thanks for voting...

The photo of Christina snagged second place in the Tulip Photo Contest! There were 502 entries! (I think the prize is braggin' rights.)



List of the 5 winners here.

vote for christina!

Christina has a photo entered at the Tulip Photo Contest. What could she win? I have no idea! But it would be cool if she won, so go vote! :)

back to back birthdays!

And today it's my mom's birthday. I think we should celebrate with a parade!



(She's the one on the far left side.)

the picture says it all

last day of winter break

in the nick of time...

David and I went on a nice little hike on Monday. On the way home we pulled off the interstate and he took this picture of Mount Saint Helens about 2 seconds before the light faded out.
Purty.

pic of the day

"Pardon me... Do you have any Grey Poupon?"

----------------
photo by Offspring #1
taken in Colorado

because Rev SS asked...

Here's the fam at Cosmos with Rev SS... (See previous post and comments if'n you're confused.)


(Click to enlarge)

weekend snapshots

On Friday Hubby and I zoomed up to Bellingham to attend the jazz band concert of Offspring #2. It was the perfect opportunity to hand deliver the prize mug he had won in the blog contest.



On Saturday, I accompanied Offspring #1 to the beauty shop (and I am happy to report the new 'do is very cute!) While waiting, I couldn't help but notice one particular photo under the glass of the coffee table in the waiting area:


I think it begs the question: "Is this the 'before' picture or the 'after' picture? (The mystery haunts me yet today.)

We stayed a little later than planned, but that was a good thing because Hubby and I got to have dinner at the Olive Garden with Offspring #1 and her boyfriend (Doug) and Offspring #2 and his girlfriend (Tien).



And as an extra bonus I got to snap a picture of Offspring #1 and Doug on their way to the "Theatre Prom". (Those theatre majors have all the fun. My biology major was definitely more boring.)

groovy!

The 70's: Coolest decade ever? You be the judge:



(That's Hubby in his David Cassidy-like threads.)

Hubby and I have decided that 2009 is the year we get serious about organizing old family photos. AND...When the weather gets nicer we are going to have an "attic party" -- where we clean out the garage attic. (We're calling it a party to fool ourselves into thinking it will be zany madcap fun instead of work.)

I'll let you know during the year how both projects are going. Blog-accountability might help ensure success.

(If you don't hear anything by June... not a good sign.)

short post on the beach trip...

Had fun. Went here:



(Yep, I said it was a short post!)

me... age 9

I seem to recall standing on my head a lot as a child. Which begs the existential question: Why?

simplicity

I was looking around the house tonight thinking I really need to do some more de-junking. Geez, we sure seem to accumulate 'stuff'.

This photo is evidence that back in college days I seemed to do pretty well with just my books, clock radio, and skis. (And maybe a few posters -- although what was I thinking with the A Star is Born one?!)

Nutty McSquirrel

Remember that post I did back in October about a tree at our local lake that had a big hollow filled with acorns?

Yeah, didn't think so.

Anyway, I went on a bike ride Sunday afternoon and happened to see a squirrel poking his head out of the hollow! I have a new empathy for people trying to photograph Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster. By the time you fumble for your camera you've almost missed the action -- and what you do capture is blurry!

In any event, Nutty McSquirrel has obviously been eating lots of the acorns. Here's a comparison between the number in October and the number in January:


Come to think of it, Nutty McSquirrel better go easy. There are still a couple of months of winter left to go.

happy new year!

Offspring #1 enjoyed fireworks at the Space Needle for New Years Eve. (My New Years Eve, although nice, was a bit less exciting.)

Anywhoo, she took the above photo. Methinks she is a good photographer...

view from the (bike) road

I was lucky enough to have the afternoon off today, and I took my bike out for a little spin. It was a gorgeous fall day -- even the llamas were smiling.

pic of the day

Take time to stop and (virtually) smell the...



I took this picture at the Portland Rose Gardens a couple of weeks ago (when the rels were visiting for graduation)... lovely spot!

idol thoughts

Ah, a new American Idol was crowned tonight. I think Jordin will go far. But let's face it, the sixth season of Idol would have been Dullsville without the high entertainment value of Sanjaya!

This picture of Sanjaya with Offspring #2 was taken in Seattle during the recent high school band trip. (No faux-hawk, but a great picture nonetheless.)

cars say the darndest things

In March I posted some thoughts about bumper stickers, including how they try to reduce complex concepts down to a few words that can be absorbed during the limited time spent at a stop light.

As I was driving home on Sunday from Lacey (where I dropped off #1 Offspring so she could catch her ride back up to college), I noticed a car where the driver obviously felt traditional bumper stickers were far too limiting. Since my camera was right next to me, I couldn't resist holding it up at the approximate angle and taking a shot. Because my eyes were on the road (yes, I'm telling the truth!), I had no idea if I got any kind of a picture. But when I got home I found that, low and behold, I had indeed captured this billboard on wheels!

So what was the message the driver felt so strongly about that he or she went to some obvious trouble and expense to post it on the vehicle? Here ya go:



Hmmm... now I'm confused. I thought Jesus had a little higher opinion of the whole faith thing. Didn't he say stuff like "Your faith has healed you" and "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.'" ?

OK you pastors out there (and you know who you are)...I realize we've been "dechurched" for a bit, but is there some reaallly new teaching I've been missing?!

Got Tubwater?

"Is there anything more refreshing than shower stall water? I think not."
--Marble the Cat

happy mother's day...

Whoa! Here's a rather ominous looking picture for Mother's Day! What could this Grancel Fitz photograph mean?! I have three ideas:

(a) The photo suggests that the task of child rearing often seems to be a daunting one -- almost larger than life.

(b) Many moms try to do an especially good job because they realize that life is circular, and some day their kids may be taking care of them.

(c) One can do almost anything with a unique perspective and good photo editing software.

Any other ideas (or perhaps photo captions) out there?