Because I CAN!

 I'm LOVING having a camera again!!!!

Too bad I'm so out of habit though...  I'm sure I'll take some stupid photos, 

JUST because I CAN!

Those Kodak Moments

I have a new (to me) camera!!!  It's exactly the same as my old camera, but it works.  Yay! 

 I charged it up and it's ready to roll!  

I was able to try it out on the boy last night.  Robb and I needed to pick up the car that got fixed yesterday and Leon fell asleep on the way. 

Meri's car issue...  It turns out that the clunking noise was a dangerous one.  She could have died if she'd gotten back on the interstate.  The whumping that she was hearing was a tire that had sheered off most of it's lug nut posts...  The remaining one could have broken and she'd have lost a tire mid drive.  I'm so glad she brought that to our attention!  Our car guy is awesome and was able to fix it right away.  Did I ever mention that he's on our Christmas letter address list?  yep.  We like him.

We have to pay him lots of money, but we like him.

 Luckily Leon had already had supper before we left, because that was just about it for him for the night...  We got home after an additional stop and tried to wake him up with a little Netflix, but he fell asleep again in the chair.  Oh well, he was well rested.  

I lifted him, blanket and all, and tried to keep him quiet and resting so I could carry him upstairs.  Unfortunately for me, I then stepped on the bubble wrap that I gave him from my camera purchase...  

POP POP POP!   Really?...  

Fortunately, Leon stayed asleep while Robb laughed quietly from a distance.

Darn camera.

Faster than the speed of a shutter

I got a new camera!  It's pretty but I haven't had time to figure out how to download all the photos easily yet. It has wireless network capability, so I emailed myself some photos that Meri and I had taken last night to try it out.  I think I need to download a driver for it for my computer...

It's a Samsung WB1100F.  And it's a pretty burgundy reddish color.  

It shouldn't get mixed up with anyone elses in the house!!

I haven't had a chance to explore all it's options yet, but Meri discovered some neat features.

I love the vignette look!

Did some sewing last night and undid a screw up that I'd done on the blouse. 

 I'll tell you more about it later.  It's busy again for work today...  yikes!

I can't wait for the weekend!

One mind at a time...

Something fell behind the clothes dryer yesterday and in my attempt to dig it out I needed to pull the thing out a little.  Sweeping behind it and the washer was a hoot.  Meaning that an owl could have made a grand nest there...  

I found lots of hangers, lint nests and then guess what??

I found the camera that I'd lost almost one year ago!  I'd lost it the day we were headed north to move Maddy home from college for the summer...

It was as if it had dropped off the face of the earth, when in reality it was the back of the washer.

It's covered in lint, but it works and I can see Maddy's spring play, 

Meri's end of the year concert pics on it, 

and a lot of Leon.  

Of course I'd already downloaded them.  I don't know why I don't bother to clear my camera off until it's full, but that's the way I roll.  

I like having a back up I suppose.

So anyway, what was once lost is now found!  

OH!  and I got further in Sonya's book and I was NOT happy with the way things were going so I tried to call so I could get after her about it.  It's as if she anticipated my call, because her line had been disconnected!  So I sent her a harsh note on Facebook.  

Sorry Sonya!  After my rant, I read more and I'm about 10 pages from the end now.  I forgive you!

And yet again, what was once lost is now found.  And in that, I mean my mind.

There may be people out there who would disagree...

De-ja-vu

I'm having a bit of De-ja-vu going on today...  I haven't found my camera yet since this weekend's trip...  

Some of the guys are saying they saw it was brought in from the car and another is saying they don't see it in the car at all.  

hmmm...

Knowing my luck, as soon as I buy a replacement, I'll find the first one that was lost several months ago!  

I got to go shopping all alone last night!  It took all of 30 minutes.  Grabbed a burger at my favorite Ma & Pa joint and met up with Robb to pick up a dog that he picked up in Des Moines.  It lives with us but went visiting while we were gone for the weekend.

Got home in time to snuggle with Leon.  He hadn't seen me hardly at all Monday and when he did, he ran up and gave me the greatest hug he's ever given and said that he missed me and loves me and covered my face with kisses! 

 I love it when they start talking in sentences!

Taken with my cell phone camera this morning.  I made this on Sunday evening.  

One of Ryan's friend could NOT comprehend what I was doing....

Got a lot going on today.  Have a great Tuesday!

The Old College Try

After the parade on Saturday, on our drive to my old stomping grounds... Meri had the camera in the front seat. and Maddy gave her an opportunity to use it.
Then after our baby binge, we had a few minutes before our pizzas were done at my husbands favorite college pizza joint. We always grab one or two pizzas while leaving town for the drive home. He hadn't come with us, so we got him one to enjoy when we got home.

