Sidewalks & Scribbles

25...

2010-09-28T19:42:00.001-04:00

*ahem*
Hello - my name is Hilary and it's been over three months since my last blog post...(I know, I suck)

I will also be 25 in a few short weeks so I found this to be appropriate...

...my random 25...

1. I'm a homebody.
2. Jesse and I have date night every Friday, even if it's just sitting on the couch with a good movie.
3. My dog sleeps with me every night no matter what.
4. I have a totally unrational fear of grasshoppers.
5. I am a sucker for sweets.
6. I go to kickboxing twice a week and I.love.it.
7. I like to go to bed early.
8. Those jeans shrunk in the dryer. Period.
9. I think bellybuttons are icky.
10. I could spend all day taking photos and I'd be completely content.
11. I have a cat named Stinky who now lives with my parents.
12. I am not an emotional person (no matter what my parents say...)
13. I took this picture a few weeks ago and haven't stopped giggling since...

14. I have a hard time making decisions, even if its something as simple as what's for dinner.
15. I hate humidity even though I've lived in Florida my whole life.
16. I went to Bahrain for the whole summer when I was 11.
17. I am very easily amused.
18. I hate Nirvana. There, I said it. It all because of the horrendous note he hits at the end of Heart Shaped Box...it's like nails on a chalkboard.
19. I love useless trivia.
20. I love to cook and I never measure ingredients.
21. I find it difficult to sleep past 7am...even on the weekends.
22. I despise raw celery.
23. I love the smell of rain.
24. I don't think people should change who they are because of the people they are with.
25. Driving with the windows down and blasting good music puts me in a really good mood.

there's a liiiiiiight.....

2010-06-24T12:32:00.001-04:00

Anyone catch the Rocky Horror Picture Show reference in the title?

No?

Moving on...

I've learned there is always a silver lining...

(that was last night after kickboxing)

No matter how bad you think it's gonna get...it always works out...I'm a lucky girl :-)

In other news:

It's another scorcher out there...

yep. 104 degrees. Holy heat wave batman!

not cool.

no pun intended ;-)

reality check

2010-06-16T07:56:00.000-04:00

So remember this picture?

Well, one of these three have it on their facebook page.

Sweet, right?

Well, last night I saw a comment that someone had posted...

"is that your mom?"

umm...I'll give you a minute to ponder that...

ahem...

MOM!?

So much for my ego...

a picture is worth a thousand words...

2010-06-15T21:12:00.001-04:00

The adventure begins...

Followed by a heated game of basketball...

she was serious ;-)

and she made that shot....that's my girl!

everything is so much 'greener' here...

(With Ms. Izzy circling in the forefront)

baby birds!

Meanwhile...while the kids were swimming...

(cutest picture EVER...'nuff said)

meanwhile, back at home...

THE END!

NC!

2010-06-10T06:46:00.000-04:00

This past week was spent with these guys...

and this little lady...

(see everyone ducking? There was a flyball that came really close to hitting our cameraman lol)

...many more pictures to come...

Stay Tuned!

turtle, turtle

2010-05-31T10:17:00.001-04:00

Happy Memorial Day!

This morning I woke up to this...

What a pretty morning! Aside from the fact that I woke up at 6:45 on my day off. Stupid internal clock...

My morning was spent something like this.

I mean, what's better than good food and a good book...really...?

After reading my time will be spent doing school work...meh. I actually just got an e-mail from one of my teachers telling me that I should really just withdrawl from her class...I mean, aren't teachers suppose to encourage their students?? Plus, she sent the e-mal to all the students who she thought weren't doing as well as they should be...and she didn't blind copy. So everyone who got the e-mail is all in everyone elses business...very unprofessional. I'm not a bad student and let me tell you that this was a definite hit to my ego...oh well...onward and upward!

-insert segue-

Evey met a new friend this morning!

Yep - a turtle. And let me tell you, this little guy was hauling some serious tail. He was the speediest turtle I ever saw!

And then they just stopped and looked at each other

and stood...

Now this is about where one of my neighbors walked by and started laughing...

oh well. lol

crum

2010-05-29T09:08:00.001-04:00

This little lady got a hair cut

Last time they butchered her ears so I tell them to leave them long...heh

Famous last words. Because now she kinda looks like...

