"Wiley" Coyote...

We had a fun treat this morning hanging around in my sister- and brother-in-law's backyard . Scott asked me to come downstairs right away and bring my camera. I was kind of curious as to why he wanted me to do this. This is what I found. Wow, how cool! I've never been this close to a wild coyote. Gosh, it was so much fun to take pictures of him. We decided to call animal control to have them get it out of the backyard since the house is in a neighborhood at the end of the street. The coyote left in a big hurry........but........ you'll never guess what!! Tonight he slipped through the bars on the gate and is back hiding in the bushes again.......what in the world makes him want to stay here in this backyard?!! Hopefully more pictures tomorrow!

Chihuly Glass...

This was an impressive gallery that we saw last night. Everything is for sale and oh so pretty! Pictures can't really describe how beautiful everything looked.........you have to be there to experience it. His work is in the ceiling of the Bellagio's main hallway when you walk in the entrance.




This blue color was so awesome!! I wanted to take home everything there!!! Well, at least I got pictures....cheaper that way!!

Scott asked how much this piece (see photo below) sold for.................. $450,000.00!! I asked how they shipped it. I was told it would be disassembled to ship and then put back together at your house! This was really huge, probably 10 feet high or more......but absolutely awesome looking!! I loved it....guess for that price I would have to love it! Right?

The Bellagio...

The Bellagio was decorated for Christmas with absolutely awesome decorations. Can't wait to see what they have next. I'm sure they will come up with something fantastic, they always do!

This photo (below) is of the ceiling which is located in the lobby and is up year round. Just had to add it to the pictures. Love all the colors!






This photo (below) is behind the counter in the lobby. I'm wondering how heavy those Christmas ornaments actually weigh?


How tall is that tree? I should have asked someone.....I'm definitely curious!!

Christmas Color...

Is this the color of Christmas?! Wednesday I opened the back door and was pleasantly surprised to see this scene in the backyard. I recently complained how we don't have the colorful autumn trees down here in this state. Well guess what, I was wrong!! Just had to take some pictures so I wouldn't forget it. I have to laugh at the timing, though. A week from today is Christmas. Shouldn't this burst of color have happened around Halloween or the latest Thanksgiving? That's ok.........I'll take it when ever. It's absolutely gorgeous!!

The Pioneer Woman...

Driving to the book signing.....wow, it was wall to wall traffic that night! Stop and go, stop and go!Finally downtown....but still a ways to get there.Before the book signing....we all had to get paper bracelets....."colors of the rainbow" is what they said. We had to go get in line for our books to be signed in the color they called. Guess they didn't want a stampede of crazy women!!More people coming....by the time things started this place was jammed packed. Didn't take a picture since I'm too short to see over people and you couldn't get the full effect of how many were there....but believe me there were a lot of people!

Well, it was so much fun to finally meet Pioneer Woman (Ree Drummond) and have my book signed by her. I love her website...especially the photo section and her photos, not mention the fun contests every week! Also, we got to meet her kids and "Marlboro Man" who all signed my book too (except for her youngest son). Her kids were so polite and well mannered. Wish I could have gotten their pictures too but they were never all together in one place at the same time. They too were having a good time that night!

"Marlboro Man"

Cindy (who I met that night at the book signing)

A Few More Edited Pics...

Adobe Lightroom...

I'm no expert at photo editing but I sure love the difference of what Adobe Lightroom does to enhance photos. Here's a few pictures I took recently and was amazed at the difference it made with the color in each of them. (mmm, those rolls look good right now!) The colors are so much more alive and vibrant. Take a look at the popcorn machine and also the scarecrow in my previous post, they weren't edited. There's a really big difference between the pictures. I've also come to realize that through photography one has a whole new way of looking at the world around them and what a difference photo editing can do!!

(Ok, that was totally crazy to be uploading "food" pictures on my blog this late at night wishing for some of those rolls and fruit salad......thank goodness they long gone, those evil Thanksgiving side dishes!!).

Fall Festival...

One of my favorite treats that we had at our Fall Festival was POPCORN. I love the look of that popcorn machine............plus, we had loads of fun there that day! Tami and her committee did such an awesome job on it. Thanks, everyone who put so much work into this past Saturday!!

Even some of the adults dressed up for the occasion. Thanks Brenda for the great "witch laugh!"

So glad this guy wasn't real......scary! Our friend's 18 month old baby was so intrigued by the spider. He couldn't stop looking at it.

Happy Fall..............y'all!!

Craft Project...

These were the two craft projects that we did at a local nursing home the beginning of October. First, was the bat, the black ribbon behind him is so he can be hung up or he can sit on a table.Second, we did the little pumpkin man and cat..............so easy to put together! I decided not to go with the candy cup fence...there were too many small cutouts to do for 20 kits!

Just Around the Corner...

It's hard to believe that Fall is here and Halloween is right around the corner. Kids everywhere are getting eager to dress up in their costumes and a smile crosses their faces when they think of going out "trick or treating." Pumpkins, hayrides, sunflowers, lights, cute decorations, cooler weather and the colors of Fall (especially burnt orange, oh how it LOVE that color!!!) make me smile........ what things about Halloween and Fall make you smile?

Another Baby Shower Game...

