I had a lovely surprise visit this weekend. My parents called to let me know that their flight home from a much needed vacation had been cancelled. So I got to have them at least overnight before their plane left in the morning. It was great to see them, and I definitely made out well. I got some Blueberry Scone mix from Maine. I can't wait to try it. I have been really liking scones lately. They make some good ones at work.
I know I've been awful at keeping up with the blog posts lately. Work has been crazy busy and by the time I get home I don't want to look at a computer screen anymore. I'm headed to Alaksa soon though and i'm sure there will be many many pictures and good times. I can't wait!
Awhile back, Scott and I participated in the Come Out and Play festival which included a photo Scavenger Hunt. One of the clues was "Underground" so I took a shot of scott from underneath.
Another one was "Big" These two dogs made such a funny pair. In typical small dog fashion, the little one wanted to go off yapping in it's own direction, while the big dog just happily lolled his tongue out and went along with things.
I am definitely moving at a snail's pace when it comes to posting lately. Things have been quite busy between classes, work and guests. Hopefully things will start to slow down a bit and I can take the time to stop and post a thing or two. My class taught me all about flash web animation, so I'm excited to someday purchase the program and make a nifty page with a photo gallery that I can now program all on my own.
Last Sunday marked one year of marriage for Scott and I. Thank you to everyone who wished us well. It's been a wonderful year and we agreed that we can't wait to share many more. As a special treat for our Anniversary, Scott and I saved the gift from his Best Man and went on a wine tasting sail in the harbor. We got there half an hour early, as instructed and saw that they were still prepping the ship, so we waited on a bench nearby. As we watched we saw one of the crew bring up a tray of fruit and proceed to eat from it and pick his teeth then casually paw through it some more. Perturbed Scott and I discussed the possibility that this was going to be offered to us on our sail. As we watched him get more and more friendly with the fruit tray, we were happy to see him pick it up and throw out the rest. Apparently those were just the leftovers from the brunch sail. We finally boarded the "ShearWater" and plopped down, ready to head out to see to escape the 90 degree and humid heat.
It was nice sailing out into the harbor, past the Statue of Liberty, and it was definitely cooler out there. We laughed as someone started to play the saxaphone who looked vaguely familiar. Ah yes, that is the shirtless gentleman who biked up to the lady sitting next to us on the bench while we waited. There she was painting her fingernails on the shore and he walked up and said "I thought this was a topless cruise." I was worried for a moment that he was one of New York's crazy bums who sometimes harass young women, but she seemed to take it in stride and laughed it off like she knew him. How lovely that he could be on our cruise to play some mediocre saxaphone songs for us. My vote for best music was the group of ladies next to us who asked for more wine and started singing some sailling song. Scott and I didn't ask for more wine, because while I'm not a wine snob, I didn't think the wine was all that great. I'd say it was one of those "quality" $7 bottles. I wish they had served two buck Chuck, aka Charles Shaw, that is a fine value. The lady who was our wine person came around with four varieties and very nicely told us all about the wine by reading off the label. Then as we finished nodding she kind of lapsed into an awkward silence as we both turned to take a drink of the wine and she would move on. They were quite thrifty on this ship, since the two whites and two reds were all served in the same plastic cup. I was glad that they served the whites first because if it was the other way around we'd have ended up with a Rose instead of just a nice quadruple mixed wine. As I said. We enjoyed ourselves and laughed at the fact that what we thought was going to be an expensive fancy event turned into a sort of "you get what you pay for" lesson that in New York if you're not bankrupt or a shmashmillionaire you shouldn't expect things to be too fine. Really it was just my style and although the boat was rocking and it was windy, we didn't spill any red wine on our white shirts, Cheers!
When we were in Farmington a few weeks ago, I noticed an interesting storefront and decided I had to go back and take pictures. What an odd place, it was closed by the time we went to take pictures, but I'm glad I'm not handicapped. Imagine trying to park in that spot.
I met a new person the other day and I was trying to explain the quirkiness of New Mexico to them. I think this is a pretty good example. I mean who decides that they will have a business and just fill the parking lot with junk out there unlocked rain or shine, and why not throw in a trampoline for good measure? So strange. This kitty seemed starved for attention and food.
I'm not sure if the pictures do a good job of conveying how odd it seemed to me. Though when I was driving back to go take pictures I drove right past it. I wonder what the inside of the store looked like. When I mentioned it to my mom she asked which brand of vaccuum I saw the most of, so she could avoid purchasing a dud :) I think I saw brands there I'd never even heard of. But if you need an obscure vaccuum part, I know where to look.
Here is the animation entitled "SETA" my group in Big Brothers Big Sisters created last year. I will have to work a little harder to get this year's project posted, but I'm hoping that last year's project will show up for you. Last year, we learned about stop motion animation and storylines and our topic was "growth". FYI there is no audio on this. As you can see from the video our character named Seta, experiences growth in many ways. Her toenails grow, but eventually she also grows to accept this and finds a way to be happy with herself and her excessive toenails. LOL. Enjoy.
The other day we were able to use our connections through work to get Sean Kingston to come perform for the Big Brothers Big Sisters kids. Sean Kingston sings "Beautiful Girl" which is something most of you have probably heard on the radio. Here is a pic of me, my little Shaniqua and Sean Kingston. The kids were very excited. I got an autographed CD that I'm hoping to auction off to raise money for the BBBS race for the kids. We had our final meet up of the school year today and screened the animation projects we'd been working on. I'll have to see if I can find a way to post it. They're entertaining in an amature sort of way.
ri•cap 1 (rē-kāp') Pronunciation Key tr.v. ri•capped, ri•cap•ping, ri•caps 1. a summary at the end that repeats the substance of a longer discussion 2. To replace a cap or caplike covering on: recapped the camera lens. 3. Ri - a female given name: derived from Adrienne.
The kids were very excited. I got an autographed CD that I'm hoping to auction off to raise money for the BBBS race for the kids. We had our final meet up of the school year today and screened the animation projects we'd been working on. I'll have to see if I can find a way to post it. They're entertaining in an amature sort of way.