This weeks topic: Windows

Titled: Tea Party

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Next week's topic:  bokeh (blurry background)

april 4th- bokeh (blurry background)

april 11th- silhouettes

april 18th- happiness

april 25th- black & white

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Click Chicks - Sunsets

Titled: The O.C.

Taken a few years ago in Laguna Beach

I definitely miss sunsets like this... 

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Stop by and visit the other Click Chicks!

Meg from Megs7827 Jessica from Heart on Homestead Lindsay from Eat Wine and be Merry Ivy from Little Woman Little Home

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Next week's topic:  Window

march 28th-window

april 4th- bokeh (blurry background)

april 11th- silhouettes

april 18th- happiness

april 25th- black & white

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Exploring the local history - A gold mine, literally.

We have been trying to be purposeful about exploring our surroundings, not leaving any stone unturned.  When you move somewhere new you just never know what you're going to find.  There is no way to know which restaurant will be your favorite, which park will be the most fun, which local museum will bring you the most local knowledge.  So we are making a conscious effort to continue getting out of our ever growing comfort zone and explore.

So off we went on a "dventure" we'd passed the sign for this park/museum dozens of times but had never taken the time to stop in.  The museum ended up being closed for the winter, but the park was open.

Many of the museums we have encountered around here are free for children, I really love that.

My boys.

Something about a gorgeous stream makes me want to take my shoes off (in summer, when it's warm) and get right in and walk around.  And maybe pan for some gold? :)

Roots grow deep around here, some families have been here since the town was settled during the gold rush. 

Looking forward to bringing a picnic lunch and enjoying this peaceful spot during a meal.

Stairs from the park area to the industrial area: 

The techonology and capability was just incredible, though just reading this has me feeling bad for the mules

Learning the difference between a mine cart and a choo choo train.

Locally people actually use a lot of old mining equipment to decorate their yards/homes. It's very interesting, we'd never seen that before.

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Until next time... don't forget to link up tomorrow for #ClickChicks #Sunset !  See you then.

My favorite poem - Daffodils

Today I was lucky enough to stumble upon something beautiful that reminded me of my favorite poem.

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Daffodils

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed--and gazed--but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils. 

William Wordsworth

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A little back patio playtime

Spring is here, I think it is safe to say.  There are flowers popping up on every bush.  Roses, daffodils, pretty blooming trees.  These pictures aren't of any of those things (check back Monday) but they are pictures that show how nice it was this week.  Taken at about 4:30 after nap.  If we can go outside after nap in a t-shirt, it's Spring!

We don't really know what a typical winter here looks like.  Everywhere we go people remind us that this has been a pleasant winter with hardly any snow (and not enough rain).  We expected snow through March and were pleasantly surprised with a week in the 60's-70's.  We are grateful, having just moved from San Diego a frigid Winter would have been a terrible shock (even though we come from colder climates).  

So far we really like it here, and the early arrival of Spring is just adding to that pleasure. 

Some photos of D enjoying a nice afternoon on the back patio (that desperately needs some attention.)

Wondering why his mother is inside taking pictures instead of outside pwaying.  Actually what he was saying was "More ahh-ter please"  Taken through our very grimy sliding door.  I kind of love it.  

He just loves doing this.

Training for his future responsibilities :)

"Mommy wash car?"

His intense amusement while spraying me with a little water gun.

It's so fun to spray mommy.

Still, so sweet.  It is so nice to be able to go outside at 4PM. Enjoying the first signs of Spring.

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Friday was picture day at D's school.  My little guy had his first picture day, I can hardly believe it.  While he didn't smile for his photo, I know I'll treasure it forever.

This was taken in a huge hurry in terrible light on our way to school on Friday.  Still cute.

Hope you are all having a happy weekend!  Cheers!

Click Chicks - Green

Well well, hello there Click Chicks!  I hope you are all having a lovely week.

