Vegmom Moments

FALL HIKE 2009

We headed into the mountains today for our first Fall Hike of the season... The leaves were at their peak, but with the sun and shadows, the pictures were hard to get.  I have a few to share though!!

The drive .. Just love this pictures:

Them Mountains:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hiking Companions took some breaks:

 

Them rocks skipped far!




The Snacks.. For both raw and non-raw enthusiasts...Thank you Mr. Tiffin!!

 

And there ya have it... A beautiful Hike, a beautiful Drive, A beautiful View... Some nice companions, And some very yummy snacks...

What more could a girl ask for??

GOOD MORNING SUN - ANOTHER DAY

I just LOVE this time of year... could you tell???

And I love my view from the back deck... Peek-A-Boo, we see you....

wait for it.... wait for it.... Shazammm... Morning Glory (that also means rain is coming, but for now.. it is just pretty)

 

And the drive in... ... even if rain is coming...(pink skies in the morning...good thing I'm not a sailor cuz I'm not taking any warnings)  I will enjoy this while its here...

GOOD MORNING SUN

I see you Mr. Sun hiding in the fog... on this beautful chilly, crisp, cool, amazing, 1st day of October...

The first day of my favorite month of the entire year....

Good Morning Mr. Sun.......

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF OCTOBER BLOGGY WORLD!!!

What will you be doing fun this amazing month?

HOT AIR BALLOONS A GLOWIN'

There are a few things I LOVE about this time of year....

• Temps start to cool down
• Leaves begin to turn
• Fall Festivals are in bloom
• Produce is amazingly good

But one thing that makes this time of year Extra special... Is that the Hot Air Balloons stop by for a visit.... And they Glow... to music... at night.... ITS AMAZING!!!

This year was by far the best ever... I'll stop typing now... See for your selves....  (sorry for the fuzzy zoomed shots)

Note - Trying YouTube for my videos... lets see how they do...

First the Dueling Banjos

My favorite, the patriotic part of the show....The middle balloon floats up with an American flag.... sooo cool....

And some still shots, with some more fuzzy zooms...

And the boy with the silly hat (guess who?) got to climb a rock wall, thanks to some very nice Army National Guardsmen....  We were sure to thank them for ALLL they do.... 

Our Friends made an appearance also, and they had a try at the wall.  Even waited in line with us for the LONGEST time....  It turned in to a wonderful night.  Even if Hubby has a case of the Grumpies.... (oops did I just type that)

HOW MY PHOTOS HAVE CHANGED

I'm sitting here looking at my camera and laughing at myself... Sometimes I do this..  Its a good thing my Hubby is used to the vision of me laughing at myself, because someone else may be a tad concerned.

The laughing is because of what I have taken pictures of lately..... 

There was a time when I had a little pink disk camera thing and I took pictures of my friends and family... I'd pay too much money waiting for them to be developed... 

Then switched to a regular film rectangle style camera... A Canon that got left at Disney World on an Arcade game....and its replacement that took a ton of pictures of People and all the fun things we did... I waited, I paid for those pictures to be developed and the most expensive film with the best exposure to get 12 pics.

Eventually moved on to the digital world...  Where I took many more pictures... had to take the disk to a drop off place or kiosk to get all my pictures developed... I'd wait and pay money....I'd have to buy disks because the memory was so low.

AND NOW... I have a tiny little canon, that can fit in my pocket... I can take 1000 pictures with my memory card if I wanted, and have a printer that will spit out a picture in 20 seconds... I have ink and paper available to me... EVERYTHING I NEED to take a picture, print it and put it in a photo album within minutes.....   Something I would have LOVED to have 10 years ago....

BUT WHAT DO I TAKE PICTURES OF NOW??????   THINGS!!!

Like food, buildings, carrots, cups, bags....

I went from taking pictures that would purposely go good in a Scrapbook page for all our memories, to taking a picture of a cupcake because some one I don't even know, may want to see what I ate.

My Mom said a couple weeks ago, "I can't get a new picture of my Grandson, but you'll take a picture of a Pizza"

Really?  What has become of us Blog People?  How did we get here?

