Photo Friday Night Leftovers

The mashup tradition continues here at the Lair...once again brought to you via Calliope's Photo Friday and Danifred's Friday Night Leftovers...

• Photo Friday's theme this week is vibrance. The first thing I thought of when I heard the theme were the vibrant colors of summer flowers...but, I was a slacker this week and all of a sudden it was Friday and I didn't have any new flower pictures. So, I looked through the pictures I've taken recently and this picture said vibrance...the beautiful colors...the striking design...I love it. 

• I have a high school student now. Marty has officially registered for high school and I'm wondering how in the hell more than 14 yrs have passed since I brought that baby home.
• I think Calliope stole my mashup idea. Check it out. The link to her Photo Friday also takes you to her Summer Camp post.
• I think I need to bathe my dogs in Nair hair remover. I vacuum the floor and, less than 2 hours after I'm done, there is more dog hair on the floor.
• Did I tell you I have a cat on allergy medicine? Twice a day I have to give Joey's kitty, Butterball, an allergy pill. It's not much fun but it works. He's no longer sneezing and slinging snot everywhere.
• The funny thing is the cat takes the exact same allergy pill as I do. Yes, I share meds with the cat. The medicine of choice for nasal allergies in cats is the same medicine I've taken for my allergies since I was 6 yrs old.
• I'm watching Joey at Tae Kwon Do sparring class right now. Two of the adults have already injured themselves. I'm glad kids are more elastic and bounceable.
• Late last week I hat 10 boys in my house at once...and my house and I both survived. The testosterone overload was almost unbearable though.

What kind of stuff is going on with you?

Photo Friday Night Leftovers

Yeah, it's mashup time in the Lair brought to you via Calliope's Photo Friday and Danifred's Friday Night Leftovers ...

• The photo Friday theme is drink, specifically your favorite drink. I forgot to take a picture of my coffee so I got a picture of my iced tea instead.

• In the course of 5 days, I have had 2 days that included 5 1/2 hours of driving. I am tired.
• Don't let me forget to tell you about the Kure Beach Camp toilet wars. It's a funny story Marty came home from camp with.
• This picture screams summer to me...

• Gabe is going into kindergarten next fall. He already knows basic addition, a little subtraction, is reading a bit but will be a fluent reader by summer's end, can count in English and Spanish, knows all the basic shapes plus a few more like octagons and pentagons, and has grasped that making things small in pictures makes them far away (basic perspective ideas). I am beginning to worry he is going to be very bored.
• I absolutely love the cross at Kure Memorial Lutheran Church. It is actually made of red stained glass but, when I took the picture, the red only showed up around the edges.

• Gabe woke up me up when he started crying loudly at 5:30 am. He was so tired that he knew he had to go to the bathroom but wasn't waking up all the way. Mess was averted and he made it to the bathroom but, sadly this woke him up most of the way. It took over an hour to get him back to sleep and that has exacerbated my exhaustion (I love alliteration).
• My mom's Rose of Sharon bush/tree has really exploded with blooms this year. They are simply gorgeous.

• Points I've earned through e-Rewards this year have bought me two $25 gift cards to Game Stop, a subscription to PC World, a subscription to Reader's Digest, and,before the year is up, another Game Stop gift card.
• I can't wait to do the pottery class with Joey but the start date has been delayed because they are still putting the finishing touches on the new Cary Arts Center.

What's going on in your life?

Photo Friday Night Leftovers

Once again, it's a mashup. I wanted to do Calliope's Photo Friday and Danifred's Friday Night Leftovers and so I'm doing them both at once again This seems to be becoming a habit.

• The Photo Friday theme is Sun and nothing says sun more than bright summer days...

Gabe at Kids Together Playground

I love how the bright sun sort of washes out the features.

