Check It Out

Irene from Our Piece of The World has been getting into photography lately and so have I. I've been visiting some of the photo blogs and I have to tell you I am blown away by their talent. I am not a photographer by any stretch of the imagination but I do so admire people who take beautiful photos. A few weeks ago I met a older gentleman at the zoo who was taking photos. I admired his camera and talked to him about taking pictures. He told me it's not the camera that takes good photos but the person who is taking the photos. I've never thought of it like that before but I think he has a good point. Anyway here are a few of the blogs that I have visited in the past few weeks. Photowannabe is one I visit almost everyday. She does all her photography with a Sony Cybershot which is the same type of camera I have and you should see her photos. I didn't know my little camera could take those types of photos so I've gotten out my manual and have been checking it out. Also check out Beachy Cape Cod Photo Album , her photos of Cape Cod are great. And also check out IMac, he has some amazing photos on his site.
Also I've found another blog in my visits and she is so funny. Kellan from On the Upside . What she wrote here about her polka dotted shoes just cracked me up.
And I don't want to forget my sweet friend Julie who is having a Christmas giveaway. So head over to Nunnie's Attic and check it out.
Also I want to thank Leah from South Breeze Farm for helping me with some blogging issues. And it's not too late to start the I'm Giving Thanks Challenge. I'm doing it, just check out my top sidebar and go to her site for more details.
And guess what Karolee? They cancelled my knitting class again. I think I was the only one who signed up. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR ! Anyhoo can't you come to Cincy and teach me? Just kidding. One of my friends whom I had dinner with last night told me about a yarn shop in Northern Kentucky that also has knitting lessons so I'm going to check that out soon. Well, that's about it for today. Hope you are having a good Wednesday!

Travel Tuesday - Carmel & Monterey, California

This picture is of the sun setting at Carmel beach, I have no idea why it decided to be little. Blogger was giving me some problems today.
This is the Green Gables Inn in Monterey and yes it is as wonderful to stay here as it is to look at. Our room was at the very top of the inn and it had a huge window seat that I would sit in every morning and listen to the sea lions or maybe they were seals, I'm not sure but it was wonderful. Again this is part of the Four Sisters Inns and if you ever go to California, I highly recommend them.
This is Garland Regional Park, right outside of Carmel. All of these pictures were taken in 2003 and this is our good friends Mike & Vickie and me. This was a pretty cool park.



Travel Tuesday is late today because I had a little friend with me for the past couple of days. My daughter Melissa has not been feeling well with this new pregnancy, she has not been able to keep any food or liquids down for a few days. So Grandma's been hanging with Maddie and we've been having fun. They put Melissa on some anti nausea meds and when that didn't work they put her on what they give chemo patients and that seems to be working. Good thing because she was close to going to the hospital to get some fluids in her.

Anyway, I don't want to gloss over Carmel and Monterey because these are such wonderful destinations. First of all I love Carmel. I first went there in the mid 90's and loved everything about it. The cute little shops and all of the restaurants are so charming. And don't forget to go on the 17 mile drive and Pebble Beach, it is well worth the drive to see the lone cypress. There are too numerous of restaurants to mention and there are so many good ones. Take a drive around Carmel and see the homes by the water, it's a sight to see.

Monterey and Big Sur have some of the most breath taking shorelines. The Monterey aquarium is one of the best. Pacific Grove is where the butterflies come to mate each year. Travel down Highway 1 for some of the best scenery you have ever seen. Out of all of the places I've been the only place that compares to the scenery is the Amalfi Coast in Italy. I know I've just gone over some of the highlights of this wonderful place and it is so beautiful and I don't mean to go over it so fast. Perhaps I'll come back to this another day when I have more time but for now believe me when I tell you that if you have never been to Carmel, Big Sur or Monterey, you should go. Okay, next week we are going back across the big pond and are going to Paris. My sweet niece Allison has been wanting me to go to Paris and now that I have mastered how to scan pictures (since I didn't have a digital when I went) we are going to go. Next week we are heading to Paris.

Celebrating Our 31st Wedding Anniversary

My sweet husband Mike and I at our daughter Melissa's wedding in 2004.

My little blog is celebrating today. Today is our 31st wedding anniversary so my blog is filled with mushy stuff today. But hey come on life's too short so let's all celebrate. As you can see we were very young when we got married in 1976 and I often tell my sweetie that it is by the grace of God that we are here today and I mean that. Anyway hope you all enjoy the decorations (check out the bottom banner too) and my trip down memory lane. I love you sweetie and would do it all over again in a heartbeat. You are my best friend and best father and grandfather.

On our wedding day, November 5th, 1976. We look so young!

Isn't it funny how different wedding dresses are now? Mine actually had sheer sleeves and I loved my headpiece, it reminded me of something Juliet would have wore in Romeo and Juliet.

Okay, this is a bold move on my part. It's to prove to myself I once could wear a bikini. My sweetie took this picture on our honeymoon in Ft. Lauderdale in 1976. It might have been the last time I ever wore a bikini. I was only 20 years old in this picture. Between stretch marks from having babies and various scars from surgeries, you will never see me in one again. Check out those JLo sunglasses. LOL

Movie Fun and Going For a Walk

My fellow blogger from Cincinnati, Sarah Cool recommended this movie and she was so right. I've never seen Steve Carell in any movie before nor have I've seen The Office. He's a pretty funny guy. I think this movie is being billed as a comedy, drama and romance and I would agree with that. I seen this the other night and really enjoyed it.
And I went for a nice long walk today at my very favorite park on the Ohio River. Hey if I can't be on my very favorite beach on Hilton Head Island, I'll take my park here at home. The nights have been cool here and the days have been sunny and in the upper 50's so I took a few pictures to show you along the way. There's something about this cool crisp weather that just makes you glad to be alive.

I'm Giving Thanks!

Leah at South Breeze Farm has put out a challenge to post one thing everyday in November that you are thankful for. Go over to her site at South Breeze Farm for all the details and start giving thanks.

How Are You Feeling Today?

My Mother In Law gave me this magnet years ago and I keep it on my refrigerator. It's made by a local Cincinnati company called Creative Therapy Associates and created by the cartoonist Jim Borgman . Jim writes the comic Zits, which is so funny if you have teenage kids or have lived through the teenage years. I don't know if Zits is in the papers all over the country. Anyway, I think the magnet costs around four dollars and that little blue box can be moved around depending on how you feel that day.


For all of you who have problems seeing small letters (like me), just click on the image to see it better. So what mood are you in today? I should put hyper from all the coffee I've had this morning but I don't see that on the list. So I think I'm feeling mischievous, just because I like his face! And I like the lovestruck guy's face too. Hope you are all in a good mood for the weekend! Have a safe and wonderful one.

Fun Times

Cleo(my crazy kitty) inspecting the treats for the kids.
Maddie(my cute granddaughter) inspecting Grandpa's work on her pumpkin.
Maddie(cute granddaughter again) doing her inspection of the treats.
Grandpa(my sweetie) and Maddie waiting for the kids to come. Maddie looks a little bored with the whole thing. LOL But look at her cute University of Cincinnati cheerleader outfit. She had pom poms but they didn't last long. We had fun at our home last night, hope you all had a great night also!