(photo)

C'mon...maybe just a little? hehe

Or maybe she looks like Chewbacca and Salacious Crumb had an illegitimate love child. Explain that Star Wars geeks...booyah!

In other news, I'm a glutton for punishment! (Please, hold the applause) I am taking summer classes and I'm less than enthusiastic. It has been my main reason for lack of posting on here. When you try to cram 16 weeks worth of material into a 10 week course, you get a little bogged down. So if my posting is slightly less than stellar, I apologize *heart*

Although......I will be going to NC for a slight vacation starting at the end of next week (wahoo!)...so more pictures to come!

just singing in the rain...

2010-05-17T22:31:00.001-04:00

This past Sunday it poured...like torrential downpour...

Jesse wasn't feeling taking a walk (we used to walk in the rain all the time...) so we just sat and watched.

And took pictures, of course! :-)

So what do you think about thunderstorms?

because Miss. Evey finds them relaxing...

big dogs don't cry

2010-05-14T19:03:00.000-04:00

Note: trying to move a big dog that doesn't want to move isn't easy...

like really, totally, and utterly sucks...

And there I am...like an idiot in the parking lot yelling "c'mon, lets go for a car ride" on one side of the car, while onlookers see this...

*sigh*

It took me nearly 10 minutes worth of coercion to get him into the stupid car...

The moral of the story? Stick with Evey-sized dogs...they may be just as stubborn but they're sure as heck a lot easier on your back when they won't get in the car.

a day for the birds

2010-05-10T17:59:00.001-04:00

So here is my 'exciting' news...you might not find it so exciting but I sure do!

This weekend, Jesse and I packed the car with supplies...

and hightailed it here...

Since this whole oil spill fiasco, they have been taking in donations to prepare for the influx of injured birds from the Gulf. Since I can't actually volunteer, I did the next best thing...went to Costco for lots of cheap supplies in bulk and made my way over to deliver.

There were also lots of other people who were willing to help...

cool huh?

We also got to wander around for a bit to see all the birds here...

There was also bird poop EVERYWHERE...

Was I suprised? No. Was I concerned for the safety of my camera lens everytime I looked up? Most definitely.

But, was it worth it?

Absolutely.

here I come to save the day!!

2010-05-06T22:11:00.005-04:00

I was walking around Miller's house last night and I caught something out of the corner of my eye. (You like how the whole house now belongs to the dog when the owners are away?)

Well, this something was black-ish and floating in the pool. *eek...please don't be something dead. please don't be something dead*

Upon further investigation, I found this little guy...

Ok, first of all -- who gets turtles in their pool? I mean, really...

And let me tell you...this little guy was fiesty and didn't want to get out.

So I decide I can't just leave him in there and I bust out the heavy artillery (aka the pool skimmer).

Gotcha!

He was grumpy and ungrateful. I mean...sure I'm 100 times his size and he probably thought I wanted to eat him...but whatever. My good deed is done for the day.

And how did Miller feel about the escapade do you ask?

Yay!

(cheese!)

not dead...yet

2010-05-06T06:59:00.000-04:00

Well, yesterday ended better than it started...

I have good news!! Just because I know y'all were so worried ;-)...I went to kickboxing and I'm not dead. The bad news is, I still had to go to work today - but at least it's almost Friday!

And I have big plans for the weekend. (I know the suspense is killing you, but you'll have to wait!)

And guess who's hanging out until next week?!

He's baaaaaaack...

Dear Mr. Sun...

2010-05-04T22:29:00.007-04:00

Dear Mr. Sun

What is with this doom and gloom attitude all of a sudden?

You've been like this for 2 days now...no sunrise or anything. Kinda makes for a crappy start to the day, don't ya think? So here's my message to you...

Shine on, Mr. Sun...shine on.

*heart*

P.S. To all of my fellow Losties out there...wahoo - we're finally getting some answers! Now if we could only find out who exactly is...*cue dramatic voice* the man in black (dun dun dunnnn). Maybe next episode!? (Pretty please?)

To all you non-losties...enjoy your sanity.

short and sweet

2010-04-30T12:24:00.000-04:00

So Evey got a new 'do...this is her post-bath shot and she totally looks like...

Anyone? Anyone?

*cue the crickets*

Flock of seagulls?!

No?

MOVING ON!

