Nature Girl Photography

So the other day Nature Girl and I took a mini photo safari around the front yard at our friends house. The results of some of my shots can be found here... But I thought I'd dedicate a special post to these pics:

Well looky, who do we have here? This not so little guy/gal? would like to say Hiya!

(I was able to get this shot with the tutelage of Nature Girl. She was all, "Okay, wait, wait, refocus, wait, okay, take it NOW!" All while holding her own camera and that giant bug!)

I am definitely not brave enough to actually hold insects of this size but for 'Nature Girl' it's well, second nature. I am consistently amazed that she can hold the camera still enough with one hand to manage clear, crisp macro shots. Eventually our little friend wanted to get a better idea of just exactly what this big black thing was. If it were possible, I think our Mantis buddy would've started taking his own nature pictures.I have to tell you, at one point when I was shooting my macro shots the mantis climbed onto MY camera and I managed okay until, I felt this guy sneak up beside me and start flicking his tail against my right arm....That's the only time I let out a scream.

Oh yeah, my Kick-Ass I-Pod Shuffle Tune of the Day: C'mon, like the Beatles EVERY I-Pod should have AT LEAST one song by this artist. It's a perfect walking beat, add a little bounce and maybe a little hip movement and your walk becomes a half-dance... And when you pass someone looking at you with a smirk... Just smile, nod and keep on shuffling.

White Capped & Wind Blown

Last year it was Hurricane Hannah, this year it's just like a hurricane but without the weather service christening the weather with a name.

For the past three days we've been mostly holed up in the beach house, ducking out of the wind and the rain between visits to the nearby shops. Fortunately we ALL like eachother and we have a plethora of books, games & puzzles to keep us occupied. While the 13 of us are capable of entertaining ourselves at the cottage... There are, inconceivably, 3 CRAZY men out golfing in this today. My husband however, has always told me it NEVER rains on a golf course.

This is the view of the ocean today from the deck off my bedroom:

And this is a view of the furniture on the deck off my bedroom (kinda reminds me of the sinking scene in Titanic.):

Last night my husband was griping about the amount of banging the kids were doing so late at night. I think he should've been upset at the patio furniture instead.

My Kick Ass I-Pod Shuffle Tune of the Day:
What? You don't think I walked today? YES, Yes I did! Fortunately it wasn't raining at the time but if I didn't have this extra girth the wind might have just lifted me up and taken me out to sea. I didn't walk yesterday due to rain aaaannnnd a bit of laziness, I'll admit... So today's walk started out with seriously burning calves but I was determined to plow through. I was really losing hope that ANY song would have an effect on the pain in my legs until THIS song came into rotation. Now this is the beauty of the I-pod, how a song can transport you to a place where fatigue and aching, burning muscles are no longer in the forefront of your conscience.

The Death of Summer & Common Vernacular

Our Bethany Vacation usually begins the weekend after Labor Day, so this is the first year we've been in town for all the end of the summer festivities. On Saturday night we had the pleasure of listening to and meeting the members of the Beatles cover band, Fabmania... Four really nice guys who look, dress and sound the part. All the while maintaining the character and accents of the fab four. It was only after I got into a side conversation with 'Paul' about where we were both from and that he works in my home town, that the Liverpool accent kind of faded... Naturally.

Later, I was talking with my beach house buddy Janet, who is herself British, South African born and spent a great deal of her life living in Britain. I expressed that it might've been funny for her to introduce herself to the members of Fabmania, possibly giving them the impression they were being mocked (I have a rather twisted idea of what's funny... Speaking of which, I'd really like to hear Janet do a Benny Hill impression, which knowing Janet, it'll be a cold day in hell before that happens.) My very British friend Janet, in typical British form, obviously didn't see why I found this idea quite so hilarious. Anyway, I realize Janet's accent and the Liverpool accent are quite different. I mean, have you ever noticed that when the Beatles talked, whatever they said always came out sounding like a question? Case in point "He's Paul's Grandfather."