I do have to say I experienced the most interesting baby shower game tonight that I have ever seen. Over years of going to hundreds of showers and playing all sorts of games this is one I really liked. (oh how I love unique things plus no "thinking" involved!!) The hostess had everyone bring their purse to the scale to be weighed and the heaviest purse would win a prize. My purse came in second...........I also received a prize............oh yeah, it was CHOCOLATE!! Never dreamed that one could win a prize for carrying around a heavy purse..............just thought it would be a sore arm!!

Halloween Stacker...

Latest project......very easy to do. Colors resemble a piece of candy corn. Ooh, the colors of fall and Halloween!!

Cookie Box...

Here's a new project that I made yesterday for Terrific Thursday which will be in October. It's a mini box for either a cookie or some brownies. Fairly easy to make. The wording on front is glittery which unfortunately didn't show up in the picture. The second photo shows the inside of the box. Glad the little critter inside is just a cake decoration......that wouldn't be fun to find if it was the real thing, not to mention the size!!

Butterfly Shadowbox...

This is my latest project......a butterfly shadowbox. I took these pictures with the glass on front of the box and unfortunately there's a little bit of a reflection showing up. It actually looks better in person.................... it was a lot of fun to do!

Open House....

We went to our nephew's open house last week. He's off to Brazil on a mission for our church. I took this picture of him talking with a couple of his friends who came to wish him well. Good luck Josh! We know you'll be a great and successful missionary.................we'll see you in two years!

McDonald's Ice Cream Cone...

Talking of heat in my last post, this summer has been really hot for the last 3 months. Just for fun one day we went to McDonald's with some friends and a couple of their kids. We all decided on ice cream and to go and sit in the kid's playground area so their children could play in air conditioning. Here's a picture of their youngest (13 months old) having a blast with his first ice cream cone. It was really fun to watch him because he wouldn't let any one to take it from him and surprisingly he was able to eat the whole thing by himself!

Nothing like summer heat...

Last month we helped Joe and Layne move. It just happened to be wonderfully hot that day!! Nothing like the summer heat when there's a big job to be done. Take a look at the picture of the reading of the truck thermometer!! Wow! Luckily there was a good size crew that help out loading the truck. I got a picture of most of the guys that helped. A few of them already had left before I snapped the photo. What was great about it was that it only took about 30 minutes to load everything into the truck! What a miracle considering how hot it was!

The Graduate...

This morning bright and early (8 am) was UT's commencements for the Natural Sciences. Whoo Hoo...Joe graduated today with "Highest Honors (Summa Cum Laude)!" (We're so very proud of you!!!) It was awesome to see him walk across the stage! Great job....... now off to medical school this fall!

Finally Got One...

Ok, I finally got a picture of a deer which I've been dying to do after getting my camera. I've been hoping for one to come through the neighborhood but when they do they always seem to see me and take off running like mad before I can capture a shot. As you can see his ears were perked up and very attentive to his surroundings. He was fairly young, just starting to grow some antlers. If you click on the picture you can see the antlers closer up. Luckily I had my zoom lense on my camera and was able to capture this shot.

Flower surprise...

Today I heard a knock at the door and found a delivery man holding these beautiful flowers for me! What a wonderful surprise.........thank you so very much Ang, Rob and kids.............I love them...............and they smell absolutely wonderful!!

Wedding Reception...

Here's some of the pictures I took at Jason and Diana's reception last weekend. We all had a great time and so did the bride and groom. It was held at the Oasis and had a beautiful view of the lake off the balcony.

Set Up and Decorating

Dinner Area

Dance AreaFavors Centerpieces

Flowers Bridal Bouquet Three Generations
Diana's Siblings

Bride and Groom
Wedding Cake
Cutting the Cake

Feeding Each Other

Oopps...she missed!Inside Cake "Got Milk?"

Father Daughter Dance Mother Son Dance Family
DJ Saying goodbye
Happy Couple

Groomer's Makeover...

OK, it was way over time for his haircut..........wow, what a difference the groomer can make and helping him look like a Schnauzer again! Plus he smells good too!

Sun Bathers...

Yesterday I saw this awesome sight. Some turtles were all hanging out together on a tree limb in the water and basking in the sun. This isn't something you see too often so I just had to get my camera and take a picture of it. Now that's the life, hanging out with friends (or family) and soaking up the warm sunshine!!! I almost felt like joining them!

Watch Out For Birds...

When we were visiting with my step daughter Diana, she told us about an experience of her friend's puppy. Her friend was out walking her tiny puppy (luckily on a leash) when this huge bird swooped down and tried to take it! Can you imagine the scare and astonishment! Her friend mentioned that Diana needed to be careful and never let her own dog go outside by herself (they live in the same neighborhood). Diana has cute little Darla (picture) and they live in an area where hawks and predatory birds fly all over looking for food. Oh my gosh, I would have never thought about a bird taking your little dog!! So, if you've lost a little dog or cat in the past maybe it didn't wander off......maybe it was air-lifted! How horrible!!



Darla, be safe......and watch out for BIRDS!!!!

Baby Kisses...

Last Friday night we went with some friends to "Mighty Fine"... awesome hamburger restaurant. They brought their baby with them and I couldn't resist taking these pictures of him which you see below. Right next to where we were sitting was a mirrored wall. Genell stood little Jesse up against it hoping he would entertain himself watching his reflection. The next thing we saw he was giving the baby in the mirror kisses....how adorable!! (he's only 8 months old). So glad I had a camera with me...this really deserved a picture to remember it.

Oh my gosh Genell, he's so doggone cute!!!