VACATION FUN - THE CRITTERS

These guys lived on the resort where we were staying..... This one was a baby but his Mama, wasn't so small... We stayed a nice distance from these guys, and admired from a far...  At least we think we did.. Since they were pretty good at hiding...

 

 

And this little beauty was sitting in a pool of water when the tide went out one morning...  I've never had the chance to see one alive and up close in the "Wild" before.... We watched him for a little bit scurry along...and then off he went with the tide back to the ocean where he belonged....

 

 

These Turtles were EVERYWHERE...... And they had so much personality... they'd swim or walk up to any human... I've never seen a turtle keep his head out of his shell and not have a care in the world...  They were like little puppies, it was sooo funny! 

At one point we lost count at 55 that surrounded us while on a dock near the lagoon near our hotel.

 

And even these little critters were domesticated... stepped right up to me on the Boardwalk, while heading to the beach...And didn't mind at all when I pulled out my camera to take a Picture.   Hopefully he was more timid with the Alligators... Then again, I only did see one Squirrel.... hmmm?

This guy lived at the Aquarium... I think if I saw him on the beach I would have had a heart attack.

  

These Turtles also lived at the Aquarium, where they do Turtle Rehab... Crazy how much can happen to these Sea Turtles... and So glad there are people to help rescue and save them.

  

 

We also saw Raccoons, Many Many Dolphins, a Shark (really) and 100's of crabs, snails, etc. 

Even with out going to the Aquarium, the wild life was plentiful and so nice to see.....

SUNSET CRUISE

I'm sure you can see what this one was about:

 

 

It was also about Dolphins leaping, Island Exploring and Crabs...

I don't have pics of the Dolphins... Those buggers are too quick....

But here are the crabs he pulled up (catch and release of course):

 

And the Island:

 

And this is Bella.... I liked Bella and she liked me!!!  She also liked to eat Horse Flies... So out of everyone on the entire boat, I was the only person, that did NOT get bothered by the flying menaces...

Because Bella liked to lay at my feet.... And where there was Bella, There were NO FLIES because she would catch and eat them...

I really really liked Bella!

 

And I really really liked our Sunset Cruise!  We learned TONS from our captain..... So much more then we ever imagined about the sea, and the creatures, and the islands.... 

I also liked that the captain would get REALLY annoyed at his passengers if they didn't recycle their plastic bottles.....

And how cool that Every trash can around the resort also had a Recycle Bin beside it....  Even on the beach and in the garage.... EVERY WHERE....

See?

 

I wish it was that easy where we live... many more people would participate, I think!

VACATION FUN - PACKING

In case you were wondering about all the random posts this past week, it is because we were on Vacation, and I prescheduled some to see if that would work before we left.  Others, I snuck in on Hubby's computer that wouldn't give away the fact that we were gone or our destination.... It was TOP SECRET (not)...

So we are back.... and here is how it started.

Packing -

Hubby was told by the likes of me that he would be helping with this trip.  For the first time in 18 years, he was going to do his part to make this a successful vacation....And then... I get the call.   

The call that said he had packed up all my piles.... NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!  I'll never be able to find anything.. This can't be.... I actually said "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO" out loud... and he said:

"Don't fret, I knew you would freak so I labeled every bag and put a list of what was in each"

Ha ha... he knows me oh-so-well.....  All was right with the world.... And he did help in his own Hubby way of course...

Like our slippers in with the sand toys... Yeah, had to move those,  And really, just for the record, Bathing suits don't go with the dried food goods...

Eventually between his "help" and my finishing we were packed.... And for the first time we had a real luggage set..  Who do you suppose got the "big" suitcase  :-)

And then this... Seriously, we are a family of 3.... Why do we need this much stuff???  Because we must be prepared... And Prepared we were!!!  NOTHING was forgotten!   It was GREAT!

For some reason, Hubby wanted to bring his computer.  BUT I did not bring my computer nor my Blackberry...  I was Disconnected for the better part of 6 days!  YAY ME!!!!!

To Be Continued.....

GOOD MORNING

That's not snow... its flowers... and a happy peeking sun... We've had rain for the past week!!  Good for the garden but I'm glad to see the sun peeking through.

