I've been a bad girl. Someone got me hooked onto facebook and it has led to shirking my responsibility to here. But I have so much fun over there catching up with friends from my childhood. I can't help it. Add looking for ideas for the memorial tattoo I want to get. I have been drawing and doing a lot of internet searching. So my apologies.

You guys know how crazy I am about my cats. Isis got pretty sick, so I have been taking care of her. She is doing a lot better now. I had to take the boys over to Zach's house so we could know exactly how much she was eating, drinking, and everything. So I just got the boys back an hour ago. Tomorrow I'll be babysitting so Terri can start getting moved. At least she is going to watch Mae for me tomorrow night so Dave and I can spend some time together without kids. Doubt we will go anywhere, but I will just enjoy some quiet.

So it is late. Almost 11 at night and I have only been home for about a half hour today. And of course I had to play with the cats and do a round on guitar hero. I am exhausted. Still fighting the migraine, but at least I am at a functioning level. Four days of a headache that is somewhat manageable or one day when I just want to pluck my eyeballs out? Hmmmm.

Okay, so I lied. Well, not really. Yesterday, I started to work on my taxes. Four hour later, I'm still not done. I think the stress gave me another migraine. I have some ideas on photos. Just got to get them together. Hope to be able to get them done later. Babysitting at the moment and the kids are far from behaving.

I haven't scrapped these pictures and I probably won't. They aren't fabulous, but in honor of my friend Elena guessing the Watergate picture, i figured I would do Washington DC at Legoland. This was so cool. I heard that they have done a lot more cities and stuff. It reminds me a lot of Madurodam in Den Haag (or in English The Hague), The Netherlands. I am going to look for my pictures from then and see if I can spruce them up.
I am starting to run out of pictures. I really need to back on the bandwagon and get going with taking pictures every day. It's just tough with the weather and having the ickies. Tomorrow.

So it is 19 degrees outside with a little wind. Still can't take pictures of pages yet. And I am imagining being in a tropical place with beautiful flowers all around and an awesome view. Maybe I need to live in Australia this time of year and come back during the summer.

I call this "First Light". I love lighthouses. They are just cool. This is Bodie (pronounced body) Island in North Carolina's Outer Banks below Nags Head.
So don't forget to post a comment of your guess from yesterday's post. A friend has guessed that it is in the Baltimore/Washington DC metropolitan area. That is correct. That's hint number 1.

This is one of my artsy-fartsy pics I took while my husband drove. If anyone can tell me what it is, I'll think of a little prize or something.

Okay, so the groundhog saw his shadow, which means more winter. Ugh. I hate the cold. So I am going to go into denial. Let's get spring here!

I just found this. Too bad I didn't see this in time for the inauguration. It would have been perfect to post on that day. I always wanted to know what was on top of the Capitol Building.

My grandma. I miss her terribly. I am just having a rough day.

Mae breaks out into "model mode" all the time. She is so photographic and lots of fun. This was in Gettysburg and Mae said, "Mommy, it's modeling time." It cracks me up.

This is from two years ago when we surprised the kids with a trip to San Diego. They had no clue, even when we pulled up to the airport because Dave does a lot of work there. It didn't hit them until we pulled the luggage out of the back of the truck. One day was horrible weather, so we drove up to Los Angeles and had to see the Santa Monica Pier. So we now have pictures of the kids at the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Gulf of Mexico.

This is another old picture from the Outer Banks. We went for my 30th birthday, which fell on Friday the 13th that year. That's okay. I so enjoyed this trip despite driving through a hurricane to get there. As soon as we got on the main drag, it was sunny and beautiful. This is the first time my daughter say the ocean. The water was still a little rough and she got scared, but by the end of the week, she didn't want to leave.
So we got some nasty weather today. My camera doesn't want to take any page pictures without glare. I'll have to wait until things clear up here and I can take them outside to photograph without a flash. I can't wait to show you!

So I got my computer back! Yippee! $40 later, but oh well. So I was thinking, since I have been so super sick and then having the surgery, I thought that with doing these photographs i am showing you guys I have taken in the past, I will have to show you the scrapbook page I have done to go with each one. I will start working on that.
So I think I am done showing you my vacation pics from last year for now. Here's an old one. This is from three and a half years ago on the Outer Banks. I really like the page that I did. It's one of the first ones I completed too as a scrapper.

My computer has had a power issue. This really stinks. I can use my hubby's computer to get email and the sort, but my pictures are my pictures and are on my computer, so I have no access to any pictures right now. Dave has figured out that there is some short in the power cable, and he is confident he can fix it since he has before. So no pic today. Sorry. I am kind of bummed about it.
At least I have some news. I have acquired one of step-son's cats. His name is Alex and he more like a small dog. And we aren't talking chihuahua. We are talking more like a pug or something. He has to be 20 pounds or so. He acts like a dog too. Likes water, licks you, and just is a big boy. Hope to have a pic of him real soon for you. He is all black with a couple white hairs on his chest just like Seth. He's just bigger and has a different shaped head than Seth. I think they are easy to tell apart, so no worries there. Until tomorrow hopefully.