This week I started kickboxing. Have you ever tried it? Well...it sucks - I mean...it's a really good workout? After about 20 minutes I was about 90% sure that I was either going to pass out or puke (TMI?). Apparently I'm a glutton for punishment because I've signed up for an hour long class next Wednesday.

*find a happy place, find a happy place*

If I never return after that...you'll know why.

major suckage

2010-04-28T14:10:00.001-04:00

ok so this...

SUCKS!
(photo credit)

So this oil rig exploded off the coast of New Orleans and now it's tainting our beautiful Gulf of Mexico.

Ugh...and you can smell it...it smells like burnt plastic outside *gag*

Now they're planning on setting it on fire to prevent it from spreading further...

I guess we'll see what happens next - I'll keep you posted (and my fingers crossed)

On a more positive note: my ~~work in progress~~ blog is official! I have spent the whopping $10. to purchase the domain sidewalksandscribbles.com so if you plan on checking back in the future (and I hope you will!) you'll have to change the name on your favorites :-)

all good things...

2010-04-27T06:35:00.000-04:00

All good things must come to an end. This will be my final colloquium post so farewell to all my colloquium friends and I wish you the best. I am, however, planning on keeping up the blog for awhile so feel free to stop in a check up any time...I'd love to hear from you all :-)

spring has sprung...

2010-04-25T13:15:00.001-04:00

You want to know what I really love about ~~pollen season~~ Spring??

before

after!

Leaves on a tree...who-da-thunk it?

So this weekend we had a rather uneventful day at MOSI.

We went to see the DaVinci exhibit and while it was interesting, it was not exactly what I expected but we still had a good time.

The anatomy part was my favorite:

...and of course the Vitruvian Man.

Oh! and the mona lisa exhibit was pretty darn cool too.

Afterwards, we went to the butterfly garden.

There were turtles and fish...

Oh! and butterflies too...

pretty.

We waundered around with the butterflies for awhile making the weekend was an overall success in spite of the mildly disappointing DaVinci exhibit.

Now it's back to the grindstone...the semester is almost over...(!!!)...

...

2010-04-22T12:01:00.000-04:00

Happy Earth Day!

“Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.”

~ Rachel Carson

So true! Take a moment to enjoy what's around you...and do something good today :-)

a day for the ducks

2010-04-20T18:47:00.000-04:00

You know how everyone has one animal that just makes them smile...

some people like puppies or kittens, some piglets...me? I like ducks.

Call me weird if you want, but I think they are just so stinkin' cute!

I'm lucky too because we have a pond in our apartment complex that is like a magnet for these guys.

These two are outside my apartment every morning. The lady-duck walks with a really bad limp but her mister never leaves her side.

Aren't they sweet?

Just brightens my day :-)

just another day at the park

2010-04-14T22:15:00.000-04:00

Well, we didn't end up going to Brooker Creek...

instead we ended up here

Can I tell you just how much I LOVE Phillippe Park? It's true! Isn't it pretty?

We go here a lot. It's our 'go-to' when we have some free time.

This time was no different from the rest (except we went sans Evey - parents have to get away from their kids every once in awhile, no?). It was just a nice day to sit on the seawall and watch the crabs...

They're so much fun...you step down and they all scurry back into their respective holes. Except this one - he just kinda hung out. When I was a kid, my mom would bring me down here at low tide so I could run around and ~~play with~~ torture (?) the crabs on the beach.

Anyway! Its onward and upward for me...it's almost the end of the semester and I have mucho-work to do.

"Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday."

~Don Marquis

pollen, pollen everywhere

2010-04-09T19:52:00.001-04:00

The beginning of the week was spent with schoolwork...while I was finishing up a paper on Tuesday night I can hear 'tink tink tink' while Evey is 'tink tink' running back and forth throughout the apartment 'tink tink tink tink' (you get the point? lol)

Upon further investigation, I find this...

I found her in the midst of this chaos of toys...(and yes, that's a shoe)

She claims she was framed...?

Anyway! So I hear the rain this morning when a wake up, I think...

"wahoo, the pollen will be washed away for the day!"

(closely followed by, "crap, it's a perfect day to sleep in and I gotta go to work," but that's another story)

Well, I was wrong about the pollen. Very, very wrong...

Instead of the yellow 'dust', I had this 'glued' to my car by the rain water.

So my brand new car looks like its molting :-(

After the rain (and an impromptu trip through the carwash) it turned out to be a beautiful day.

And...the outlook is for a fabulous weekend!

