2012-02-29

Yes, this should technically be Project 366 this year! Here's Luke, leaping on Leap Day.

2012-02-28

I think Tigger needs to brush up on her stealth skills.

2012-02-27

Took Luke to the dentist today, and they have an absolutely huge fish tank in the waiting room, complete with clownfish and this amazing zebra moray eel. He is huge, nearly 2 feet long! He even came out from hiding and went swimming around the tank while I waited for them to finish with Luke.

2012-02-26

As surely as the trees will bud, the flowers will bloom, and the birds will sing, this is another sign that spring is upon us: Luke busting through the knees of 1-2 pair of jeans a week. Thankfully, he seems to wear them out *just* about the time he outgrows them. Unfortunately, he will still need jeans for another few weeks, so we need to go buy at least a few new pair to tide him over until full time shorts weather.

2012-02-25

DH is still out of town, checking on his mom. Luke and I were lazy and ordered pizza. Now remember, Luke is only 7 years old (7 years and almost 5 months). Guess whose pizza is whose? Mine is the one on the right! As you can see, Luke at 5 pieces of pizza, sans crust, plus two breadsticks (not pictured). He actually asked for more pizza, but I cut him off. If it's this bad when he's 7, how on earth are we going to feed him when he's 15?!

2012-02-24

Luke finally lost a tooth at school. He's been wanting that to happen ever since his first one came out. They put lost teeth in these cute little tooth containers on thin cords that then go around your neck. Most of his recent ones ended up coming out at home over the weekend, but this one (number 6, I believe) came out while eating pizza. Luke was so excited!

2012-02-23

I sure thought it was still February, but our blooming tree out front says otherwise. I don't mind the very mild winter we've had so far; it almost makes up for the Hoth-lanta Snowpocalypse we had last year for days and days. But, I don't want it to damage our pretty tree if we have another freeze while it is in bloom.

2012-02-22

I should have put something in this photograph for scale, but you can sort of get the idea from the leg hairs also visible. This cut isn't even a whole centimeter (half inch) long, but *oh* the drama it caused. Luke was looking over his shoulder while running down the driveway towards the mailbox in the dark, and of course, he tripped the instant the words "turn around, watch where you're going, and slow down" were out of our mouths. He made such a fuss that our neighbors came to see what was wrong. They they thought it was an animal trapped somewhere! So embarrassing, but I'm glad they care enough to come check.

2012-02-21

I took this photo as a joke, to show my husband that I am capable of taking out the trash even when he's out of town. Good thing I did; it's the only photo I took all day.

2012-02-20

Soccer practice has started back for the spring season. The time change hasn't happened yet, so darkness starts to fall while we are on the practice field. We were treated to this beautiful sunset while we waited.

2012-02-19

I got a pedometer a few weeks ago. I mainly got it because I'm curious how much we walk at Disney, but it has been quite interesting and enlightening to wear it in the meantime. Working from home really hampers the number of steps you take in a day! I don't think I've even scored half the recommended daily steps yet. :-\ Please note that pedometers work much better when you actually remember to wear them. This number is *not* indicative of how many steps I've usually taken by 10:30 PM; it accidentally spent most of the day on my nightstand.

2012-02-18

After some rain and the return of our unseasonably warm weather (not that I'm complaining!), our flowers by the mailbox perked up today. Our lawn guy has been asking us if he could put in flowers (for a fee) since we moved in. Either we would all forget about it, or he would only ask when we didn't have the money (a recent large expense or job loss). He asked in October, and we said to ask us again in the spring, so we'd have a little more money under our belts after this summer with no job for me. So imagine our surprise when we returned from Thanksgiving to find flowers at our mailbox! He had some left over from another job, so he did it at no charge. I just find it awfully convenient that he waited until he knew we were out of town to do it! LOL Still, it was a very nice gesture, and they really do look nice.

2012-02-17

Guess what we did today? I can't believe it's been almost 13 years since this movie was originally released! At the time, DH and I had been married less than a year. We'll celebrate 14 years in July, and we took our 7 year old son to see this rerelease in the theater. My, how things have changed!

