbook photographer so I could walk around freely.  It was nice since it got really hot in the afternoon.  We had a pot luck lunch (so much food!) and everyone had a great time.  At the end of the day, I got to climb a ladder to the roof in order to take a whole-school photo.  Going up wasn't too bad; going down was a little scary.  :)
Doug and I went out to dinner at Applebee's Thursday evening.  I received a couple gift cards from helping at church and doing my presentation, so we ate for free.
Friday I spent the day editing the field day photos.  Thanks to Lightroom it went very quickly.  Then we had the 6th grade dance that evening.  I can't believe Nick is finishing up 6th grade this year!  The kids had a blast!  Once again I walked around taking pictures for the yearbook.  We don't usually get to include 6th grade dance photos in the yearbook but thanks for all the extra days added at the end of the year (snow days!), we have time this year.  Which is great since our school is closing forever on June 11.
I was able to finish editing all the photos from the dance on Saturday and getting them to Diane so she could finish up the yearbook and get it sent to the printer.  I can't wait to see it!
I found more Black Swallowtail babies on my dill, parsley, and rue plants.  That put us at six so far!  Then, as I shared above, on Saturday Nick was helping me weed one of the flower beds and found another caterpillar on some wild carrot.  The biggest one yet!  He is now inside happily munching on my dill plant.  Once I have a series of photos of the beauties, I will post them.  Gotta wait for a butterfly first.  :)

Okay, so maybe that wasn't so short and sweet.  If you made it through all of that, good for you!  Now that school is winding down, I shouldn't be nearly so busy.  A few photo sessions here and there and a wedding or two, but this summer should be pretty relaxing.  I hope!  :)

Tweet

Weekly Summary ~ 2/15/15 - 2/21/15

Another week under our belts.  One more week closer to spring.  Thanks to our lovely Pennsylvania weather, the kids had school cancelled on Monday, Thursday, and Friday last week.  We had record-breaking low temperatures.  Their Easter break is now gone with a couple days tacked on at the end of the year.  And winter isn't over yet.  :/

We had a bit of a warm up on the weekend along with about 6 more inches of snow on Saturday.  But back down to high temps in the single digits today.  Brrrrr!  Global warming sounds really good right now.  :)

Anyway, I'm still chugging along with Fat Mum Slim's photo a day challenge.  And I think I mentioned last week that I started another Project 365 challenge.  I'm allowing myself to use archived photos when I'm stumped or just not feeling it.  When I finish up my year with FMS PAD, I will make more of an effort to take a fresh photo every day.  After all, that's what these challenges are about.

Of course, now that I said that, the first photo of this week is an archived photo.  :)

{February 15: Spot}

This Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillar has spots that look like eyes in order to scare off predators.  We had the pleasure of finding one a few years ago and keeping him in chrysalis form over the winter.  I hope to attract more of these lovelies to our butterfly garden this year.

{February 16:  From where I stand}

It may look pretty outside, but from where I stand it is too stinkin' cold to go out! We are in the middle of "it is so cold it makes my face hurt" temperatures right now. Only 31 days until spring!

{February 17:  Routine}

Exercise is definitely part of my daily routine. For now while it is too cold and slippery to exercise outside, I will continue to do my workouts indoors. Today was strength training. Tomorrow will be intervals.

{February 18:  Bedside}

Today's view from my bedside. Snow, snow, and more snow.

{February 19:  Fresh}

Fresh blackberries anyone?

{February 20:  This is so me!}

Butterflies and sunshine. We had the sunshine today but I had to improvise with the butterflies since it is very much winter here right now.  :) This is a wind chime I bought recently. I can't wait until the weather warms up and I can hang it outside.

(This photo got chosen among the FAB photos for the day!  WOOT!)

