Let's Get Out of the Snow and Go Back to Florida!

So it has snowed some more here in Cincinnati last night and the kids around here have been off of school since Tuesday and the novelty is starting to wear off. I tried to go out yesterday afternoon but I have a little car and she does not like this stuff and she decided to slide all over the place for me so I turned her around and came home. Doesn't she know I needed a Target fix? LOL I just wanted to go to Target and browse. Oh well some other day.............
So let's get out of this cold snow and ice and go back to Winter Park, Florida. I just loved visiting this cute town. It reminded me of Carmel, California only without the ocean. I loved the courtyards tucked away with places to eat and places to have a cup of coffee and also the arched doorways and fountains.

Each little walkway would have another cute area waiting...........

I liked this so much I am using it as my new banner. It just screams Spring to me and I am so ready for that right now.

And look who I found hopping around the streets, I think it's Marty! Donna, was Marty missing last weekend? LOL

Since it was such a gorgeous day, we took a walk down to the lake. I can't remember the name of this lake but it was surrounded by cute homes and condos.

It really was a pretty area and if my hubby goes back next year for another meeting, I hope to tag along again and hang out some more here. If you are ever in the Orlando area and need to see something other then Disney this is the place to go.

But we couldn't go to this area of Florida and not visit the giant mouse so we went to Downtown Disney to get some things for the grandbabies. You know we couldn't go to the land of Mickey Mouse who all three of them love so much and not bring back something. LOL We went to what had to be the world's largest Mickey Mouse store and let's just say our suitcases were a little heavier on the way home. LOL I think this dragon was part of the Lego place, he was pretty cool looking.

And look at this! This is where little girls go and are transformed into little princesses. It's a beauty parlor for princesses in the making. The little girls I seen who had this done were just so excited. I can't wait for Maddie and Sydney to be able to do this!

And this Cinderella castle just blew me away with it's price tag. Click on the photo and see how much this little baby will set you back. LOL


And this last photo I took really quick at the Orlando airport as we were leaving so it's a little blurry but I just love it! First off aren't they just the cutest couple? But it just reminded me of all the sacrifices our men and women who serve make for us. I pray for safety for this soldier and comfort for his family.

Anyway, have a safe and wonderful weekend and I will make it to Target sometime this weekend. LOL

More Snow and Cabin Fever.........

Here's some more photos of our snow and ice storm. It finally has stopped but it left a mess with power outages and accidents. I am starting to get cabin fever, when you are used to going it's hard to stay in, I might make a trip to Kroger's today just to get out of the house. LOL It was kind of pretty with everything encased in ice and when the sun came out for about two minutes the ice on the trees looked liked sparkling diamonds.

Here's my sweetie multi tasking, talking to the office and shoveling the snow.

Our mailman made it through the mess but our newspaper didn't unless it is buried under all the snow. LOL

Doesn't this look like a white out? This was when the snow was really coming down..................

Just a photo of the ice covered branches..........................

And this is pretty much how I rolled yesterday, wearing my comfy slippers, having a fire going and drinking hot coffee. Hope everyone is safe and warm today! Have a wonderful Thursday!

Just Another Day In Paradise.........

... Depending on your idea of paradise :-) My idea of paradise is sitting on a beach in 85 degree weather with a Pina Colada(that is if I drank pina coladas). LOL But this is what's going on in my part of the world today. First we got a bunch of snow, then we got ice and now it's back to snow. Fun, Fun....................and more fun to come............

This is my poor little Japanese maple tree all covered in ice and snow. I really hope she doesn't lose any branches. We can hear big branches falling down all around the neighborhood. I took these photos from the safety of my front and back door. I have a healthy respect for ice ever since the time I went down in it and landed on my back looking up at the sky. Ice is bad and it scares me to death but I do hope to get out later on and get some more shots of everything but for now the front and back door will do just fine. :-)

All my pretty lawn items are covered. Can you see the tip of my Eiffel Tower peeking out?

My little lighthouse decoration is almost covered and only my snowman is smiling right now.

It's coming down pretty good and most everything is closed today. My sweetie is working from home today and is pacing like a caged animal but truthfully all my loved ones are safe and sound in their homes and we have lots of fresh coffee going and we also have lots of shows on DVR to catch up with. We got hooked on Burn Notice on the USA channel and have taped the old ones so we have lots to watch and I am reading a good book(A Time To Mend by Sally John and Gary Smalley, I highly recommend it). I am also going to work on some jewelry, so all is good. Sometimes I wonder if this is God's way of telling us to slow down and get off the merry go round and just appreciate all we have. Because for all of my weather whining, I am blessed with a warm home, lots of food, all the people I love safe and sound and so much more. So stay safe and warm and make lots of coffee, my cure for everything..........LOL

Reality...........

Two days ago I was rubbing elbows with the famous Snow White and Mickey Mouse. Snow is really quite stunning in person to see. :-)

I watched Mickey and Minnie taking their wedding vows. Well, not really.............

I sat in this beautiful park in Winter Park, Florida...............

I soaked up the bright sunshine of the 80 degree weather...............

I ate pasta at an outdoor cafe'.......................................