2012-02-16

Not a very good picture, I know. The only shots I took all day were a few of our dinner, and even then, they were all terribly exposed. This was my first truly successful meal in my last few attempts at new recipes: Crock Pot Ranch House Pork Chops. Simple and delicious! The recipe includes directions for garlic mashed potatoes to serve with them, but we just went with rice.

2012-02-15

I undersalted today's meal, so I had to go hunting for my salt and pepper shakers. These originally belonged to my grandmother, and since I collect aluminum pieces, they came to me. They make me smile every time I see them, reminding me of her.

2012-02-14

Luke with his Valentine's Day gift from my parents.

2012-02-13

"Mommy, where is the color?" Luke's reaction to seeing his first black and white movie. He has seen The Wizard of Oz, but it's been quite a while, and I'm sure he doesn't remember that the beginning and end are black and white. For the record, this is the movie Second Fiddle showing on Turner Classic Movies' 31 Days of Oscar. That is Tyrone Power on the far left, and Sonja Henie second from the right.

2012-02-12

I don't know if our Kroger gets patterns to do this, or if they just come up with these on their own. There is a new one at least once a month, typically either seasonal or to do with something local. I'll try to remember to take photos of some of the other ones.

2012-02-11

I never quite got exactly what I wanted from this shot, despite multiple attempts. I was trying to get a good shot of the reflection of the fabric in this window, but with a somewhat recognizable glimpse of the Atlanta skyline in the background. I didn't really want the street light centered, but it was the only angle that gave a clear reflection. Oh well.

2012-02-10

Yes, I'm a little obsessed with bare tree branches this year. You should see all the photos I've taken (or tried to) of them that haven't gotten posted!

2012-02-09

Have you seen these machines? Most places refer to them as "free style" machines. They're (obviously) by Coca-Cola, and they have different cartridges inside that provide all of the different flavors and sweeteners. There are over 100 combinations to choose from! We first saw them at a local Stevi B's. It was one of the first trial locations for the machine. About the time it disappeared from there (they switched to Pepsi, ick!), it popped up at our newly renovated and reopened local Wendy's. My personal favorite: raspberry lemonade. Not as exotic as, say, Strawberry Coke or raspberry Sprite Zero, but it's good stuff.

2012-02-08

This is our new laser pointer "mouse" for the cats. Today was our first day using it, and everyone loved it, particularly Luke and Star. When we put it down for Luke to go to bed, Star spent the next hour or so wandering the house and meowing, looking for it.

2012-02-07

For everyone who has patiently sat through me trying to explain what it is that I do, *this* is it. I am the project manager for the installation of these things. Everything you see in the picture: the frame around the outside, the slotted thingy on the left side, the "shelf" with the cards in it, the fibers, all of it. The small offices have only this that you see in the picture. The big ones have two of these "shelves" per "bay" (the outer frame), and we typically install 2-3 bays worth. I don't do the actual physical install, I just coordinate the arrival of the equipment (multiple suppliers involved, several separate shipments), the delivery of the equipment to the office (including some so remote they literally do not have a street address; you can imagine how much shipping companies love that), scheduling the installers to be there when the equipment arrives, and sending any missing and/or damaged pieces later on. We install several of these in a row, and I also manage the part of the process that gets each of these "shelves" to talk to each other, both within the offices and between the offices. Fun, right? :-)

2012-02-06

I'm sure all of you know by now that I'm a huge Disney fan. One thing that surprises people, though, is that I'm not really into the whole "Hidden Mickey" thing. I mean, they're neat when I find them, but I don't go hunting for them like a bunch of folks do. However, even I couldn't help but notice that my heater buttons do bear a striking resemblance to the famous mouse.

2012-02-05

I thought it was so sweet how they look like they're holding hands.

2012-02-04

Finally! My first time oven roasting potatoes where they did actually brown but didn't burn. I've burned at least the last four batches that I've attempted. Maybe I'm finally getting the hang of it?

2012-02-03

I'm sorry, what map? Not very helpful!

2012-02-02

This wasn't really the photo I was after when I took it. I was trying to take a photo showing what a nice day it was. It had been dank and dreary for days, so it was really nice to have such a bright and beautiful day. But after I took this photo, I liked how the trees looked against the sky and sun.

2012-02-01

Sorry, this was a desperation shot. It was very late and I realized I hadn't yet taken a picture. This was about the only thing of interest that was available.