{February 21:  Matching}

We bought this matching tea set several years ago for our now-teenage daughter. Sadly it has been stored away for a while. She's a bit old for tea parties. But perhaps my youngest will want to have one with me. He's not too cool (yet) to hang out with his mama.  :)

Linking with Tamar:

Like I said, the kids had school cancelled Monday, Thursday, AND Friday.  
Keira had a violin lesson on Monday.  The boys and I dropped her off and ran a quick errand.  Their doors were frozen shut (motorized sliding van doors) so when we got back to her teacher's house, I asked if I could have some warm water to pour on my doors so we could open them.  When we had run our errand, the boys forgot they couldn't open their doors but they tried anyway.  Well, the doors were closed, but the sensor kept indicating that they were open, so the car was beeping over and over and over again on the way back to Stephanie's.  Ugh.  So incredibly annoying.  Warm water does the trick.  Even if only for a moment.  :)
Wednesday I went up to help set up our store at church.  But then we ended up cancelling Wednesday night kids' classes.  At least it is already set up for this week.  Hope we don't have to cancel again!  Oh spring, you can't come soon enough!  :)
Thursday and Friday were full of movie watching and laziness.  Although Alex and I did run up to the mall.  My Rite Aid register rewards were expiring and I didn't want to lose $8.00.  We also stopped at JCPenney to look for a new purse for me.  Didn't find one.  Alex wanted me to buy him a pretzel.  And a book.  And a toy.  And, and, and ...  Next time I think I will go alone.   :)  (He didn't get any of those things, by the way).
Saturday morning we woke up to snowy roads so we decided it wasn't worth it to go to Alex's soccer game.  When our road looks bad (a main road), it is best to just stay put.  We ended up getting about 6 inches of snow.  However it was a little warmer.  I think we almost hit the freezing mark.  After all those below zero temps, it felt like a heat wave!  :)

Tweet

Our Week in Review 2014 ~ 10/5 - 10/11

I just discovered that my week numbers seem to be off, so in order to not drive myself crazy with trying to fix them, I'm just going with a more generic title for the remainder of 2014.  While the song "Let It Go" is running in my head and I take deep, cleansing breaths.  Don't sweat the small stuff, right?  :)

I'm still continuing with Fat Mum Slim's photo a day challenge.  Here is the list for October.  Easy peasy, right?  Not always.  But fun nonetheless.  I have decided that I may take a new picture or use an archived photo, depending on my schedule and my mood.  :)

{October 5:  E is for ...}

Evening sky.  I took this photo a few weeks ago. A gorgeous sunset after church one evening. This is basically SOOC - just some sharpening done.

After spending the day with my nephew who just got home from serving in Afghanistan (he's a Marine) and my sister (his mom) and my mom, I honestly didn't even think about picking up my camera to take a photo for today's prompt. We had such a nice day together. Talking and playing UNO, our card game of choice these days. (That way the kids can play too.) I probably should have taken some pictures, but I just didn't.

{October 6:  F is for ...}

Flower.  We had lots of sunflowers in our garden this year. They make me happy. I mean, who can look at a sunflower and NOT be happy?   :)

{October 7:  G is for ...}

Green frog.  Ribbit.  :)

{October 8:  H is for ...}

Hat.  Gobble gobble.  :)  While out shopping today I saw this turkey hat at Target and just couldn't pass it up. We have a crazy hat night coming up soon at church and I thought one of the boys would like to wear it. Alex volunteered to give it a try this afternoon.

{October 9:  I is for ...}

Inside ... a milkweed seed pod.

{October 10:  J is for ...}

Jagged.  This was a tough one. I had a long list of ideas and this wasn't even on my list. But it ended up being my favorite. Funny how that works. :)

{October 11:  K is for ...}

Kindness.  The boys and I went for a walk on a bike trail today. We saw lots of woolly bear caterpillars. Every time we came across one crawling its way across the trail, Nick would pick it up and carry it safely to the side so it wouldn't get stepped on or run over. He showed great kindness. My sweet boy.

Still busy with photo sessions and editing until my eyeballs are ready to bleed.  :)  It's a good thing.  Hoping to post some photos from recent sessions soon!  Thanks for stopping by!

Linking with Tamar:

Tweet

Waiting for a Butterfly

What the caterpillar

calls the end of the world

the master

calls a butterfly.  (Richard Bach)

We've been waiting 6 1/2 months.  

Since September 9, 2012 - the day we brought the caterpillar home.



And the wait was so worth it.

Linking with Project Alicia, In the Moment with ..., and Live and Love ... Out Loud.


Before you go, make sure you check out the giveaway I'm hosting for a FUN children's book ... Hey God, I've got some guy named Jonah in my stomach and I think I'm going to throw up!

Tweet