Friday Five

1. Clever shots that make you look not so clever...

2. Frrozen Hot Chocolate...Yum!

3. Politics & Prose at last!

4. One quality shot in the mix.  I'm going to need some serious practice with this darn thing!





5. Spending the day with the bestie...Priceless!

Happy Summer Solstice!

"Over hill, over dale,
Thorough bush, thorough brier,
Over park, over pale,
Thorough flood, thorough fire,
I do wander everywhere.

 

I am that merry wanderer of the night."

***

Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

 

May you wander all summer and appreciate the wonder and magic in the everyday!

Happy Midsummer!

Monsters!

Brain's a little fried after writing a post for Food Riot this evening so this will be a bit short.  But if you couldn't decipher the post title, it means that we are quite excited here about the opening of Monsters University.  My niece is a big fan since she's been playing with Mike and Sully dolls at my parents house for as long as she can remember.  So it was her idea to go see the movie together.  Quite honestly, I'd probably be there anyway seeing it, even if she wasn't with me.  I loved loved loved Monsters Inc.  It's in my top 2 favorite Pixar Movies (the other being Finding Nemo of course!)  So my sneaky, may not happen but I certainly hope to make it happen, goal is to whip these babies out on cookies.  Cookies are ultimately much more sneak-in-able than cupcakes, don't you think!?

And if I give these cookies a shot, I can avoid the whole having to ice the cookie except for the little bit to stick the marshmallows on.  If you hear nothing regarding my awesomeness on Saturday, please don't ask.  It will certainly mean that I lack a great deal of awesomeness and Operation Cool Cookies was a disaster...

Pinterest Addict

Let me first start out by saying I never really wanted to start a Pinterest account.  I just didn't get it.  In my head it was basically a bunch of crap you'd find on the Internet all in the same place. But of course, someone talked me into it so I signed up (Which is, by chance, the same reason I started a facebook account...).  For the first few weeks, it wasn't really my thing.  I would pin a few things here and there but I could go days without looking at it and couldn't really decipher the appeal of seeing what everyone was looking at. 

Then it all changed.  Somewhere along the line, I discovered the great travel photos that appeared in the Travel section, and the ridiculousness of the Geek section. Then there was photography lessons and new recipes and fantastic ideas for crafting.  Basically I became an addict overnight.  I must say that for those around me, it must be annoying.  In the last few days I've found myself:
-Informing a colleague that wedding favors would be much cheaper and more heartfelt if she'd just make them instead of buying them.
-Asking whether a bag of granola was homemade, then was disappointed to find out that it was store bought, since apparently, (according to the great and powerful Oz aka Pinterest), granola is quite easy to make.
-Assuming that I was now a master photographer because I had read a few articles and wrongly assuming I could figure out how to shoot in manual mode all by my lonesome in a few moments.
-Adding way more sights and activities to the GBR itinerary than I will ever have time for.

Yes I will admit, rightfully so, that I do in deed have a problem.  But the way I see it, there are quite worse addictions to have than turning into a poor-man's Martha Stewart.  I may be annoying but at least I have cute accessories, yummy meals and clever photographs.

Summer-ific Me

Note to self: You look ridiculous doing this pose while others make it look whimsical....

Saw this on another blog and just had to try it too!

Summer Me:

1. Lives in flip-flops (most specifically Sanuks - the most comfortable shoes on the planet) and hates closed toed shoes.
2. Craves watermelon and cantaloupe, and peaches, and strawberries, and blueberries...pretty much any summer fruit you can think of!
3. Drinks only Iced Tea or Arnold Palmers.
4. Reads a ridiculous number of books.
5.  Gets antsy being inside but then complains about the heat outside.
6.  Daydreams of floating around in the pool for pretty much the entire summer.
7. Eats an awful lot of ice cream.
8. Tries quite hard to tan but only succeeds in turning into a lobster.
9. Can't get enough of summer television (Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Falling Skies, Suits, Covert Affairs, The Glades...honestly I could go on, it's kinda sad)
10.  Wishes it was summer all year round.

What does summer you do?

Happy Father's Day!

This handsome fella is my dad.  He's by far one of my most favorite people in the world and though I may not say it enough, I love him more than he knows.  He's funny, kind, loving, always helpful and a heck of a chef.  I hope that he had the Father's day that he deserved, in other words the best one ever!

Happy Father's Day!  Love you bud!

Go Phil!

I've talked before about how I'm a bit of a fan of golf, and have also mentioned how much I happen to like Phil Mickelson.  But I'm not sure I've ever said why.  Aside from being a spectacular golfer who can thrill fans and break their hearts in a matter of one round and aside from never doing what you think he's going to do and always playing how he wants to, he is, by far, what seems to be the absolute nicest and most down to earth player on tour.  He's an absolute gentleman who follows the unsaid rules of golf, as well as a devoted family man.  Don't believe me?  On Monday of this week (US Open week!) when he was supposed to be practicing in Merion PA, he flew home to California to watch his daughter speak at her 8th grade graduation then caught a flight back just in time for his Thursday tee time.  Somehow I just don't see Tiger doing something like that.  Kids could use more sports role models like Phil and less like Tiger.  A few of the players on tour could even learn a thing or two about decorum from him, if they'd just pay attention.

So, the fact that he's in winning position (he's been here before, 5x with no win...) makes it even sweeter!  I'm sure I speak for all of Lefty's many, many fans when I say, Go Phil, keep on doing what you're doing and bring this trophy home!