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You give a boy some mustache bandaids and...

...you have a few good laughs.
Lots of funny photos to come. In fact, I took so many that I'm having a hard time choosing which ones to share. I may just share them all! And I want to try to process them in Elements.
But in the meantime - I'm off to Seattle with a good friend. Girls weekend! (With sick boy in tow to be dropped off with my in-laws.)
Happy weekend, friends!
A

10:52

Week 10 at Picture Inspiration was "dishing it out." This favorite mug of mine faithfully dishes out my Starbucks VIA (decaf - I gave up caffeine for Lent and decided I didn't miss the post-coffee jitters) just about every morning.



Starbucks is big everywhere, but it is B.I.G. here in the Pacific Northwest. I mean, it was born and raised in the Emerald City (ahem...Seattle, for those of you who don't know...)

tgif!

The sun came out today and it was warm and breezy. My favorite weather. So we explored the greenbelt that is our backyard. Nothing too exciting. Just a little snippet of our day outside.

A boy and sticks.

There is a reason Washington is called the Evergreen State. And it's no coincidence Seattle is called the Emerald City. While we may complain to no end about our rain, it makes for the greenest greens you will ever see - anywhere.

I haven't picked-up my camera since last Friday. I've had a lot on my mind. But today I shot about 150 photos. And I'd like to think I got a handful of decent, lucky shots. Still learning. Still cultivating my creativity (remember my one word for the year?...)
Happy Friday, friends.
Enjoy your weekend!

snoopy. rediscovered.

The Snoopy-in-the-box is still alive and kickin' at my parents' house.
Minus ears. Poor Snoopy.
I remember playing with this as a child. And it was fun to watch Max try to wind it while simultaneously holding one hand over one ear and shrugging his shoulder up to cover the other ear. (Can you picture this? Cuz I didn't get a picture of it...)
I did get a few pictures of Snoopy though.

i'm back.

I think I just committed one of the cardinal sins of blogging.
I was out of town for a week and didn't tell you all I'd be gone. For a whole week.
(Not that I think you were waiting by your computer to get an update from little old me.But I felt bad nonetheless. There's that guilt again.)
I almost brought my laptop with me, but I knew if I did I'd be tempted to spend too much time staring at the screen, instead of staring at my lovely family. And yes, my parents and inlaws are lovely people.

We headed to Seattle for the wedding of one of my husband's high school buddies. It was a second, mini 20 year high school reunion of sorts, as the bride and groom met-up at their 20 year reunion back in 2009. Quite cute really. We partied it up into the wee hours of the morning and spent the next day recovering. Well, my husband had a bit more recovering to do than I. We'll just leave it at that.

Husband and dog headed home Tuesday, and Max and I headed to my parents. YAY!

Wednesday night I met-up with a dear girlfriend from college for a quick bite to eat and some chit chat. The forecast called for snow and cold temps, but we waited it out and by the time dinner rolled around we decided we were in the clear. No snow. Just COLD!
But by the time we left the restaurant the flakes were falling. Nothing big. No blizzard. Just teeny tiny flakes.
We hugged, parted ways, and headed home.
Mine was a short, five minute trip.
My friend's was not. And not long after I got home, she called.
A much different brand of flakes were falling where she was headed, and it didn't look good.
Long story short - she stayed at our house that night.
And can I just say it was such a fun impromptu night! We just stayed up late talking. (What else do best friends do??)
I guess the snow gods had a different plan for us that evening. A good plan!
And imagine my son's suprise when he awoke and was told that someone else was in the room I usually slept in...(No, I wasn't up to witness what happened. But I guess he wanted to peek-in on the guest. So cute.)

I could go on and on with little stories...
We got snow.
We got brrr freezing temps.
I saw a few more girlies from college.
I had some scrumptious cupcakes!
And even better - some home cooked meals (That's right! I didn't have to cook for EIGHT days!!)
I got to chat with my dad about photography (He's got more gear than I could ever dream of having. AND the Scott Kelby books I was looking for!)
I put in a handful of pieces of the puzzle my mom is working on.
I managed to drive into downtown Seattle in our manual transmission car and make it up those steeeeep hills. (Ok, so I used the e-brake and did burn the clutch just a wee bit... But I did not roll into any cars behind me! I must add here that the hills in Seattle were never a problem when I lived there. No sir! But I've been away almost seven years now. Rambling....I know...)
I had coffee with a friend from high school who I've reconnected with thanks to FaceBook. (So fun Kim!)
I took some pictures - though not enough. (Why am I so scared to carry my camera around with me wherever I go?...)
And I captured a few pics of snowflakes falling.

So, I will stop talking now. Like I said - I could go on and on and on.
I need to download and edit my photos tomorrow.
But don't you worry - you'll see photos tomorrow.
And a lot less of me blabbering.

Anyway - I'm back.
And I know you missed me.
(I missed you too.)

A