So Janet and I get to talking about the different accents in England and I say something regarding the 'Liverpoolian' accent. She looks at me and says, "Liverpoolian?" (exactly as a Liverpoolian might say it) and she says (very British like), "You mean 'Liverpudlian'." "LiverPUDlian?" I say, "What the heck is LiverPUDlian... Why that just sounds derogatory!" Cause I mean, how does someone who comes from a place ending in 'POOL' end up being referred to as a 'PUDDLE?' Why, I think that's just rude. The argument ensued as to which was the proper reference and only until we looked it up on Google did I admit to being wrong. Leave it to someone from Britain to KNOW the proper vernacular for someone who hales from Liverpool but it continues to boggle my mind. Puddle indeed!

So back to the end of summer festivities. Last night the adults went out for dinner together and left the kids to fend for themselves (put down the phone, childrens services division doesn't want to hear that we expected a bunch of teenagers to procure their own dinner), when we got a call from Chloe who explained that she a the others had been quote: "Touched by DEATH!" Expecting they'd had a close call with a rude tourist behind the wheel, my husband asked if they were okay. Turns out there's a ritual here in Bethany called, 'The Death of Summer.' Mourners gather dressed in black, a dirge is played and a woman walks around with a long black scarf and wipes away the 'tears' of the vacationers and tells them they've been touched by death........... Creepy? Yes! But I guess everyone has their own way of kissing summer goodbye.

My Kick-Ass I-pod Shuffle Tune of the Day:
For high energy you can't get much higher than THIS tune. I own the cd of this band or should I say, Orchestra and nearly every tune exudes this kind of energy. So I'm certain this won't be the last time I post a link to this tattooed genius.

Sleeping through the Sunrise

My husband and daughter are nuts! They get up every morning of vacation at O-dark-thirty so they can photograph the sunrise. It's VACATION for heavens sake... In my book, sleeping in on vacation is not only mandatory it's a God given RIGHT!

The result of their efforts is however, quite spectacular!
My Kick-Ass I-Pod Shuffle Tune of the day:
Maybe I'm just in a mode because we had the opportunity to see a the cover band of this group on the boardwalk the other night but when THIS song came on rotation during my walk, I was in complete sync with the beat... An awesome FEELING!

Beachward Bound

It's here, it's FINALLY HERE!

It's time for our annual family/friend vacation to Bethany Beach. Since our vacation falls at the VERY end of the so called, 'Vacation Season', it seems like I'm always bidding others adieu whilst I long for some getaway time of my own. As my Father-in-law used to say, "I'm not complainin' just explainin." Because the nice thing about vacationing after Labor Day, is the diminished crowds and mild weather. MMMmmmmm, I can almost smell the salt sea air already.

I've been busy packing and organizing ALL day but I did have time to listen to my i-pod whilst I mowed the lawn this morning, so the wait is over....

Here is your Kick Ass I-Pod Shuffle Tune of the Day: How about something with a little Latin flavor? I had goose bumps the first time I heard this song was when it was performed LIVE at the Grammy's. The message is such a positive one... Lively, Foot Stomping, Wave your arms and Take on The World kind of Positive!

Sky Gazing

Astronomy has never much been 'My thing'... I think it's because I just can't wrap my head around the idea of 'The Universe'... It's quite enough for me to try to focus on 'This Planet' and everything IT encompasses. Is there life out there? Perhaps, maybe, I don't know. All I know is, it's just too much to consider. So I don't care, call me narcissistic.

For my husband and my daughter though, star gazing is becoming a bonding experience. My husband received a telescope for his birthday this year and he and the girl child are so excited by each new discovery.

Today, they got up at Oh-dark-thirty so they could see this:

Amazing isn't it? Can you guess what star that is?

Surprise! It's not a star at all, it's this:

It's the Space Station and it flew over our house at 5:32 am this morning.

In my husbands words, this is what they had to do to prepare for the sighting:

We had to figure out which way WNW was (we did this the night before)…

We used google earth to find North relative to the front of the house,
We then magnetized a needle, put it in a cork, floated it in water, and found north that way,
Finally, we located the North using the North Star.

