Light in the Darkroom

Sargie getting ready for the snow in his fashionable bomber jacket.

The Christmas trees in the backyard during the snowfall.

Sargie playing in the snow...a little.

One of the many robin's trying to take cover in the now bare trees during the snowfall.

My car underneath the snow.

My mom and squirt shovelling away...I think I was supposed to be helping lol.

The path that we dug for Sarge, so he could move about the backyard freely.

Hardwork always pays!

I am finally done cooking!!! I need a round of applause for that...I started baking Wednesday after work and just finished cooking the last item maybe an hour ago. I don't want to think about the oven, 350 degrees, or anything that needs an hour to be done. I will speak on my successes and one failure with the Thanksgiving feast this year.

In the midst of it all I have discovered what I really want for Christmas or my birthday, or a "hey just wanted to let you know you rock" gift....a Kitchenaid professional 600 series, 6 quart, bowl lift stand mixer in empire red. I LOVE this beautiful piece of machinery! Just look for yourself...

Isn't it just cherry red perfection??? But alas I think all of my hint dropping is going to fall upon deaf ears. I'll probably end up purchasing it for myself. Which is fine too, but if it were presented to me with a big bow around it...I definitely wouldn't complain!

Outside of the hoopla and grandeur of cooking fantastic goodies, I started thinking of what I am truly thankful for...and yes not just on yesterday, I do visit this topic often. I made a short list...

1. Health - it is soo important to understand and realize that life is short and with so many different diseases and ailments around, I am thankful to be well and able to do the things that I choose to do. To not have to take multiple medications in order to get out of the bed and get the day started.
2. Shelter - with the many people that have lost their homes, though some have been fortunate enough to be able to lean on family and friends, there are some who have nowhere to turn. It is their car, a shelter or the streets that they no w call home. I am thankful to have a home. Even though the neighbors SUCK...I am happy to say that I have some.
3. Friends - not associates, but true friends that I can call about whatever and whenever and just talk, cry, laugh or anything and be accepted and loved for being just who I am. I've come across many people (most this year) who can't just be themselves, it's a persona for every different group of people they come across. I am thankful for the opportunity to let my true colors shine.
4. Happiness - strange, maybe, but for me, happiness is equally important. Without a light heart, joy or laughter...many of life's tasks I would probably never complete. Being happy intimidates others who are not free to experience this emotion. They complain about everything whether it happened to them or not. I am thankful that through happiness I am able to look at things from two perspectives, getting the whole picture, and seeing the sunlight through the clouds.
5. Family - even though they drive me crazy every hour of every day, without them...I would be lost. I love them lots the craziness included. They deal with me, which is a big task, mood swings, attitudes, laughter, joy, pain, sorrow...I am still loved the same. I appreciate that sooo much.
6. Dreams - just being able to dream something and actually fight and try to achieve it. Some people don't poses the drive in life to keep going, persevere through it all and still get back up when you get knocked down. I am thankful to dream uninhibited.

I hope that you all were able to reflect on the many different things we have to be thankful for. I'm sure my list will differ from many in one way or another, but I think even just realizing that you have a lot to be thankful for is more than a 75% start.

Have a Great Weekend!!!

Til Monday.....

Can I just say that I am LOVING Sesame Street Week on Google. Today is none other than my favorite character....Oscar the Grouch! Why the little green furry creature that lives in the garbage can makes me smile, I really can't say, but awesome to see him!!!

From our excursion to the Baltimore Aquarium last weekend...

Zoey...being Zoey...busy as usual!

A rock fish from the weekend's fishing trip...



Happy Monday!!

Apparently a giant sized caterpillar that likes to eat green peppers! Who knew!!

Remember the cute ducky that I bought for Sarge and I told you it looks nothing like it does here? Well as promised here he is...de-stuffed and a bit turned inside out...poor ducky I guess he really didn't stand a chance! For some reason Sarge loves all of his froggy toys but everything else...down the tube!

It hasn't even reached noon yet, but I have reached all sorts of levels of attitude awareness today. For the life of me I cannot begin to understand why it is that "certain" people always have to be in control of everything...we all have these types...

• Mr. Know It All - well the name says it all...I know it all and you know nothing! Even if he is wrong he is right. If it's your job he can most certainly do it better.


• The Exaggerator - if it can be embellished it will be...even if it can't they will make it so big and unbelievable that you may actually start believing it.


• Ms. Perfect - everything she does is perfect...closely resembles Mr. Know It All, but will definitely not try to do your job, she'll just tell you how you should have done it.


• The Passer - If you looking for this one to take responsibility...look elsewhere.


• The Do Nothing - If it envolves lifting a finger don't expect it to be done by this one.

