An Amazing Day in America

This is a repeat photo, but it was so appropriate to repost today. Yesterday, we witnessed history as we learned that Osama Bin Laden was found and killed. It's an odd feeling - it's a just and good thing, yet I can't rejoice in anyone's death. It did make me feel proud as an American and sad for the families of those who lost 9/11, yet happy that they might have a small portion of peace.

So back to the picture... I took this on Ellis Island in New York. What a better way to honor those lost in 9/11 and thank those who continue to fight for our freedom. And those Navy Seals kick some serious butt!

The Royal Wedding, or My Confession

I have a confession. For the last few weeks, I've been one of those people who shake their head at the mention of the Royal Wedding & wonder why people are making such a huge deal. I mean, we're not British, they're not our future royalty, right?

I do care about fashion, however, so this morning when I got to work, I went to CNN.com to get a look at the dress. It took all of 5 seconds to get sucked in! So yes, I spent my day watching the video (I still maintain it was crazy to wake up for it) and oohing and aahing at all the coverage. I teared up when Wills said, "I love you. You're beautiful" when Kate made it to the end of the alter.

So in tribute, I tried to find a romantic picture to commemorate the day. I've been wanting to show these for a while, so we're going to pretend that the names carved into this bamboo tree in Jamica say "Wills & Kate".

We're also going to pretend that's her way off in the background on the right - maybe on her honeymoon, gazing wistfully at the sea while thinking, "Oh my God, I married a PRINCE!"

And for the record, I've also decided that Harry is quite the hottie, much like his older brother. But that's a topic for another day.

Happy Belated Easter

I had this photo all ready to go & didn't realize until today that I never posted. Um, what's that about good intentions?

This was taken at Petit Jean Mountain State Park on the trail to the waterfall. I got some good pictures, plus I still have so many from our Spring Break vacation. Maybe I'll remember to post again soon. ;-)

Water Colors

I'm always fascinated by the vibrant colors of anywhere tropical and Jamaica was no exception. The ocean looks amazing and I like the other patches of color here and there.

Loving the Light

This was me trying to be a little artsy while I was taking pictures one day when we were at sea. I like how the colors & lighting turned out. This just says "spa" & "clean" to me.

Matthew would be proud

While in Jamaica, my husband & daughter climbed Dunn's River Falls. I decided to go the observer route, due to bad knees, but selfishly, it also gave me the opportunity to take tons of pictures. I got some gorgeous ones, but after a while, I decided to use what I learned in class last year & play with my shutter speed for a different effect. I loved the result on this one!

But... I don't wanna leave!

We got home from our vacation last night - **heavy sigh** - it was wonderful. I thought about refusing to leave & just wrapping myself around the balcony of the ship, but I figured my family might be a tad embarrassed. It was everything I wanted it to be - relaxing, fun, no worries. I've been going through pictures tonight & thought this was a good one to start with:

This was a view of the Boardwalk, from above, where you can see the Carousel, the Aqua Theater & the rooms overlooking this area of the ship. The smaller red umbrellas that can be seen are outside of Johnny Rocket's - YUM!

Bon Voyage!

I originally posted a different picture, then realized I had already posted it last September. I needed something tropical to post, since we're leaving for a cruise tomorrow! I've been so excited, given all that the past year has brought. I can't wait! I should be packing now, but I'm a procrastinator, so I'd rather wait until the last minute so I get to experience the panic of not having enough time to think clearly while I pack.

This is a private island right off of Key West that I took on our last cruise in 2009. I plan to live there one day, since it's only accessible by boat. Until that day comes (i.e. I win the lottery), I'll settle by taking cruises & beach trips.

Besides the obvious reasons for being excited, I'm really looking forward to all the photo ops I'll have! See you in a week.

The Earthquake Cake

The 8th graders at my daughter's school had a project for Science this weekend & the task was to bake an Earthquake cake & take pictures of the process. My daughter & her partner did their project at my house today & let me document the process. They're using other pictures for their project, but I liked these.

Teamwork

Helping Hands

The Finished Product

There was a bit that spilled over the edge onto the cookie sheet, so I got a small taste... it was GOOD! My husband didn't like that they had to take it to school, instead of letting us taste test. :-)  Google earthquake cake if you're interested in the recipe. 

Patch

I'm officially on the vacation countdown (10 more days!), so to keep myself from getting too excited, I thought I'd post more snow pictures. It's sort of fitting, considering our Spring has all but disappeared. We've gone from sunny 60+ degree days to rain & highs in the low 50s.

Not funny, Mother Nature. Not funny at all.