Then we drew compass points on the driveway in chalk based on the results of the various methods. The needle method differed from google and the north star (which agreed fairly well), so we went with the majority opinion.

We went out this morning at about 5:25 and sat on the sidewalk facing WNW, positioned so our little tree in the front yard blocked the annoying street light… and watched.

Of course, eagle-eye Sarah spotted it first, slightly north of where we had 'computed' it to appear. It moved quickly, going from horizon to overhead in about 2 minutes. We watched with binoculors and Sarah tried a time exposure with her camera. After it went overhead, we got up, went to the driveway, and watched it some more.

A very nice way to start the day.

A very nice way to start the day, indeed! A Dad and his Daughter bonding under the stars... Well, it makes for a wonderful life. Where was I? In bed, asleep, of course!

Kick Ass I-Pod Shuffle Song of the Day:
First off, I have to fess up and admit to not walking this morning. I'm giving the dogs a rest, meaning my feet AND the actual dog, 10 yr. old Anna. She's been gimping around too much to subject her to 3 days in a row. But anyway, this song was in my rotation yesterday and while it may be a little too 'Alternative' for some of you, it's got a kick-ass pounding rhythm. Anyone else out there a Blue October fan?

Scale FAIL

Although I'm determined to NOT turn this blog into a site chronicling my struggle with weight loss, I HAVE to take a moment to whine and whine LOUDLY!

The day I decided to 'Slim Down' if you will, I went directly to Kohl's to purchase a new bathroom scale. I wanted just a standard old fashioned scale as the one I was replacing was digital and worked for about oh, 2 minutes. You see, it sat directly below the towel bar and when I inadvertently hung my bathing suit to dry directly over the scale, the resulting water accumulation landed directly on the scale and apparently fried it's circuits.

Anywho, seems your standard bathroom scales aren't as available as they once were and all they had at Kohl's were various brands of the digital variety. Sure, I could've ordered a scale online but that would mean waiting to verify a starting weight. You see, I need to be able to chart progress. Oh sure, I could just wait to feel my clothes becoming looser or perhaps hang in there until someone throws a compliment my way... But I'm an instant gratification kind of gal. Which of course, is obvious, or I wouldn't be in this diet predicament to begin with. So, I purchase this scale by 'HealthoMeter'
bring it home, immediately weigh myself and offer up a prayer of thanks that at least I'm not at the heaviest I've ever been BUT there's still a world of improvement to be made.

I continue weighing myself morning and night for an entire week, noting my progress and am thrilled to see I've reached a 6 lb. loss after 9 days. 9 DAYS!!! 6 LBS!!! This is FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC!!! At this rate, by this time next year, I could be super model material (hey, I can dream can't I?) All right, I can be at the very least, no longer shopping in the plus size section.

Have I mentioned how much I HATE the plus size section? They always put it right next to the petite section, in EVERY SINGLE STORE!!! This means that if you're a plus size gal and you see something cute on that rack a few feet to your right, when you pick it up and look at the tag you realize you've stepped into petite world and feel as though every eye is upon you saying, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?" "IT WOULD TAKE MORE THAN A SHOE HORN TO GET YOU INTO ANY OF THESE OUTFITS!" "GET BACK ON YOUR OWN SIDE, LARGE WOMAN!"

So back to my 'Home-Medic' brand scale story. On Friday I walked, and all was well with the world. I'd lost 6 lbs. and I was feelin' like a goddess, or at least 6 lbs. thinner... Until that night!