Isn't he/she a cute little thing? It is probably only around three pounds whatever type of primate it is. I shot it through a chicken wire like cage, so this i am proud of. Not to get the cage in the pic, how cool is that? I got one of a komodo dragon through glass no reflection too. On the same day no less. Those are the days you give yourself a high five.

The Florida Keys. I guess I am too old because it didn't really excite me. But this shot on the way back from Key West was worth the long drive as far as I am concerned. And the awesome dinner that followed at Marathon. This took a bit to get, but I am proud of this shot.

I love birds. I love taking pictures of birds. Something about them i just love. Beautiful creatures. I took these at the rookery of the St. Augustine Alligator Farm. We were lucky because a lot of babies were still in their nests. I could spend hours there.

So I have gotten a sinus infection on top of trying to recover from surgery. Man this stinks. So more of my favorite photos I have taken in my life.
Man did I get some looks for this one. I was laying on the ground in order to get this angle and be able to get the whole cross in one shot. This is the cross in St. Augustine at the Mission of Nombre de Dios. It is approximately at the site where Ponce do Leon landed in the New World and the first Catholic Mass held. I am not a religious person, but this is a beautiful place and glad I stopped. St. Augustine is such a gorgeous city. The history, the architecture, the colors, the people. This is another must go to place.

Okay, I've been very bad about not keeping up with this already. With not feeling well and then the surgery, it hasn't been easy. So I am going to post some of my favorite pictures in general. This one I took a couple years ago. Sunrise on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It's such a beautiful and historic place. Plus you can find whatever you want. A busy spot with bars, restaurants, mini golf, and more. Or a quiet space to make a bonfire and watch the birds. The lighthouses are majestic also. I highly suggest it as a vacation spot.

January 6

"The weather outside is frightful." What a wintry mess. I also feel like I haven't slept in a week. I have decided not to take a picture today. I will make it up. It's been just one of those days. I am sick of being sick and tired of being tired. But enough of that. Only way I can go is up.

January 5

Breakfast for dinner! Yum yum! We don't do this often, but when we do, I am so there. Egg over medium, homemade sausage gravy, biscuits (we cheated on those). You know, the stuff that I really shouldn't be eating, but after next Friday, it won't matter anymore.
I watched Oprah's new episode today about her falling off the wagon where it came to her weight. It really hit home for me. Maybe I need to have a good talking with myself. That is, of course, after eating this awesome meal.

January 4

Why can't people do right by others? I have been complaining about my neighbors for quite awhile. Sometimes, they are in two spaces. I don't understand. Parking is at a premium here and I don't get why people would be so insensitive and just in general be bad neighbors.
At least the RAVENS WIN! Yahoo! Now to Tennessee. Should be an awesome game.
And I need to apologize to hubby for not saying happy anniversary yesterday. I forgot. Eleven years we have been together. Love ya babe!

January 3

I am getting sick of the truck acting stupid. Dave knows what the problem is, but I don't understand it. Basically, we need a new battery. We stopped at the grocery store on the way to Zach's to watch football. And I can't believe how people are. Here, Dave lifts the hood and there is a car one spot across and over, the driver sitting there watching us with his car running. Does he offer assistance? No. We have to wait for Zach's mom to show up to get a jump. It's cold out. The kids are in the back seat fighting. The store was out of the pizza I was craving. The game is starting and I am about to lose my patience. Thank goodness for DVR's or I would have really went ballistic.

Isn't she cute? This is Isis, one of my darling babies. I love my cats. Actually, Dave says I love the cats more than him. :-) My cats have a very special place in my heart. When Grandma died, they were very comforting. Anyway, I just thought how ironic this was. Isis hates dogs despite being with Jackson the first few months we had her. The cool thing is that the buff in Isis' fur matches the stuffed dog. You can't really tell here because there isn't enough showing from under her chin. She is such a beautiful cat and her name matches her personality. What a queen.

Okay, here is my picture from yesterday. This is all new to me and figuring it out. I am working on today's entry, so until later. . .

January 1

I haven't really taken a picture of the Christmas tree yet! I like the tree this year. We bought some new ornaments to add to the collection and didn't use ribbon, to Dave's delight and my chagrin. Anyway, with this picture, I can still say I took a picture of myself. :-) Had to get Dave's help with the settings on the camera, but I will learn. That's one of the points of this anyway. Excul would be proud.