WE GOT SNOW....

OK, Maybe its a flurry, Maybe its just a dusting.... But if there is enough for a snowball, we shall play!

MY ANGEL

LOOK OUT!!

I LOVE THIS NOSE.. EVEN WITH SNOW ON IT!!

AND HE LOVES THE SNOW!  In fact he ate so much, I think his belly will float away.

AND THE CUTEST SNOWMAN EVER!

ANOTHER SHOT IN CASE YOU DIDN'T GET ENOUGH OF HIS CUTENESS

AND THE BEST PART OF PLAYING IN THE SNOW?? 
COMING IN FOR SOME HOT CHOCOLATE!  OF COURSE

LIFE IS GOOD!

GOD'S PAINTING

One thing that is not lacking here are pretty skies, but some days like today, I happen to have my camera handy...  Of course this picture doesn't really capture the beauty but it was like a beautiful oil painting tonight....with some angel wings thrown in if you look close enough. 

If you don't already, be sure to stop and LOOK up once in a while, there is no telling what you may find.

OOOH AHHHH!! MORE TREES... LOTS OF TREES...

We got up to the mountains today and I'm convinced it was the perfect day to be there...

Oooh Ahhh....  Of course I took pics!

 

MORE THEN ORANGE

Everyday on our way to Veg's school I see this tree... I told him that one day I would get the perfect picture...  Ah, today was the day!!

TREES ARE SO PRETTY

I just can't stop taking pictures of them this year...  Here is a small shot with a reflection from the water:

SILLY APPLE PUMPKIN DAY 2008

And so our Second Annual Silly Apply Pumpkin Day of 2008 comes to a close....  Veg ate his dinner at about 7:30 excused himself from the table and said "I'm going to bed, its been a long day"  AND HE DID!!!  Out cold... Fast Asleep.... No Muss No Fuss.....  But what did we do on this day you may ask??

First, there was School.... The kids got to carve a Pumpkin.  When parents arrived they auction off the pumpkins... Its all for fun and all proceeds go to the school... Did my guy CARVE a Pumpkin???  NOooooo!  He didn't want to "RUIN" the pumpkin!!  Wish I would have known that at 10pm last night when I was running around the city looking for a kid friendly carving tool..... And so he painted it!!  A beautiful masterpiece.  Notice the skeleton in picture 2:

Hubby brought Veg home after the auction, while I went back to work.  Upon getting home, I find my little Vegman in his usual costume attire... the same thing he's been for the last 5 years.... and I gave him his outdoor surprise...  The silliest pumpkin of ALL time... One that BOUNCES!!!  Really Really High!!  In fact so high, that it took off down the street and I was running very quickly to catch it before it got slaughtered by on coming traffic.  That was fun!! 

Here is Spidey, showing off his new friend!

And of course there were Leaves... Lots and Lots of Leaves... And finally one of my trees decided to turn pretty before the season ended:

After raking and jumping, raking and jumping, then playing our version of Dodge Ball and blowing bubbles.... OOH forgot to write about the bubbles....

While out last weekend, someone at a store gave Veg some bubbles.  Hubby wouldn't let him have them because they were "Halloween" and Hubby doesn't want Halloween celebrated...  Well... I say they are BUBBLES......  So tonight, I wrapped a little jar with happy pumpkin and apple stamped paper, then made my own bubbles....  Dish soap, Water and Sugar... I made it really really really soapy, so the bubbles were GREAT.  We found an old wand, and blew the most wonderful bubbles.

Ok, so after bubbles, leaves, bouncing ball and fun...  We came inside.....Bobbed for Apples!  Veg is much better this year then last year, but we all had some great laughs.  Hubby got his on the first try... SHOW OFF:

Then it was hand out candy time (to each other)  The candy I chose for Veg, was Organic all natural Candy Canes.... Afterall,  What is more silly then Christmas Candy in October???  Just love this box!!

Veg was soooo excited "Thanks Mom, this is the best candy ever"  BUT - he says... "Remember last year when you made me a really nice bowl for my candy?  Why didn't you do that this time?" 