Yay!

So at this point we're planning on lots of Claritin-D and good tennis shoes for lots of outdoor time to take advantage of the pretty weather. I'm thinking maybe a trip back to Brooker Creek with the zoom lens? We'll see!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Sunrises with Seamonsters...

2010-04-02T12:40:00.001-04:00

It's Spring!

Which means BEAUTIFUL weather...

the azaleas are in bloom...

And there is oak pollen everywhere...

Driving a black car during pollen season is fabulous! (can you sense the sarcasm? lol)

And now for...sunrise pictures!

I actually started on Saturday instead of Monday. I figured the more the merrier?

Saturday:

Sunday = gloooooomy day

Monday was even more gloomy. No sunrise :-(

Tuesday: back on track!

Wednesday:

(and the moon was out too!)

Thursday:

and finally...Friday!

So there you have it! I thought it was an interesting little project, no? It's interesting to see how the sky varies from day to day. I think the best part was that the sun was the brightest on Friday...just in time to welcome the weekend :-)

In other news...Evey got herself a new rug...

and I think she likes it.

blinded by the light

2010-03-26T12:30:00.000-04:00

So this week there has been a lot of this...

well...maybe not quite like this but you get the picture.

I've been super busy with work and homework, so this morning I took a minute for myself.

I was greeted with this...

ahh...fresh air...

It totally put me in a good mood. I got in the car and listed to some older station that was playing 'blinded by the light' (is it stuck in your head yet?? just wait, it will be). I listed to it a little louder than normal with the windows down. Ridiculous music and fresh air makes me smile :-)

Since daylight savings, now when I wake up, it's usually before the sunrise. Last week my car was in the shop so a friend from work gave me a ride. I watched the sunrise from the curb that morning (kind of kicking myself for not having a camera because it was beautiful). Every morning since, I've said I would take a picture and haven't. It amazes me how they are all different -- so starting on Monday, I'm going to do a weeks worth of sunrise pictures to see what I can see. Thought it might be interesting :-)

Happy Friday! Enjoy your weekend :-)

busch gardens...minus the beer

2010-03-21T17:01:00.000-04:00

So this weekend was Busch Gardens. I haven't been in years and we have the annual passes so...why not? Well, it turns out that Busch Gardens is no longer owned by Anheuser Busch so sadly this trip did not include ice cold Bud Light and clydesdale horses. Oh well. (Actually, the stable that used to have the horses now has a camel? lol) We went to see the animals anyway.

First stop?...

monkeys!

They always look so deep in thought don't they?

although we did bust this one picking his nose. shame shame.

Then otters...

and gators...

and flamingos! (oh my)

(I've never seen a flamingo do this before...?)

After that, we headed over to Jungala. It did not disappoint!

The tigers totally took the show though...

Now when we saw this little lady go over to the window - we knew we were on the wrong side of the viewing area.

We were literally face-to-face with her.

(excuse the dirty glass)

"look over there"

a lion.

and a hyena.

We had another beautiful Saturday to roam around and take pictures. It was actually t-shirt weather (wahoo!) so we're on the up and up. We had a lot of fun, which is a good thing because the next couple weekends will be buckled down with school work...a very necessary evil to get me on my way to graduation.

And for my next trick?

tada!

Have a great week!

time with animals

2010-03-14T12:27:00.000-04:00

This weekend we went to Lowry Park Zoo - which will always be one of my favorite things to do. It's our 'go-to' trip when we don't know what else to do. We also remembered to bring the zoom lens (wahoo!)

We started off in the aviary...

(he is waving hello)

(bats!)

Then....the lorikeets!

This is the best.exhibit.ever. period. They give you nectar and the lorikeets will eat it right out of your hand. So cool - and very interesting to see how eager they are to jump right on your hand to eat.

And then we made our way over to the monkeys...

(sorry it looks blurry, it was taken through netting)

(can you see the little one laying with the blanket? lol)

(aww...mama and her baby)

It will always amaze me how human-like they are. It's hard to deny that we aren't related somehow.

Now off to Africa...

These guys follow shadows...they'll waddle over and chase it. This time they followed the shadow of Jesse's hand into the water lol.

He was the lookout for his little colony - and he was ready for his close-up

(can you see the dirt on his nose?)

It was interesting to see how far the giraffe has to bow his legs out to drink. Imagine how low he'd have to go to get water in the wild...

rhino.