I ordered room service one morning while my sweetie was at his meeting..........................

But today.................

This is my reality. The snow has been coming down all night here in Cincinnati, this top photo is my pool area. There will be no swimming today and the bottom photo is my neighbor's back yard. They are talking about a snow and ice mix later on in the afternoon, so I am tucked safely in my home watching the snow fall and I will brave the cold and snow later on to take a few photos outside and make sure my bird friends have some food but in my mind I am still sitting in that park in Winter Park, Fla. with my sweetie soaking up the sun.

Thanks for everyone's sweet comments on my photos for Brenda's Photo Challenge. Donna from Cottage Days and Journeys has picked a new theme and date and the theme is textures and patterns and the date is February 7th. I'll be around to visit everyone soon and see their photos for the challenge but right now I think I am just going to pretend I am still in Florida and the sun is shining so bright and warm. I'll post some more photos of Winter Park later this week, it really is a cute town! Have a great day!

Brenda's Photo Challenge "Looking Upwards"

It's time for Brenda's Photo Challenge and I am the hostess today. Go here to see who's playing. Who would have thought when I picked the theme of "looking upwards" that I would be diagnosed with what the doctors called top shelf vertigo, which basically means I sometimes get dizzy when looking upwards and doing other things. LOL But that's the way it goes, so I picked out a few photos from my files instead of making myself dizzy taking new ones. :-) This first photo is the ceiling of our Union Terminal here in Cincinnati. The Union Terminal used to be a train station here in Cincy, it is now a museum and is well worth the visit if you are ever in Cincinnati.

This photo is of the ceiling at the Vatican in Rome. I took this a couple of years ago when we were there. An amazing place to see. I would have loved to get a photo of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel but the guards who are there didn't like that idea. :-)

Here's another shot of a landmark in Cincinnati. This is our Fountain that sits in Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati. I just liked how it looked at night looking up at it.

And this last shot was taken this past September at about 730am one morning. I was backing out of my driveway and seen the moon looking so big in the sky and I was trying to get a decent photo when this plane just came along and it looked like it was sitting right on top of the moon. I probably should have zoomed in on it some more but it happened so fast I just took the shot. Our house is on a flight path so I have seen Air Force One fly over and the Concorde when it was still in service.

My good buddy Donna from Cottage Days and Journeys has agreed to be the next hostess for the photo challenge. I can't wait to see what theme she'll pick!

Have a great weekend and I am out of town so I'll be by to see everyone's photo's when I return!

Friday Fun!

I told you in my post yesterday that Maddie made a Valentine's cake. I think she might give the Pioneer Woman some competition with her cooking skills. LOL Pillsbury makes this cute cake mix and frosting for Valentine's Day and Kroger's had some disposable heart shape pans to put it in. Here's Maddie showing everyone the cake mix, what you don't see is how much she was enjoying the batter.

Here's the fun part, decorating the heart shape cake. I have no idea why we were decorating the cake in the middle of the living room but she was having fun.

And the best part, eating the fruits of her labor. LOL She would take a bite and look at all of us and say "cake good". I put the rest of the cake in a tupperware container for Maddie to take home to her Daddy and she held on to that container like it was pure gold and fell asleep in the car on the way home still holding it, which was about the cutest thing ever. :-)

I also told you about little Cameron and his backwards crawling skills. Here's an example of how he backs himself under a chair. He just cracks me up because he also has this funny way of laughing and you just can't help but laugh with him.

Okay, okay I know you are probably tired of grandbaby photos but just one more. I loved this photo of Maddie showing Cameron how to play with the toy. She was just so excited to show him how it worked, it was so sweet.

Anyway, have a good weekend. My sweetie and I are headed down to Florida this weekend. It'll be heaven just to feel warm weather. I am not bringing my laptop but will have my photos for the Photo Challenge schedule to post(I hope it works). Is that very rude, to be the hostess and not show up? LOL But I can't wait to check out everyone photos when I return. Have a wonderful weekend!

My Funny Valentine!

Little Sydney(AKA, SAS) had her picture taken on Monday and here are my favorites! She's the youngest of the three grandbabies and she is a sweet, sweet little thing. She seems to know when someone is down and will just look at you like she is worried. She really has a tender heart so she truly is a special Valentine. All three grandbabies came over yesterday to play with Gommy(me) and what a fun time that always is. Maddie made a heart shape Valentine's cake and was so proud of it. She kept saying " I make cake Gommy" LOL I'll try to post some pictures of her masterpiece tomorrow. And little Cameron wants to take off and walk, he'll be one in two months and he really wants to do the walking thing. And he crawls backwards, it's the funniest thing because he's always getting himself wedged under a chair. I could go on all day about the grandbabies...........

Don't forget about Brenda's Photo challenge this Saturday((I'm the hostess). The theme is "looking upwards". Come join the fun and go here and tell Donna you want to play! Have a great day! I am off to meet a girlfriend for coffee and shopping, two of my favorite things to do. LOL

Tuesday's Funny!

This came in an email and I thought it was too funny. Okay so maybe I don't go this far with blaming menopause but I do blame alot on it! Happy Tuesday!