Smitten

I found this tutorial over on How Does She today.

So I sat down tonite & figured out how she does do it!

Here is my finished product::

Go check it out - it's really, really easy!!

Thursday Capture

It's hot!  It's dry!  It's getting more & more humid.....

It's summer in Michigan!

The temps today hit 99 with a heat index of 102!

Libbi the Wonder Dog & I spent 3 hours in the lake.

No lie.  

I sat on the dock for maybe 45 minutes of our time there.

When we returned home she was thirsty.  Crimeny - she just swam for 3 hours in the lake, but I guess there's nothing better than a cold drink directly from the faucet.

 Yes, this is the preferred method of liquid beverage of the Wonder Dog!

She has a bowl in the kitchen, but I guess it's just too warm to drink from.

Then Dream Boy came home from work & found us in the air conditioned Creative Studio, yes, I said studio.

I've been making process all week in bringing it all upstairs to Son #2's former bedroom.

Anyhoooooooo.....Dream Boy was standing by the window looking out at our Maple Tree in the front yard & calls me over.

This poor guy can't take the heat either!  We watched him as he just belly crawled down the branch until he was comfortable.

I took the picture through the dirty window because I didn't want to scare him away opening the window up!

This shows how HOT it is!

Monday Morning Coffee

Good morning!!!

It's a beautiful morning here in Michigan.  A cool 58 degrees outside.  That's just a little over half of what it's predicted to be by Thursday!

The weather is predicting anywhere from 98 to 103 degrees as the high on Thursday.

Oy Vey!

So, I spent Friday at the beach with my nieces for our yearly school's out for summer tradition!

Friday night my big sister & I went to a painting class.  They supply everything you need, including a teacher to show you how to paint the chosen picture for that night....you supply the beverage/snacks of your choice!

We painted a beach scene.

Then I met Dream Boy & Son #1, along with a few other friends, at the local Pub.  Mind you, I didn't get out of class until 10pm.  Needless to say, it was a very late night.  But we all had fun!

Saturday I spent most of it unloading my creative counter and then Dream Boy cut it down to size for me & we hauled the cupboards & the newly cut counter top of to my new Creative Space Studio.

I have a lot of Schtuff to weed through as I reorganize my space.

Saturday night was spent with Son #1 & fiancé doing engagement photos.  We went out at the "golden hour" and walked along the river.  Here's one of our favorite shots:

Fiance saw this on Pinterest and so had I, so we gave it a shot!

LOVE!!

Sunday Dream Boy & I went to church and then out for breakfast/brunch.  We have a favorite little dive/hole in the wall place in downtown Kzoo that we frequent.  The waiter & waitress know us by name & we do the too.  We share how the families are & just enjoy our time there.

In the afternoon we went to the lake with the Wonder Dog for a swim and then we ALL came home for Family Dinner!!

Yep, Son #1, fiance, Son #2 & girlfriend from Minnesota, don't ya know, and me & Dream Boy.

We made chicken & steak ka-bobs, rice, corn on the cob & topped the night off with cheesecake.  We sat on the patio & talked until 9:30 when everyone decided they needed to go home.

I love when we are all together.

It makes me on happy mama!

How was your weekend?

What I Did Yesterday....

Yearly beach day with my nieces!!  To celebrate school being out for summer.

Painting class with my big sis - a beach scene, of course!

Smitten

Quarterly Top 5 Photos::KIDS!

This is a new link up for me.

I'm an avid reader/fan of Ashley Sisk~~Rambling & Photos.

She inspires me to look for the un-obvious and the obvious when taking photos.

This is the June Quarterly Top 5 - where you choose your top 5 favorite photos from the last 3 months.

Here are my picks:

I am NOT promoting drinking here, but I do love the commradery of my 3 boys' & on of our girls!  This is NOT done on a regular basis, but it was a celebration of Son #2's birthday.  Son #1 bought a round of "Irish Car Bombs" -- I'm told they taste like chocolate milk. 

I'll take their word for it.

Can I just say my heart melts when I see the bond between my 2 boys. 

They are the best of friends.

This does a mama's heart good!

A father and his son and his son's.

Happy Father's Day to the men in my life!

My baby girl!  If it weren't for our dogs over the years, I would be THE only female in our household!

Son #1 and my almost daughter (in-law).  They were newly engaged in March & will be married in September of 2013.

Love these 2 with all my heart!

Want to play along or see other's Top 5 Photos?

Head on over to:

Ashley Sisk @ Ramblings & Photos

or

Amber @ Click~Pray~Love

or

Sarah @ Naptime MomTog

Wordless Wednesday

A New Favorite Grilled Summer Pizzas

It's summer.  It's hot.  We don't cook in the house if we can at all help it.  We grill out.  A.Lot!

A few summer's ago I came across a recipe for grilled pizza.  You throw the dough right on the grill.  Bake it up a little bit, then add your toppings & grill it until everything is heated through.

The dough = frozen bread dough.  We love the whole wheat loaves the best.  Let the dough thaw.  If it rises some, no worries.  Just punch it down, spread some olive oil on your cookie sheet & then spread the dough out, covering both sides with oil.  Put it directly on the grill, you don't need the cookie sheet other than to transport back & forth.  Grill it on low for about 2-3 minutes on each side until it's pretty done.  It really doesn't take that long.