We wandered around for a little longer before heading home.

right before he snached the cricket.

clouded leopards are b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l animals

It was a really good day. The weather was beautiful which made it that much better.

This trip I learned if you're having a bad day - go spend time watching animals.

Just try it - you'll feel better, promise ;-)

all about oranges

2010-03-08T18:50:00.001-05:00

So for my agricultural field trip, I was originally planning on attending the Strawberry Festival in Plant City. The last time I was there, you could actually pick strawberries....apparently that was a really long time ago and they no longer do that. So the Strawberry Festival is now filled with rides, greasy food, and carnie folk...not exactly the field trip I would think appropriate for an 'agricultural' experience. And although they DO have strawberry shortcake (nom nom nom), that alone wasn't worth the 2 hour car ride to get there.

So where did we end up?

Enter CeeBee's Citrus.

Now, I have never been to an orange grove before which I thought was total blasphemy seeing as I've lived in Florida my whole life so we decided to go here. It's a family owned place in Odessa which is only about a 20 minute car ride from my house. Oddly enough I never even knew it existed until about a week ago when I stumbled across this article in the St. Pete Times.

It was actually a really pretty piece of property! It was beautiful outside and Jesse and I were allowed to roam around the groves.

(irrigation connected all the trees in the grove)

And there were also...

...bees! And this was about as close as I was going to get. They are used for pollination, of course.

After our walk around the groves we went here...

It was a small storefront with a huge wearhouse in the back. The staff was super friendly and knowledgable.

Jesse modeling our purchase. We came home with oranges, tangerines, and honeybells. I had never tried a honeybell and I was curious to try one.

The verdict?

awesome.

(I also learned that I am really bad a peeling oranges...but no one's perfect lol)

take a kid to the park day...

2010-03-01T17:50:00.001-05:00

When asked to take a child along with me for a nature experience...since I have no children of my own (and since there was an age specification that ruled out Jesse lol)...I had to borrow one.

Meet Makenna!

(her shirt says "Peace, Love, & Bananas lol - she is a definite monkey fan)

She is 9 years old and is probably one of the most creative kids I know. That being said, I gave her her own camera for the experience because I wanted to see the things that she thought were important. We called it the 'kenna cam.

For our little outing we ended up going to John Chestnut Park in Tarpon Springs.

This park is filled with Cypress trees. Which means there are also a lot of these...

I'm not sure what the technical term is for these but I know them as Cypress knees. They help the tree stay rooted in the soil (or swamp lol) and help provide the tree with the oxygen it needs for survival. Plus they just look really cool.

(Makenna taking a picture of the Cypress knees...and the shot she got)

Another picture she took. If you look closely, there is a little bird in the middle of the shot.

On top of the observation deck.

Another thing we noticed were lots of these...

When I was young I used to call these 'helicopters' because they spin when they fall to the ground.

Makenna was a fan of the helicopters...

(Makenna's favorite picture of the day)

So - pretty creative kid, right? It was interesting to experience this through a child's eyes, it definitely changes the perspective a lot. When I asked her what her favorite part of the day was, she answered 'taking pictures'. Well, I guess the 'kenna cam was a success!

When we got back to the car...

(!?!?!?!)

That's right, I got a parking ticket. The guy who wrote it literally drove past us as we were walking back to the car (the jerk lol). It says I got it for "improperly displaying parking permit". Well...I didn't have a parking permit because I have been to this park a million times and have never needed one. Maybe they should get a ticket for improperly displaying sign that states a need for said parking permit. No? Thought it was worth a try.

nighttime in the city

2010-02-26T19:51:00.002-05:00

I can't help it. I love how everything comes out blurry and looks so 'fast paced'. This week in class we were talking about urban environments and, for me, this is the epitome of what classifies the the concept of 'urban'. Buildings, highways, technology, and all the infrastructure that we have grown so accustumed to. Although, I can still say that even though I appreciate living in a world that has all this, it's the simple things that really matter. We need to be careful with all our developments because whether we realize it or not, it has a huge impact on the natural environment...

...we have to make sure that these guys and all their friends actually have a place to live in the future.

we are the world...

