2012-08-31

My one and only shot of the "blue moon" tonight. It's hard to take a good picture with a 3x zoom on a point and shoot in a moving vehicle at night!

2012-08-30

I made some food for DH's manager's retirement lunch. I wanted it to still be hot, so I just arranged to drop it off around 11. They called me this morning to invite me to just stay, since I've known her for over 13 years (longer than some of the people at the DOT!). She is a great lady, and we will miss her!!

2012-08-29

We were invited to the pool by some friends of ours, since this is the last week it will be open. They will shut it down and drain it after Labor Day weekend. Normally, I wouldn't have said yes to a pool play date during the week, but I know it is pretty much a one time deal. This is also the first time we have let Luke be in the pool without a parent (or instructor) in there with him, since Luke still can't swim. The shallow end takes up a good half of the pool, so there was plenty of space for him to play in where he could stand up, and of course I and the other moms were all ready to jump in if need be. I'm actually hoping that being around several other boys who could swim will encourage him to learn.

2012-08-28

Yes, more nails. This is a type of polish known as a multichrome, meaning it appears to be more than one color depending on how the light hits it. I was trying to capture several of its "moods," from orange-y to pink to purple to "flashing" blue (top right). It is a super awesome color by Orly called Synchro. The minute I saw it at the store, I had to have it.

2012-08-27

Another case of "wow, is that really the only picture I took all day?" I was trying to show what my "everyday" makeup looks like (not that I wear makeup every day, but this is my "need to look presentable but not an important occasion" look, like for today's lunch with a friend I haven't seen in a while). Just eyeliner and mascara on top lashes.

2012-08-26

Surveying her domain. I still can't figure out how she gets up there. The counter underneath isn't very wide, so she can't back up very far to get a good jump.

2012-08-25

Our favorite restaurant event of the year. We probably eat at Olive Garden every 3 weeks or so when they're running the Never Ending Pasta Bowl. So yummy!

2012-08-24

And this photo is actually from "tomorrow." Luke built this in the car (we love these things; they were freebie toys at Wendy's and Arby's a year or two ago), and then was admiring the shadow it made on the concrete. He actually asked me to take this picture, and I was happy to oblige. It does look pretty cool.

2012-08-23

This is actually a picture from back when we went to Steak 'n Shake, but it applies to today, too. Actually, it has applied to more days than not in the last two weeks. At some point or another during the day, there has been a serious downpour. We need the rain, but I'm not sure getting it all in a 5 minute period is helpful.

2012-08-22

I can't believe these are the only pictures I took all day! I was trying to show a group of online friends how "invisible" my eyebrows and eyelashes are. This was the best one of the group.

2012-08-21

This little guy was hanging out on the wall by our front door. (The picture should actually be turned 90 degrees to the right, but it "makes more sense" this way.) It was about 3 inches long. I'd never seen one "in the wild" before, and now I've seen two in a week.

2012-08-20

Being old *and* cute is so exhausting. (She's 13.)

2012-08-19

My six minute manicure! I couldn't stand the thought of going to open house at school tonight with naked nails, especially since they are rather stained (from a cheap polish I wore months ago that seeped through the base coat; I was so mad!). I knew I could throw this one on without too much clean-up, since it is mostly clear. Hope the "bling" hides the staining.

2012-08-18

So, this happened in my dining room tonight.  :-) I gave this chess set to DH for Christmas for either our first or second Christmas. I never dreamed when I bought it that I would one day watch him play chess with our 7 year old son.

2012-08-17

Chilling in the rocking chairs at Cracker Barrel. He has to sit in them every time we go.

2012-08-16

Wow, way too many days where I only took pictures of my nails. (There are still a few more to come for the month.) Sorry about that. This is Nothing Else Metals by Essie. It is supposed to be a metallic purple color (not sure if that shows up well in the pictures).

2012-08-15

Sorry, not a great picture, but about the only one I took today. This was an attempt at beef stroganoff. I won't share the recipe because I really didn't care for it. I mean, we ate it for dinner, but I don't care to eat it again. It was just very blah.

2012-08-14

Most of our cats are box cats, but Star is the bag cat. She *loves* to lay on any soft-sided bag, especially DH's gym bag or Luke's school backpack.

2012-08-13

I thought I was going to post a more traditional "first day of school" picture for today, but I thought this shot of him petting Star (before we kicked her out of the next few photos) was just too sweet.

2012-08-12

And the Summer Olympic flame has been extinguished for another four years. Thank you, London, for some great games!

2012-08-11

He was apparently inspired by the Olympics. He did this completely on his own.

2012-08-10

Another manicure (need to do better about taking *other* pictures on manicure photo day; I know you don't want to see tons of nail pictures). This is Awakening by China Glaze.

2012-08-09

Our last afternoon to take advantage of Happy Hour at Steak 'n Shake. I thought we would do this more than twice this summer, but then again, twice is probably enough. Who can beat half price shakes with the world's cutest 7 year old?

2012-08-08

Today was registration at Luke's elementary school. This is one of the walls in a stairwell. I'm guessing they had a contest for students to paint a cinder block at some point. It's been there for at least three years, probably longer.

2012-08-07

I was trying to get a picture of his new hair cut, and I did, but I absolutely love the result! To me, this photo really captures him as he is right now.

2012-08-06

A little more in silhouette than I intended, but I still like the picture. I don't know why he feels the need to stand on his toes when he plays this game at the dentist's office. He is (now) plenty tall enough to see the screen! He probably just does it out of habit.

2012-08-05

Star is working on her pike position for the Olympics.

2012-08-04

I know, this is a terrible picture. It was too dark, which made the camera really crank up the ISO, which is why it is so noisy. Still, the 5 pictures I took like this one (and this was by far the best) are the only ones I took all day. I'll try to do better.

2012-08-03

I'm trapped! (Not really, but she sure does like to attack the bars and pretend that she is.)

2012-08-02

Pretty new nail polish. This is Rococo-A-Gogo by Orly. It is stunning in person!

2012-08-01

It really is getting harder and harder to tell them apart. Not so much straight on like this, but if they're in profile and it's a little dark, it is easy to confuse them.