Then add your favorite toppings.  We love a greek style pizza, or a bar-b-que chicken pizza.  But tonight we tried something new - a recipe I found here, over at "How Sweet It Is".

Seriously.Good.Pizza!

When I was in the grocery store I ran into our friend's oldest son.  He asked me what I was making & I told him.  He pulled his nose up at me.  So tonite we asked his parents over for pizza and he happened to be home too.  So he & his girlfriend came over for grilled pizza.

Both the son & the dad were skeptical about fruit on a pizza.  

Let me tell you - it's like a party in your mouth!  Oh.My.Goodness.  It is da bomb of grilled pizzas.  Really - you must try it!

Need I say, there was NONE left.

And those skeptics?  

Pshaw~~they were eating seconds!

It's THAT good.

Monday Morning Coffee

Swamp Mama!

Yes, that is a four foot al-eee-ga-TOR!

That was part of what I did this past weekend.

As you can tell, maybe, summer has started.  That's why I'm a little late posting today.  I slept in.  But I have to get going soon as summer school starts today.

We got out of school so dang late this year that I only had a 3 day break before going back to the salt mines!

So while I sit here & eat my cereal & drink my O.J., let's chat.

On my 3 days off I took son #2 to the airport for his first real grown up business trip.  He flew into Atlanta, GA -- or as he calls it, "HOTlanta".  And it was.......hot & muggy he said.  Well, not much different than Michigan, so I don't know what the big deal was?

Thursday I went to my brother-in-law's mother's funeral.  What a beautiful tribute to her.  After the service we all headed to the church basement for a luncheon.  While standing at the bottom of the steps, a heard a loud thump, thump, BANG!  A friend of the family had fallen down the steps, they had to call an ambulance.  She was coherent and talking - but she had an artificial hip & they believe she dislocated it.  Poor thing.

Saturday I was at the Greater Galesburg Days trying to raise money for our senior trip next year.  I had 2 seniors with me who would offer people the opportunity to have their pic taken with one of the 3 alligators or the bearded dragon - all proceeds would go to their trip fund.  This was the 1st year doing this & probably the last.  It wasn't well organized & most people had their own camera.  Unlike when I do the Santa pics in December.  Everyone comes to get their picture with Santa.

So, I walked around with a Bearded Dragon on my shoulder or held onto a 4 foot alligator.  I stayed FAR away from the Burmese Python.  I.HATE.SNAKES.  They give me the heebie geebies.

Yesterday we had a quiet, relaxing father's day.  Dream Boy & son #2 went on a bike ride with 2 buddies.  Then we made dinner and took it over to the in-laws, where son #1 & fiancé met us too!  It was a lovely dinner.

Now I'm off to summer school for the next 8 weeks.

Hope you have a wonderful Monday!!!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

This was a tough week of prompts.  Too many words - I think I like one word prompts better.  I struggled, to say the least.

So here we go:

Meet Me At The Corner

Mother Nature Meets Technology

I pulled this from my archives.  Last summer my friend wanted some different pics of daisies.  I went on a little hunt & found some growing along side the road.  I took a few shots & then played with my photo editing to get this technique.  Walah - Nature Meets Technology!

One Step At A Time

In an effort to be more healthy I've given up soda.....Coca Cola specifically.  I wasn't a fanatic, but I drank at least ONE a day.  I haven't had any in a week.

Now the chocolate on the other hand is not something I'm ready to give up completely - in moderation, yes, but not completely!

What's Wrong With This Picture?

There it was - growing along side the road.  A stalk of wheat.  It must have seeded itself from when a farmer drove by?

Standing Tall

This bearded dragon stood tall on my shoulder all afternoon today.  Seriously, he hung out there for about 2 hours while I took pictures of the kids' with the alligators.

So there you have it, my interpretations for this past week.

Be sure to stop on over at Ashley's blog for more!

It's Someone's Birthday...

...and so we celebrated by a few hours on the dock.

It's only right, right?

I mean - she LOVES the water and gets SO excited when I even say "swimming".  Seriously - she KNOWS the word.

Miss Liberty Bell was born 6 years ago today on this Flag Day.

She got a couple new toys' this week too from the local Pet Store who sent her a birthday coupon.  She took one to the lake, but the blue pooch tube is still her favorite water toy.

I'm now officially on summer break & plan on spending many days with her at the dock.  I mean, someone has to do it, right?

Monday Morning Coffee

Good morning.

Tut tut, it looks like rain.

Isn't that from Winnie the Pooh or something like that?

Well, it does & it is in the forecast.

What a crazy, busy weekend.

1.  Three graduation open houses.....it was actually 4, but we didn't make the 4th one yesterday.

2.  Hospital visits after church.

3.  Visiting the in laws yesterday after church.

4.  Praying for my brother in law & sister & his family as his mom passed away yesterday afternoon.

5.  Two half days of school left....today & tomorrow.

6.  I get to take Son #2 to the airport this Wednesday as he has to fly to Atlanta for his first official business trip.

7.  Beach day this week - annual outing for my nieces and I to celebrate another school year coming to an end!

8. Lunch with a favorite former co-worker this week as we celebrate another end to a school year that was filled with lots of changes for us both!