2010-02-23T18:03:00.000-05:00

So, I actually saw this at work last week. When I heard they were going to remake 'we are the world' for Haiti, I was curious to see what they could come up with. Well, all I can really say is that it does not disappoint! I'm usually one of those people who generally prefers the original. There are only a few songs where I really appreciated the remake. I suppose this list would include the Johnny Cash remake of Nine Inch Nails' "hurt", the Wycleff version of Pink Floyd's "wish you were here" (although this song has been remade about a million times - it's still tops my list), and now the new compilation of "we are the world". It is a totally uplifting song and is an effort to encourage us to come together and help with the crisis in Haiti. First off, it was so well done! And there was so much talent involved. I also think it was cool that Wycleff participated seeing as he is Hatian, it definitely makes it a little more personal. If you haven't seen it yet, you should check it out - and get inspired. Every little bit counts :-)

gone to the dogs pt. 2 + Brooker Creek

2010-02-22T18:45:00.001-05:00

Meet Miller!

Can you see Evey in the corner?...

aww

So this weekend was filled with schoolwork and dog sitting but we did get a chance to leave the house for a bit (wahoo!) and go to Brooker Creek for a few hours for my freshwater fieldtrip. We had to leave the dogs behind (boo!) because Brooker Creek is a preserve and dogs aren't allowed in the park. (It makes me think of the deep voice from the Snoopy cartoon...'no dogs allowed').

Let me start off by saying that it was a nice warm 70 degrees and sunny...it was b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l. outside! Perfect day for a nice long walk.

It says "empowering citizens to make informed decisions about natural resources". Totally appropriate, no?

The preserve starts off with boardwalks which lead on to hiking trails.

The 'greenery' was no quite as 'green' as I would have hoped for but I'm assuming its because of the month-long freeze that we had. Although, it was really cool to see the new little sprouts and bits of green popping up....

Another thing I noticed was a lot of termite damage

Which meant there were a lot of these little guys...

Jesse named him Paul lol.

We decided to go for a walk down the wildlife trail.

At this point we figured 'what the heck? a little mud never hurt anybody"...

Well...that's not mud...that's water lol. And seeing as we weren't planning on wading our way through, we took a different trail back.

I don't know if you can see it but there was a HUGE grasshopper that flew past my head to land on this tree. Call me crazy, but grasshoppers are one of those animals that totally give me the creeps. bleh.

The rest of our time was spent here...

(the black dot is actually a fat little frog)

(No touching the animals, Jesse!)

Like I said before, if was beautiful outside. It was nice to get out of the house and wander around for a bit. We forgot our zoom lens for the camera so we were kind of kicking ourselves for that...but that just means we'll have to go back again!

And we returned back home to the dogs...

they are so stinkin' cute.

a word to the wise

2010-02-20T10:30:00.000-05:00

This is in no way related to this class...well, not directly anyway...however - this is my life lesson for you all: DON’T PROCRASTINATE! Because when you wait to write your 10-something page paper until the weekend before it’s due…it will inevitably be GEORGEOUS outside and you will be stuck inside feverously writing all the while kicking yourself in the butt for not doing it sooner.

However! I am taking a break just long enough for a freshwater fieldtrip to Brooker Creek Preserve. Pictures and post coming soon!

YBOR...in the daytime?

2010-02-14T19:56:00.000-05:00

When we were asked to do an urban fieldtrip, this was the first place that came to mind. My rationalization was 'well...it's definitely urban...'

So let me start off by saying that this was my first trip to Ybor in the daytime. Not that I've ever been a real 'party girl' but I was always under the impression that Ybor really only had a nightlife. Well...I was wrong...and I'm glad I was because it was a great place to walk around and explore.

We started here.

Some people might think that this city is run-down and old, and it is, but that just means it has a history and I think that is pretty darn cool.

There were lots and lots of cigar shops...

...you get the point...

Then we returned to my old stomping grounds...The Masquerade.

Which upon closer examination...

The RITZ? They totally could have done better than that....RIP Masquerade. :-(

On the way back we passed by some of the Gasparilla mayhem...

Yep...those are all bras. It was for "save the ta-tas' for breast cancer. The bra line was quite clever given the circumstances.

There were also beads still strewn all over the place.

We also passed a lot of really old buildings...

With such an old city, it amazes me how these buildings have been here for so long. They must have seen many hurricanes in their time. Seeing the condition of some of them makes me wonder how they survived.

Not suprisingly there wasn't much 'wildlife' to speak of apart from some birds and a few unruly children.