I will say I struggled with this topic more than any of the others.  If I have learned one thing about myself through these challenges, it's that I gravitate toward nature.  Every step of the way.  I hear green?  I think bushes.  I think flower stems.  I think trees.  I think leaves.  

However, I had already decided I wanted to go in a different direction.  This is supposed to be a challenge, I can't keep using pictures from my trip to SF every week.  So.. I found something green in my house and I took it outside.  To a bush ;)

There is a good chance my neighbor who saw me snapping these pics thinks I've snapped.  Honestly.  A grown woman taking pictures of a toy tractor in a bush outside our townhouse?  Yeah. Not exactly something you expect to see in the morning on your way to work. Oh well :) 

Next week's topic:  Sunsets

march 21st- sunsets

march 28th-window

april 4th- bokeh (blurry background)

april 11th- silhouettes

april 18th- happiness

april 25th- black & white

Stop by and visit the other Click Chicks!

Meg from Megs7827 Jessica from Heart on Homestead Lindsay from Eat Wine and be Merry Ivy from Little Woman Little Home

Old School Blog Link-up

Since I am a brand new blogger and I don't see much of this anymore, I thought it would be really fun to join in on this old school blogging style.  I'm joining up with http://www.misselaineouslife.com/  and http://www.thetamom.com/ to get a taste of what blogging used to be like :)





What were you doing ten years ago?
     March 2003, I was 20 years old.
I was living in a apartment on campus at Messiah College with two other girls.  I was still coming to terms with what felt like a tough diagnosis at the time (Fibromyalgia). I was heartbroken over my first real losses that had happened the year before and questioning everything I knew about faith and life and love.  So not the best time necessarily, though I do miss that free as a bird feeling.

 What 5 things are on your to-do list?
Oh yuck.
-Getting all of our health care/ and past doctors papers ordered/ in order
-Making some appointments with Oral surgeon, dentist, skin doctor, etc...
-I need to buy a new mop and do a serious clean job on our floor
-Get some more tax stuff in order (moving is such a pain.)
-Get my craft closet in order, it's too chaotic

Name 5 snacks you enjoy:
- Cheese fries is basically my favorite thing ever, I try to limit myself.
-Avocado, right out of the shell? skin?  Whatever it is in, it's delicious.
-Fancy cheese, I'm not big into bleu but I'll try almost anything.  Cheese tasting is my fav.
-Roasted carrot or zucchini chips.
-Fresh fruit - pears are my current favorite.

 Name some things you would do if you were a millionaire:
-I would buy a nice big house in town with a great big yard.  Then I would hire my brother to create and build a fantastic organic garden.  I'd also put up a play structure, because well...  they are fun.
-I would open up my own shop in town, not sure what I would sell :)
-My husband and I would finally take a honeymoon.  Where would we go?  I'm thinking the south of France  maybe Tuscany.  Wherever we want :)

 Name some places you have lived: 
-Denver, Co (born there)
-Central NJ, went to high school in Princeton
-Grantham, PA
-Burbank, CA
-North County San Diego, CA
-Sierra Nevada Foothills, CA

Name some bad habits you have:
-Saying "I'll do it later" because later comes and it's still not done, whatever it is.
-I bite my nails when I'm stressed.
-I am terrible at putting laundry away.  Truly terrible.

Name some jobs you have had:
-I have worked at Kohl's (a million years ago)
-I've been a hostess and a waitress at multiple restaurants (my fav... i'd do this again just to get out!)
-I am currently a Research Assistant for an Actuarial Firm

Click Chicks - Shadows

Click Chicks week 5 photo challenge submission:

A warmish winter day at the castle playground

Next week's topic:  The Color Green

march 14th- green

march 21st- sunsets

march 28th-window

april 4th- bokeh (blurry background)

april 11th- silhouettes

april 18th- happiness

april 25th- black & white

Stop by and visit the other Click Chicks!