Feeding An Addiction

Over the Christmas holiday, my husband & daughter got me hooked on Showtime's Dexter. I was quickly sucked in and the three of us went back & watched all episodes starting with Season 1 to the end of the current Season 5 (oh Lumen!).

With their birthday's being in January, I still had Dexter on the brain. I happened to come across a blog featuring pictures of cakes people made to celebrate the beginning of Season 5 and with that... my mind was set. Since her 1st birthday, we've always had some sort of theme for the cake. Here's the cake that we had to celebrate her turning 14.

For Dexter fans, you know I had to be as accurate as I possibly could:

Luckily the friend's that were over that night are just as sick as we are. :-)

Note: Wow... in true Dexter form, I just made the same mistake John Lithgow made when accepting the Emmy for his role on Dexter in Season 4. He thanked HBO... before I added the link above to the show, I also said "HBO's Dexter". OOPS!

A Presidential Bridge?

This is an old railroad bridge that is by the Clinton Library (you can see the proximity in this picture here). In May, construction began to transform it into the Clinton Presidential Park Bridge. As you can see here, it is fenced right now & construction continues. It should be interesting to see if the finished product looks different. I'm sure the grass will be lush & green by then.

Reflections

I know this picture is technically upside down, but I love reflections like this. This day was super windy, as you can tell by the ripples in the water. This is a fountain outside of the Clinton Library that is extremely shallow, but water constantly runs over the edges. That's why you can see the tiled bottom so clearly.

Photo Suprises

Sometimes it's fun to see what sort of things are captured in a picture that the photographer doesn't even notice. Case in point - I took this photo inside the River Market. I thought the shapes on the ceiling would make for a cool photo, plus I just love the overall vibe inside the River Market.

Once I downloaded my pictures, I was (pleasantly) surprised to see this guy in the hipster Domo shirt. I happen to love all things Domo.
Aren't familiar with Domo?  Check out this wikipedia entry.

Red Brick Buildings

I have a "thing" for red brick buildings downtown. They always seem to catch  my eye.

The Haiti Exhibit

I mentioned in another post that we visited the Clinton Library one Saturday. The reason we went was for the Haiti exhibit. I'm proud to say that not only did my husband design the banner in these pictures, he also designed the exhibit. 

Snow Dogs

We've had snow days the past 2 days and the dogs absolutely love it! I went out with them today and got some shots. This is Bitsy & Bosco, my Pekingese & long-haired Dachshund. 

Street Performer

This guy is almost always in the River Market area. The first time I ever saw him was at night & he freaked me out. He still freaks me out, even in the day time, but he is sort of neat to watch.

Touring my city

 Last Saturday was a gorgeous, 60+ degree day and we went downtown to our local River Market for lunch with an ultimate destination of the Clinton Library (more on that later). I brought my camera and ended up playing "tourist" in the city I've lived in all my life.

This is a classic, tourist picture, but I loved the contrast of the sign with the blue sky. My next few posts will be from this day - I got some good shots.

The Little Rock Skyline

This is the skyline in downtown Little Rock. I work in a 4 story building that's in there somewhere. I remember when I was younger, my Mom worked in the Regions building (one of the taller buildings on the right). I was amazed at how small the cars looked from the 17th floor.

If this excites me, you can imagine how I act in New York. I tend to look out of windows a lot.

One more good snow...

No, we haven't had another good snow, I'm just wanting one more. We're supposed to get to 60 degrees this weekend, which will be nice, but I still need one more good snow before we forget about winter all together. 

I really like the way the green stands out in this picture too.

Birthday Fun

Monday was both my husband's & my daughter's birthdays, so we had a couple of friends of my daughter's over Sunday night. It's so funny how dress up changes when they're 14. This is one of her friends in her own interpretation of clown make up. 

White lights

I've always liked trees decorated with white lights - I think it's the simplicity or something. There's a row of trees like this right outside Benihana. We went for my daughter's birthday tonight & I took this.

Dumb picture, but...

There's not a whole lot to this picture, but there was something I liked about it. It does, however, make me wish I had played with my macro lens.

Winter Wonderland

We have a trail by our house that we went walking on yesterday. This bridge isn't normally very pretty, but I liked the way the green stood out among all the white. I also love that there's a snow covered log in the background.

And I'm back

It's been way too long since I've been here. So long, in fact, that I had to go through about 20 combinations of emails & passwords before I was able to log in.

My absence hasn't been completely by choice - on 9/10/10, my life changed drastically, due to my parent's health. I haven't had the time or the interest in doing much.

I'm trying to get back to taking pictures - I had forgotten how much fun it can be. With our snow fall here in the South, I had a great reason to get out & play.