The trip ended with a slightly obstructed view of the Tampa skyline

And then we were off only to get stuck in traffic on the way home lol. I guess we should have stayed a little longer as to avoid it but oh well. This trip gave me a completely different view on a city I thought I knew. It definitely have me a little more perspective - who would have thought that there was more to Ybor than just bars, clubs, and tattoo shops? (Don't get me wrong...there were still plenty) but there was a lot more history to be discovered just walking down 7th Ave than I would have originally thought. Lesson learned: don't take things at face value. If you look a little harder, you might just find something really beautiful.

playing with puddles

2010-02-13T18:37:00.000-05:00

So Friday consisted of it being 48 degrees and rainy...bleh

It looked like this all day

I'm thinking I'm ready for warm Florida weather again...(remind me of this when I'm complaining in the middle of the summer that it's too hot?)

But we decided to make the best of it and found a break in the clouds to bundle up and take a walk.

While we were walking, we decided to take pictures of the reflections we could find in the puddles.

It was like seeing something you see almost every day in a completely different way. Everything was distorted when the wind created ripples...it was almost mesmerizing. Reguardless, at least it kept our mind off the miserable weather for a bit.

Squirrel!

Now there is one thing that I have noticed since I have started going outside more for class to 'take pictures and reflect'...you're actually looking for beauty instead of just passing it by. Kinda the point of the class I would imagine (it takes a wonderfully sneaky teacher to make learning this enjoyable lol). I've also noticed that I have been posting more pictures in my reflections because I think so much can be translated in a photo. You get to reflect right along with me because you might see something different than I did...guess I'm kinda sneaky too ;-)

Then the cold sorta got to us and we got a little silly...

Doesn't she look enticing?? haha

Stay tuned kids...our urban adventure to Ybor is next.

Key West Pt. 2: welcome to fabulous Islamorada

2010-02-09T12:53:00.000-05:00

On our way back from Key West we had every intention of stopping in Bahia Honda to visit their state part. However, the weather was far from cooperative and we waved at it as we passed....

maybe next time...

However, when we reached Islamorada...there was a break in the clouds so we figured we'd pull over to stretch our legs. This is when we found this little park off Highway 1. So I figured, impromptu marine field trip...why not?

There was a boardwalk to roam around on...

(dolphin!)

...sniffing around on the beach makes for one sandy beard...

And that was our ending to our trip to Key West. This is about when I realized that half the fun of our trip was the drive to and from (minus the rain of course). We walked around, explored, and saw a lot of cool things that we normally wouldn't have seen had we just been aiming to 'get there and back'. Lesson learned: it's all about the journey.

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“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.”

Greg Anderson

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key west in pictures

2010-02-05T19:41:00.000-05:00

...and...we're off!

Our first major landmark being the one and only Sunshine Skyway Bridge

the first pit-stop

checking for gators lol

wahoo! almost there....

...and by the time we actually arrived, it looked a little something like this...

(sorry so blurry, but that huge dot in the middle is the moon...it was huge!)

The next day was filled with exploring around the city...

(kapok tree)

Like I said in my previous post...there a lot of chickens in Key West. When I went to take this picture, the chickens dispursed quickly enough to make me jump. I looked up to find a man sitting on his front porch with a super-soaker...told me it was the only way to get them out of his front yard haha.

This is my why-did-the-chicken-cross-the-road picture...so I thought I would follow him to figure it out once and for all. However, apparently this chicken was confused because after this picture was taken, he promptly turned around and came back. Guess it will remain a mystery haha

(one of many futile attempts to get us all in the picture)

We took a break from walking with this as our view...

You can't tell from the picture, but the water was incredibly blue. It was much clearer than the water at home.

daytime: a rare glimpse of an empty mallory square...

Mallory Square at night...

(see the guy on stilts?) This is one of my favorite pictures of the entire trip...cool huh?

We were having fun until Evey ran out of gas...

yep...I'm 'that guy'...poor little Evey was pooped after hours of walking so she ended up in a backpack for the rest of the evening

After all this...the next day we drove home in which could really be described as a monsoon

I'm not kidding...

But it did clear up just long enough for an impromptu trip to Islamorada....

...stay tuned :-)

Welcome to the not-so-sunny Florida Keys

2010-02-03T13:59:00.000-05:00

-First of all- I apologize for the lack of pictures in this post but I assure you they will be up by the end of the week!