Meg from Megs7827 Jessica from Heart on Homestead Lindsay from Eat Wine and be Merry Ivy from Little Woman Little Home

<center> <br><a href="http://www.readyforroots.blogspot.com//"><img border="0" src="http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o98/poisonivy068/clickchicksbutton_zps503dcdaf.jpg" /></a></center> <br>

First Day Trip to San Fran

As day trips tend to go in our home, we left home about an hour after we planned to.  This doesn't make my husband's heart happy.  I think it's better to have a prepared and relaxed wife than a stressed out "forgot half the things we need" wife.  He thinks we should have put all those things in the car the night before.  

I'll work on it.  Maybe next time?

We arrived over an hour later than we planned to.  We were greeted with a bustling city, cars, people, trolleys, all the things you expect to see in San Francisco.  We couldn't find a parking spot.  Apparently this is also to be expected in San Francisco.  I'm going to go ahead and guess that is everyone's least favorite thing about the city and not focus on how it was my least favorite thing.

We finally found a spot on the street.  Two hour maximum parking.  Just enough time to hustle a few blocks to the playground in the park and play for a bit before moving on.

I did a good amount of research online before we went.  I knew what I wanted to see and this was at the top of my list of things to do with Declan.  We had planned to go to the Academy of Sciences (which looks absolutely amazing and I can't wait to check out one day) however the weather happened to be gorgeous on the day we visited, so we decided to save our money and enjoy being outside.  

So here it is, a little peak at "Children's Playground" one of the playgrounds in Golden Gate Park.  

The park is enormous, if you plan to go I'd definitely recommend finding it on the map before you attempt parking. 

Here is a view of a good portion of the playground.  Well this is the toddler climbing/sliding area.  There is a large structure behind it.  The reason I am posting this picture is the huge spider web type thing in the background.  See it?  It gave me anxiety just watching other people's kids on there.  I had never seen anything like it before.  

Our little guy had a great time, he was so happy to be able to run and play after being in the car for a few hours longer than we anticipated.

The sandbox area was his favorite.  Luckily some nice people left behind a shovel he was able to play with for a bit.  His favorite.

He'd never been to a playground with so many kids, everywhere you looked there were kids.  

A city playground with enough room for everyone.  Love.

The reason I had wanted to check out this specific playground was the Carousel.  

It is right outside of the playground.  

So we had to take it for a spin, of course.

Then we met up with some old friends for a little walk to Hippie Hill.  How San Franciscan.  

We loved it.  There was music, drums, day drinking and the scent of peace & love drifting by.

Mom?  Where are we?

Sadly after a short walk back to a friends house for a little break and diaper change we got back in our car to go find our next destination.  Of course not before a quick stop by the coast to watch the sunset.  My last two posts have pictures from where we went.  There are more pictures I still need to look through.  Check out the ones I used for Click Chicks here and here !

When you're on a busy day trip there isn't much time to stop and smell the roses, unfortunately.  Of course we try to make the most of every moment and these through the windshield pictures is what I had to show for our little cruise through the city.

Of course they are edited up the wazoo because truth be told, you could hardly see the bridge before hand.  

There she is, isn't she pretty?  We passed an overlook and there is no way I'm going back with out stopping there next time.  Still kicking myself!  For the record, my husband did offer but I was feeling a sense of urgency to get to the pier already.  

   We did eventually make it to Pier 39.  Another great spot that was recommended to us and we'll definitely visit again next time.  Hopefully in the day light!  We'd love to do the aquarium there.  We ended up just making a quick pit stop for some dinner on our way out of the city.

Here is the double decker Carousel at Pier 39.  It is so gorgeous, definitely taking the time to go on it next time we make it into the city.

Okay, I know I have a better photo of the island restaurant somewhere.  I just can't find it right now and it's about time I post this anyway.  This is where if we had arrived earlier we would have seen the Sea Lion's.  You can sort of see their lumpy bodies laying on the docks.  I loved them, even though we didn't see them.  We are hoping to take a boat to the restaurant next time around, I'm already looking forward to it.

San Francisco, you are amazing.  This Jersey girl is so excited to live with in driving distance.  

Until next time...