• Remember when Gabe told me I wasn't his mother anymore? Well, he's expanded his repertoire. Today, I had a houseful of boys. Counting my boys, there were 7 boys between the ages of 5 and 14. Gabe was pinging off the wall and he was so loud it was difficult for the older boys to watch their movie. After multiple requests and then warnings, I made him come in to the living room with me. He was pissed. First, he informed me I wasn't his mother anymore. I laughed and told him he was stuck with me. Then he told me he wasn't my son anymore and again I laughed at him and said "Sorry dude, it doesn't work that way either. You're stuck with me. The he said "Fine, then I'm not living with you anymore." I think he was kind of pissed when I told him he could move into the dog house out back. We went through all the options but this time, every time I said he was stuck with me, he shrieked at me "Stop saying that." When we finally hit the "Fine, then I'm not living with you anymore" stage, I added to my response and told him he could live in the dog house, drink their dirty water, and eat mud. This really pissed him off. When he started crying, I cuddled him and asked him if it was sometimes hard to be the little one. He, of course, said yes and, after a little cuddling, he calmed down. I learned the hard way a long time ago that I had to go this route with him if I were to ever get him to admit to the real issue.
• The loose tension pulley (suppose to keep the belts in my van's engine tight) in my van finally caused my air conditioning belt to snap. We are right in the middle of a pay cycle. Luckily, our fabulous mechanics were willing to take the Manatee in, fix her, and wait until next Friday to get paid. They ROCK and the Manatee will be home and 100% fixed tomorrow am.
• Marty and Gabe just spent the past 10 minutes madly chasing and tickling each other around the center of our house. I love seeing my boys play together.

What's going on in your life?

Photo Friday Night Leftovers

Yes y'all, it's a mashup. I wanted to do Calliope's Photo Friday and Danifred's Friday Night Leftovers and I'm running behind so I'm doing them both at once.

• We pass this sign every time Joey goes to Tae Kwon Do. I love it.
  
  
• Why do ice cream trucks(which by the way are no where to be found in cold weather) play Christmas carols? Yes, Christmas carols...Deck the Halls, Frosty, and others
• I just spent the whole day working out our summer schedule...lots and lots or summer camps. Wow does it ever get busy when you have 3 kids involved in activities.
• I'm beginning to think that my dogs need a bath in Nair. I am already sick of the clumps of hair I am finding everywhere. I think that if I collected the hair all season long, I could build another dog.
• Today's Photo Friday theme is chair. These chairs are at the front of the original church home of the oldest African American congregation in NC. This Moravian congregation still worships together today and occasionally even worship in this building.
  

PHOTO FRIDAY: Orange

Welcome back to Photo Friday. The brilliant and beautiful Calliope of Creating Motherhood is back to cracking the weekly whip. This week she is demanding pictures of ORANGE.  Since I never turn down a chance to indulge my inner artist, here are my two photographic submissions...

Now, head on over to Calli's y'all and check out everyone's photos this week.

PHOTO FRIDAY: Buttons

Welcome to Photo Friday sponsored by the brilliant and beautiful Calliope of Creating Motherhood..and, yeah I know I say this every week but she really is brilliant and she is absolutely beautiful. This weeks theme is buttons and I have two photos to share with you and they are each a completely different take on the theme.
I just wanted to add that the effects of the second picture were achieved on purpose and without and digital editing. The only thing done to it was resizing it for my blog

Now, head on over to Calli's y'all and check out everyone's photos this week...and, break out those cameras and participate next week.

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Please take a moment to go by and offer your support to Heather and Mike Spohr. As of today, their sweet Maddie has been gone for more days than she had with them. Just be warned, have tissues handy if you watch the video.

PHOTO FRIDAY: Words

Welcome to Photo Friday sponsored by the brilliant and beautiful Calliope of Creating Motherhood. This week we took the opportunity to focus on something we see every single day and rarely pay attention...words. When I was out taking pictures for another photo challenge I am participating in, I saw words I wanted to photograph on the statue I was taking pictures of.

If you are able, save for them a place inside of you and save one backward glance when you are leaving for the places they can no longer go

Be not ashamed to say you love them though you may or may not have always
Take what they have left and what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own

The words mean so very much and they are displayed so beautifully.

Now, head on over to Calli's y'all and check out everyone's photos this week...and, break out those cameras and participate next week.

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BTW, don't forget to enter the giveaways I have running. Click here and here to enter.

Photo Friday: PLAY!

Welcome to Photo Friday sponsored by the brilliant and beautiful Calliope of Creating Motherhood. This weeks theme is Play! We do a lot of playing and generally having fun around here. Sadly, since I'm the one usually taking the pictures, there aren't any really good pics of me having fun. So, I'm featuring my trio of Master Players this week...
Marty playing chess at the
Marbles Kids Museum


My monkey boy Joey at the
Kids Together Playground


Kamikaze Gabe jumping off the
Kids Together Playground

Now, head on over to Calli's y'all and check out everyone's photos this week...and, break out those cameras and participate next week.

Photo Friday: Unplugged

Welcome to Photo Friday sponsored by the brilliant and beautiful Calliope of Creating Motherhood. This weeks theme is Unplugged (whatever our interpretation of that is) suggested to us by the beautiful Chicklet of Bloorb.