So this weekend we drove down to Key West and let me tell you, coming from Pinellas County - that is one reallllllly long drive. However, Jesse and Evey stood as my very entertaining co-pilots for the drive and we took the scenic route. I had every intention of leaving earlier, but our trip began at about 8am on Saurday morning and arrived somewhere around 7pm in Key West. Like I said, we took the scenic route and made plenty of stops along the way. Now, this was not my first time in Key West, but it was for Jesse so he was definitely excited to come along for the ride. When we arrived it was cloudy but we were so tired we only explored for about an hour before turning in for the night.

On Sunday, we literally just walked around all day. It was just cloudy enough to keep it nice and cool for our walk. While most of the people we encountered were tourists, the actual residents there were super friendly. I found that Key West is full of hippies (the good kind lol) and chickens. Lots and lots of chickens.

What I noticed this trip was how laid back this town was. It is a huge change from the chaos that comes with living in a bigger city. It was nice to kick back, relax, and watch the sunset in Mallory Square while someone played guitar and sang Pink Floyd's 'Wish You Were Here' .

We drove back on Monday in what I can only describe as a monsoon. It took us nearly 12 hours to make the trip back but we finally made it home in one piece...wahoo! Now that I'm home, I have yet to venture through the five-hundred-something pictures we took while we were down there. However, once they are loaded onto my computer...I promise they will be posted ASAP!

Until then...

How I wish, how I wish you were here.

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year,

Running over the same old ground.

What have you found? The same old fears.

Wish you were here.

it's gone to the dogs

2010-01-27T07:56:00.000-05:00

This weekend started something like this...

It was so foggy, it looked like something straight out of a Steven King book! I've never seen fog like this and I literally just watched it roll in...living in Florida, it was definitely different from our usual sunny days.

Saturday turned out to be windy but it was BEAUTIFUL outside

I was dog sitting this weekend (you'll see a repeat pattern here soon...I do this quite a bit)

Enter Bailey...

...and Zane

We hung out for awhile on the dock. I read while they watched the boats go by.

These two actually come into my office everyday, so these guys are regular customers ;-)

On Sunday, I took a drive down to my parents house...

I remember wandering up and down these streets when I was younger. Regardless of how long I've been out of the house, this will always be home to me :-)

reflection

2010-01-20T08:00:00.002-05:00

So I woke up this morning to this...

And of course by the time I actually ran upstairs to grab my camera, it had faded...a lot...but you get the idea.

So while this week was super busy and I had a lot to do (work/schoolwork/trying to maintain somewhat of a social life...etc). Plus my Blackberry died (for those of you who have a Blackberry, you know that: yes, this is a crisis) and some old lady decided to take a joy-ride alone, at night, and in the rain and ended up in the bumper of my brand new car. All this aside, it was actually nice to be able to kick back a bit and take a walk and see the sunrise. It puts everything into perspective. In the grand scheme of things...it's not so bad. Regardless of how crappy your week has been...there will always be another sunrise and another day.

And now I leave you with this:

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”

Albert Einstein

neighborhood walkabout

2010-01-19T13:05:00.000-05:00

So Jesse, Evey and I went for our walkabout around the 'neighborhood'. It was a pleasant suprise that the weather has finally warmed up to 70-something degrees which is a HUGE leap from where we were last week at this time (at say....30-something degrees *shiver*). For that, I am thankful.

Our walk started here...as always...

...the little bridge that leads to the lake in our apartment complex...

...here is Evey and Jesse with bread in hand to feed the ducks...

which was right after we found this little guy (see the lizard??)

Per usual, the ducks were thrilled for food until Evey tried to say hello

We actually paused to sit for awhile to enjoy how beautiful the weather was. Sometimes its nice to just kick back and enjoy the scenery for awhile.

Oddly enough we ended out walk by the parking lot...

There was lots of browns and golds because of how cold it's been lately.

Everytime I see these vines it reminds me of when I was younger. I used to pull them off the trees and make them into wreaths.

And finally, I have actually been meaning to take a picture of this of since we moved in. Its just a dead tree that has been there since god-knows-when but its full of funky angles.

And that concluded my walkabout for the weekend. It nice to actually take some time to move away from the TV, and computer, and cell phone and appreciate the things you see every day.

...reflection to come soon!...