My daughter had taken a shower and came downstairs and said, "I don't know about that new scale of yours, I stepped on it once and it gave me one reading and then I stepped on it again and it gave me another." I said, "Perhaps you had it sitting on the tile catawhompas?" She said, "What the heck is catawhompas? But yes, I made sure I had it leveled on the tile floor." So later, I went to check the damn thing out for myself and sure enough, I stepped on it once and it gave me one weight (you didn't honestly think I was going to share that weight HERE did you?) and then I stepped on it again and it gave me another weight 2 lbs. and 4 oz. HIGHER!!! What the Hell? So I spent the next 10 minutes shuffling that damn scale all over the bathroom floor, weighing and re-weighing myself. I'd get the same reading 4-5-6 times in a row and then, sitting in the same exact spot, it would shift again and give me a different reading, sometimes less, sometimes more.

........And then I wanted to go eat a large bowl of ice cream. Hello 'HealthoMeter'?... You FAIL!

I can't even explain what that damn scale has done for my psyche these last couple of days. I feel like that guy who lost to Michael Phelps by 1/100th of a second. You know, thinking you've won it big but then.... Okay, I know that's a completely unfair comparison but you get the gist.

So after weighing myself repeatedly on Saturday and getting readings that fluctuated between 3 and 5 lbs... I decided yesterday to NEVER step foot on that damn scale AGAIN! There's $40 down the drain.

HOWEVER, I walked again today and my mood is brighter again. I'll let you know when the clothes start getting loose or someone says, "Wow you look great! Did you lose weight?" Til then, I'll try to stop blogging about weight loss.

Here's My Kick-Ass Shuffle Tune of the Day:
This song might be a little heavy for some of you but I'm dedicating this one to Chris... It's a song he might be able to admit listening to and not catch any crap from his boys. I have to admit, this is a tune you gotta double time to or else it's too slow, but when I hear, "Now get in the pit and try to love someone" it just makes me feel like hugging a stranger... Which I would never do because the folks at the walking park are already keen on keeping their distance from that crazy woman madly stomping her way around the path.

Singing It's Praises...

I've said it before, I'll say it again... Forget Tae Bo, Forget Nordic Trac and forget that overly tan, super toned, blonde haired, goofy guy with the pony tail, trying to sell you the latest fitness apparatus for your home... You know who I mean:It's just my opinion, but I think the greatest invention to get one motivated is the I-Pod Shuffle. BUT, you can't use those stupid little paddle type earbuds, oh no... You gotta use the buds that sit directly in your ear canal so NO OTHER sound but the tune of a pounding beat is blasting straight into your brain... And, it's GOTTA be a POUDING beat!

I know it might sound like I'm being fecetious... I'm not, I'm completely serious, when I say I LOVE my 'Shuffle.' I have to admit though, it's immensely difficult NOT to break into song while I'm walking... However, I figure, since I already look like a complete dufus, half-way bustin' a move as I make my way around the walking park trail, I'd prefer to not have the authorities apprehend me for the crime of being a complete asshole because I'm singing BADLY at the top of my lungs. So, instead I just move my lips to the music. I save my singing out loud for my kids at home... Yeah, they love it!

Now, every time I exercise there's ONE song that really gets me pumped. I keep my 'Shuffle'... well, on shuffle, so I never know what song that'll end up being. I can always feel that song of the day, the minute it begins to play. The SONG brings on a major adreneline rush and I actually get goose bumps (even though I'm usually sweating like a one legged man at an ass kicking convention.) I can feel my hair sort of stand on end and a smile spreads across my face, like I'm the only one in on the worlds greatest secret. I just feel sorry for anyone walking past me who isn't in my head at that very moment. Any of you ever feel that way when you're listening to your I-pod?

So when todays song began to play I thought I'd add to my blog...
'The Ass Kickin', Foot Poundin', Lip Syncin', I-Pod Shuffle Song of the Day'
Better known as TAKFPLSIPSSOTD...
Yeah, I know it doesn't spell anything... You got any better names?

Anywho, rather than list right out what the TAKFP.... blah! blah! blah!... song is, I'll leave a little hint and then you (my 3 readers) can click to see if you were able to figure it out. Sound like fun?

Okay, here's today's TAK....SS....OTD:

A tiny little thing but DAMN, this artist has a set of pipes and boy can she blow... There just aint no other like her.