So we did a quick campus tour of his and my old Alma Mater. Maddy was duly impressed. She especially liked the old bench out on the front lawn that has been repainted every year since the beginning of time. Look at all those layers of paint!The library was locked, so we couldn't go in there. Can you believe it? Locked before 5pm on a Saturday? Lazy students... But the commons was open and I showed the girls where I lived when I wasn't at home. I was a commuter student and editor of the yearbook and seat warmer in the Wigwam restaurant, where my best friend and I watched Santa Barbara soap opera while talking studying at lunch time. Hi Kim!The commons building has changed all around now. Lots of improvements that left me speechless. Ummm... WHERE is the activity council meeting room now? But I still could find my old mailbox, but couldn't remember the combination.

We had a chat with the security director. Not because we were trespassing, but because he had a lot to say to Maddy to persuade her to attend there. Who knows? Maybe with both Robb and I having graduated from there, she'll get a full ride scholarship! But probably not.It was a blast from the past for sure and Maddy was especially impressed with the new fountain. It makes her feel like she's right out of the sitcom Friends! So they had to jump off it...

Now you see it!

Now you don't!

The zoo trip was so much fun on Wednesday! It's always a blast to see how kids respond to animals they so rarely see. "Ooh look at the baby monkey!" "Hey! That's an Okapi! I did a report on those!" "Can we ride the train? please"
I think between the 4 cameras that came along on the trip, we took probably close to 1000 pictures. We rented a wagon from the zoo people and hauled around our cooler full of pops, waters and frozen sandwiches for a picnic. Sometimes if someone got tired of walking, they got to sit on top of the cooler as we went along.

Meri and I went into their new Butterfly exhibit where you walk around a room full of butterflies as they flutter about. It was pretty cool! I could see Maddy and Robb sitting waiting for us on a bench with the wagon from where we were in the building, so I texted Maddy, "I can see you..." Apparently the caller id gave me away and she wasn't freaked out one little bit.

When we left there, we walked a few blocks down a hill and someone noticed that I had a tagalong on me. YES! A butterfly had tried to stowaway on the underside of my purse! It just hung there. whistle whistle whistle as if no one would notice it. It must not understand English, because between the cameras and the "Hey Mom! STOP!" it didn't flinch. Meri and I booked it back up the hill *cautiously* to return the butterfly back to it's jail. Meri told the guide the whole story and how we didn't know it was on us and he very calmly, grasped it by it's closed wings and took it away. Apparently it happens all the time! For all I know, I just gave them one that normally lives outside...
Meri & I caught up with the other two who were feeding a rabid squirrel parts of our lunch. I mean, how rabid does a squirrel have to be to come right up to their table and beg for food?
We met up again with Tiffany and Ryan shortly after that. This zoo now has a sky glider that will take you from one side of the zoo to the other! Of course you don't get to see the animals up close though if you only go one way, so 3 of the kids took it round trip and we waited and waited and waited by the Rhinos who were sitting in a mud bath. But we got misted so it felt good.

ANYWHO! The reason for the title... Do you see the photo below? What do you see? I'll give you three guesses.

nope nope and yep.

Meri's camera is sitting next to the cow. That is the proof we needed to tell us the exact moment, where and when she lost her camera! Shortly after she unsuccessfully tried to milk this metallic cow, we found that we would have to wait 45 minutes to take a train ride around the zoo and back up to the main entrance where everyone else were waiting for us. Well forget that! So after a few tears of frustration, we headed up the big hill. And it's big.

Did I mention it's a BIG hill?

At the top, we went to a lame Imax film on tornadoes. I thought it would be therapy for me because you KNOW my tornado dreams always crop up around this time of year. Well, it didn't. And I would have napped there but knew my kids would just poke me in the side if I started snoring.

I hate being poked.So after the 30 minute movie, we headed to the last thing we wanted to see. The aquarium. Henry Doorly zoo has the most awesome aquarium we've seen. Penquins, jelly fish and a walkway that takes you through the center of a huge aquarium with sharks and all sorts of fish swimming all around you. Right before we went in, Meri starting digging through her backpack. She couldn't find her camera.

You know that sinking feeling that you've lost something that means a great deal? Yep - I was feeling sick, but knew it wasn't the end of the world. It was, apparently, to her. We decided to go through the aquarium and then I'd go to the lost and found or check back with the Imax people and see if it was on the floor next to her chair.

What normally takes me 20 minutes, at least, to go through, took me all of 4 minutes. I was anxious about that camera. I don't know why. I guess because this was already a replacement camera to one that got broken a few months before. And there are precious photos on it from this trip. Granted... it wasn't the only camera on the trip, but STILL!

So as soon as I got through the aquarium I headed up to the Imax alone. The next movie had started and I couldn't get in. So I went to the main gate and found the lost and found desk. I explained that my daughter had lost her camera. They asked for a description and I told them purple. That's all I could remember. The guy reached over like he was headed for some forms and I thought, oh great, I've got to fill out a form! But he reached past it and pulled out a purple camera! WOOHOO!

I called the gang (Thank goodness for cell phones!) and let them know and told them to get up here so we could leave. 30 minutes later after all the kids had picked out souvenirs at the gift shop, we were on our way home totally exhausted. Good thing Robb can't sleep in cars! He drove.
Like I said, there were a few meltdowns. One of them was mine. But for the most part, we had a great time! I love seeing my animals in their natural habitats!