My picture is simple, sweet, and self-explanatory. I LOVE seeing my boys like this.
Now, head on over to Calli's y'all and check out everyone's photos this week...and, break out those cameras and participate next week.

Photo Friday (on Sunday): Crafty Delight

Welcome to Photo Friday sponsored bythe brilliant and beautiful Calliope of Creating Motherhood. This weeks theme asks us to focus on what we like about ourselves. I think the thing I am most pleased with is my creativity and craftiness.

My creativity has allowed me to stumble upon the method that let me take pictures like this...

It allows me to create patterns like this...
and pass it on to a friend I love dearly.

And, I'm able to create quilts that bring the love of far flung friends home to someone who truly needs it...

Now, head on over to Calli's y'all and check out everyone's photos this week...and, break out those cameras and participate next week.

Photo Friday: Unexpected Loves

Welcome to Photo Friday sponsored by the brilliant and beautiful Calliope of Creating Motherhood. This weeks theme, Unexpected Loves, was suggested by Stephanie of Life After Single. One of my unexpected loves is photo editing. I've always loved taking pictures but, honestly, I never realized how much fun it would be to mess around with them and change up the style. In the past year or so, I've discovered I really love playing around with photo editing. Since I have NO CLUE how to take a picture of photo editing, I'll show you what a difference a filter applied to a photo can make.

I started out with a photo of this kind of cool and funky manhole cover...
Then I selected these photos to use as filters...


and, then I added the filters to the original photo...

Now, head on over to Calli's y'all and check out everyone's photos this week...and, break out those cameras and participate next week.

Photo Friday: Afternoon Delight

Welcome to Photo Friday sponsored by the brilliant and beautiful Calliope of Creating Motherhood. This week's theme is Afternoon Delight which was suggested by Molly over at McPolish. I really was stumped about what to post and which photo to use but inspiration finally struck. This first representation of Afternoon Delight is pretty self explanatory...
This second set of Afternoon Delight photos requires a bit more explanation. This year, my little container garden is absolutely delighting me because it is thriving and I'm actually getting produce from it.

Now, head on over to Calli's y'all and check out everyone's photos this week...and, break out those cameras and participate next week.

Photo Friday: Shoes

Welcome to Photo Friday sponsored by the brilliant and beautiful Calliope of Creating Motherhood. This week's theme is shoes. While I thought about giving into my inner shoe whore and taking pics of my feet in some of my cooler shoes, I decided to try and be a bit more interesting.



Now, head on over to Calli's y'all and check out everyone's photos this week...and, break out those cameras and participate next week.

Photo Friday: The Night

Welcome to Photo Friday sponsored by the brilliant and beautiful Calliope of Creating Motherhood. This week's theme is The Night which is wide open to interpretation. Once again, I couldn't limit myself to one picture. Both the pictures I chose to share were taken this year. So, without further ado, here are my submissions...

Now, head on over to Calli's y'all and check out everyone's photos this week...and, break out those cameras and participate next week.

Photo Friday: Black and White

Welcome to Photo Friday sponsored by the brilliant and beautiful Calliope of Creating Motherhood. I was so excited when she announced the theme of Black and White. I have two very different but equally striking pics I have converted to black and white that I want to share with you. The first photo was taken during a trip to the local park...
on the jungle gym

and, the second shot was taken when my middle son Joey was about 11 months old (you can see the original in color here)...
my beautiful boy

Now, head on over to Calli's y'all and check out everyone's photos this week...and, break out those cameras and participate next week.

Photo Friday: TTV

The brilliant Calliope of Creating Motherhood is sponsoring this weekly opportunity to indulge your inner artist and take artsy fartsy photographs. This weeks theme is TTV or through the viewfinder. Now, there are many people who actually take pictures through the viewfinders of antique cameras. However, it is pretty easy to mimic this technique with digital photo editing. I think I went a little bit overboard this week and I had a hell of a lot of fun. As always, all photos are clickable to see larger images.






I used 3 filters found on the TTV Flickr group...1, 2, and 3...and I created one of my own.

Now, head on over to Calli's y'all and check out everyone's photos this week.

Photo Friday: Inside My Fridge

The brilliant Calliope of Creating Motherhood is sponsoring this weekly opportunity to indulge your inner artist and take artsy fartsy photographs. In keeping with this weeks theme, here is my selection...inside my fridge
They say you can learn a lot about a person by looking behind closed doors. What does the inside of my fridge tell you about me?

Now, head on over to Calli's y'all and check out everyone's photos this week.