There are more, but considering the type of way I'm feeling right now...this is a good start. I am glad that this week is almost over.

On a lighter note...I bought Sarge a ducky at PetsMart a couple of weeks ago and I have a couple of pictures to share. I will take a picture of what the poor duck looks like now and post it tonight...but these were his better days...

I got to see my favorite baby in all the land twice this weekend and of course my trusty not soo dusty camera was along with me. Of all the pictures I actually have four favorites this time around. Since Zoey is getting older now, (10 months!!) she is truly a busy body and very expressive...but admittedly it's hard to get pictures of her because I believe she has perfected her speed crawling!

A lot has transpired this week...from the metro rail accident to the passing of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. It's still a little hard to believe that MJ is no longer here. We have been singing and dancing to his songs since yesterday evening...just a state of shock, but time is promised to no one. It really just makes the statement "...live life to the fullest..." a little louder. Condolences to all those who have lost someone this week.

Wednesday, Jasmine and I ventured out to the garden across the street from my window at work to check out the sunflowers. If you don't know...SUNFLOWERS are my favorite flowers!! They just make me feel happy and cheery, and not to mention the giant ones are just amazing to look at. I heard from a co-worker that the garden is going to be replaced with a memorial for... ok I can't quite remember so it's either Roosevelt, Ford or another President, I just can't put my finger on it right now. Anyhow the point is we try to enjoy it every year that it's still around since we've been hearing rumors of the memorial coming soon for the last couple of years.

I also have a picture of Joey, our resident groundhog! He comes out often when Sarge (the dog) is not around...I'm not sure what it is that he eats in the backyard but he's hilarious to watch.

In my family we have a tradition of preparing the birthday, anniversary, father's or mother's day meal of that particular persons choosing. Sooo when I asked my father what he would like to eat for Father's Day his unsurprising answer - a T-bone! I then became faced with options, where exactly was I going to by this T-bone? He started talking about the T-bones he saw at Costco they were 3 for $30, but I didn't want to go to Costco to get a steak. No offense to Costco, but I wanted a prime cut of beef as this was his only request and I wanted to find the best steak I could, I am a daddy's girl after all...so we needed QUALITY!! He then started talking about the Giant and how they may have some, but have any of you seen the steak selection at Giant? The meat is sooo then and the price is sooo high I knew I wasn't going there either. So I guess you're wondering where did I end up...well I went to my favorite store - Whole Foods Market! I chose Whole Foods for a number of reasons...

1. I know they have a butcher in the store


2. They have a huge selection of meats


3. I could get prime quality beef


4. I ♥ Whole Foods

When I arrived at the meat counter, they were 2 options of T-bones. They had Prime T-bones and the had Dry-aged Prime T-bones. Unclear of what exactly dry-aged meant I had to ask the guy to explain the difference and in his opinion which would yield a better taste. When I think dry-aged I'm thinking like drying the meat as in making beef jerky which is apparently the wrong impression. I ended up getting the dry-aged T-bone which was actually a porterhouse because there was more meat on the little side than what a T-bone cut would allow. That steak was $31...yes one steak $31...it was $19.99 a pound, but it's Father's Day so what the hay and as the worker at Whole Foods said..."Nothing says love like a good piece of beef!" For the rest of us, I prepared shrimp, scallops and broccoli over linguine with alfredo sauce. I took a stab at searing scallops and I think for the first try they turned out well, but I ended up just sauteing the rest of them.

Here's the proof!

These are the results of my attempt to sear scallops

Took a side trip to the National Museum of American History yesterday. The museum had been under a remodeling for a while and opened maybe the earlier part of this year or late last year, regardless it looks great and is HUGE. I went to see the I Do Solemnly Swear: Photographs of the 2009 Inauguration and completely got sidetracked. There are sooo many wonderful exhibits to see (and sooo many tourists) that it was literally impossible to see it all in the short time frame I had. But I have a museum day planned for later this month so I'll explore the rest of the exhibits then. I did take some pictures while touring, and yes I am one of those crazy people who takes pictures through glass! Although I'm not as crazy as to turn the flash on while trying to shoot through glass, but some of the shots have strange glows due to the lighting in some of the cases. I will try to give you a run down of what is contained in the picture show below:

1. Upon entering the museum (from the mall entrance) there is the flag displayed in a silver sculpture state
2. A Betsy Ross imitator having children help her make the flag
3. The Greensboro lunch counter
4. Scurlock studio and photography equipment
5. The America's at war (only the colonial time period, the exhibit hall was way too big)
6. The Presidents
7. American entertainment
8. Photos of the 2009 Inauguration