9.  So glad it's summer break, even though I only have 3 days off before summer school starts back up.

10.  I'm feeling a little ooky this morning, so I'm going to cut this short.  Plus I have to leave for school.

11.  Have a wonderful, blessed week everyone!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

It's time once again for Scavenger Hunt Sunday.

If you follow me regularly, you know I do this every week.

I enjoy it immensely.

It challenges me.

So, here we go with this week's round of shots:

Travel

While working through my son's room and packing away memories, I came across his "travel" jerseys from soccer.  Gone are the days of chasing our boys' around the fields.

Silly

She is so "silly" with the hose on hot summer days.

Black and White

I double dipped here - I used this one recently on one of Ashley's Tutorial Tuesday's.  But I love how this shot of my son & his girlfriend turned out on their graduation day.

Spots

 I have a new bag covered in spots.  Love.it!

 Paper

My creative corner is always strewn with papers of all types!

Be sure to check out the other interpretations over at Ramblings and Photos.

Busy-Busy-Busy

I've been working on transferring this from here.....

.....to here.

 Since son #2 graduated from college and is living an hour away in his own apartment, I'm working on moving my creative corner into his old room.

It's a work in progress.  I have enjoyed going through his stuff and the memories that are being brought back.  Finding his Woody and Slinky Dog just made me laugh.  I know that Buzz has already been packed away somewhere.  

This has gone fairly quick - it'll be that mess from downstairs that will take some time.

Reorganizing it all will be a chore.  But it will be nice to be upstairs in a room with windows.

I've also been busy with end of the year things at school.....such as graduation parties and graduation itself.

I have 4 open houses this weekend - but I don't always get to them all.  I get bombarded with invited from the seniors every year.  There are certain ones that I will go to, the student(s) that I've really made a connection with over the last 4 years.

I have 2 half days left this next week - exams.  Then I have 3 days off & summer school starts the next Monday already.  We are getting out of school a week later than normal, so therefore not much of a break before I go back.

I do get 3 weeks off before school starts in September though - nice!

The weather has started to warm up to normal summer temps......finally.  We had that hot spell in March with 90 degree days and so then summer was slow to start back up again.

This has also been an emotional week.  My friend found out last week she has the same type of Thyroid cancer I did.  My father-in-law, who has emphysema went into the hospital Wednesday night with pneumonia but is thankfully coming home today.  My sister's mother-in-law is still in the hospital after her fall on Memorial Day weekend and my soon to be daughter-in-law is riding a huge, emotional roller coaster right now as her mom in the last 3 days has been admitted to the hospital with what they believe to be lung cancer that has already started to spread.

If you're a prayer warrior - please pray for all of the above for me?  I know and believe that God is the infinite physician.  Please pray for comfort, peace and some solid answers for everyone.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

I'll be back tomorrow with my Sunday Scavenger Hunt shots!

Monday Morning Coffee

Good morning everyone!

Well, how was your weekend....and all last week for that matter?

I don't know why, but I didn't blog a whole lot last week.  Guess I didn't have much to talk about?

Anyways.......

1.  This is my last full week of school.

2.  Two half days next week, then 3 off before summer school starts.

3.  BEACH DAY is next Thursday.  A yearly event for my nieces and I and my sister's when they can join us!

4.  I went to 4 open houses this past weekend and one graduation.

5.  I need a nap.

6.  I didn't have to cook hardly at all this weekend!

7.  The boy in the shot with me?  Yea, that's Mike.  He's the one who left me the "love note" on my white board last week.

8.  Gonna miss him - you wouldn't believe his story!  He has come so far in his 4 years of high school.

9.  I took 303 pictures at graduation yesterday.

10.  I rode my bike to 2 of the open houses & the kids' laughed at my mode of transportation.

11.  Hey, with gas as pricey as it is & they were well within riding distance & it gave me the opportunity to ride off the food I ate, why not?

12.  Uh oh - out of time, gotta get to school.

Happy Monday everyone!!!!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

This week's prompts, for me at least, have a theme.

Libbi the Wonder Dog kind of theme.

We spent a lot of time at the lake last weekend before our major Big Chill came into Michigan and were able to capture several of this week's prompts.

Here are our my interpretations.

Shine

Nothing better than sunshine on a hot day by a cool lake.

Don't you just love her smile?

Fast

She may be six years old, but she's still fast!

Left

Libbi has left the dock!

Peace

Fishing and reading in a boat on a sunny day.  

""Peace"

Plain

Just plain 'ol fashioned fun at church.  

Every May our church puts on a Hot Dog Roast for the neighborhood.

Oodles and oodles of children show up for some good 'ol fashioned plain 'ol roasted hot dogs, chips & lemonade.

Want to see some more fun interpretations?

Head on over to Ashley Sisk's blog and click on the links - it really is a lot of fun!

Why don't you think about joining in next week?