Well Phooey!!  He remembers the one thing I forgot.... So I get him in the shower then run around to find a decoratable container...  Thanks to my Crafty Friend.. I had some recipe boxes lying around...

One of them is now officially a Silly Apple Pumpkin Box:

With candy canes inside:

Eventually it is time for dinner.... I was so busy with everything else, that I didn't bother to make a good dinner, but I had to make something that was Silly! and something that was Apple'ish..... 

Fried Apples did the trick, although didn't come out as good as I imagined they would, Veg really liked them... He said they were chewy like gum.. ha ha... Not exactly the texture I was going for:

And this Guys name is Chief Silly Face:

I also made these.. Peanut Butter and Chocolate bars but they are cooling in the fridge right now...  Those aren't really Pumpkin or Apple'ish, but they sure do look good!!  ha ha... And they will give Veg some "Peanut Butter Cup" type candy when he wakes in the morning, to show him that not going trick 'o treating isn't so bad after all....  Ooh is he excited for those.. (so am I, by the way)

And so our Day comes to an end!!  My Veg Man went to sleep as happy as can be and just before heading off he says.. "I know we don't celebrate Halloween, but I'm sure glad we celebrate Silly Apply Pumpkin Day"

Sheww... Mission Complete!!!

PRETTY MORNING

THE LEAVES ARE CHANGING

 It really is FALL!!!  See it???  They are changing ever so slightly....  Did I mention that I LOVE this time of year!

BALLOON GLOW 2008

This has become sort of a tradition at the Veg House... Some years it is GREAT, Other years it has been Rained out completely... This year it was a little of both!

It was great when we arrived, but when it came time to GLOW, some of the Pilots decided not to participate.    I'm not sure if it was the threat of Rain or Wind that deterred them.  But a few lit up and put on a good show.

One of our friends came, so Veg was so busy playing, I don't think he even saw the Balloon Glow.  We found a booth with Veggie Burgers to eat.  Also saw some friends from school.  It turned in to a great night....

When we got to the Car Veg said "This was SOOO Fun" and then he fell asleep.  The little guy just can't stay up past 9 any more.... Kind of funny!

My camera battery died, just in time to take a bad photo (above) and a video that I can't post from this machine.

Family fun is the best kind of fun!  Even if it doesn't go as planned!  *smile*

CAMERA WITH FILM? FOR REAL!

Veg and I went on an adventure today.  He decided he didn't want to go on our original adventure so we had a change of plans...  Turns out we went to 4 different places, all of which had cool activities and all of which required me to take pictures.... Did I remember my camera battery?  NOPE!!!

You'd think I would remember this some day!  So when my other battery kicked the bucket, I was left with no picture action during our last adventure.  So I was the tourist sucker that purchased a "one time use" camera from the adventure store.

The kind with film.... The kind you have to get developed..... The kind you have to wind after every shot... The kind you actually have to squint your eyes to focus through the tiny hole and hope that your picture comes out.

Wow, how spoiled we have become in this digital era... I can't imagine having to use one of those every day!  ACK!!!  Now I have to finish up my last few shots so I can get it to be developed and see if any of my 24 photos came out! 

Not to mention the cost of developing!  I don't think I will ever ever ever forget my extra battery again!!

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN

  I was working last night, and I kept hearing a bang and a flutter on the window next to me.  Expecting to see a Bat or crazed bird, I got brave and moved the curtain to peak out... It was this Bug... As big as a bird mind you... I put my hair clip next to it, so you could get a comparison.  He was almost as big as my hair clip. 

I about fell out of my chair.  Thankfully he was on the OUTSIDE of my window!

PEACOCKS AND SHEEP

 Peacocks on the roof

Pretty Colors but man can these things make noise....

These guys were hungry:

MY COOLEST SKY PICTURE EVER

And I've taken LOTS of sky pictures... I just love this one!!  Not because its a good picture... I mean its not really...  It's just cloud.  But the story behind it.....

This was taken last night off my deck when it was pitch black all around... but for some reason in this direction the sun was making its last appearance for the night.  Lighting up the cloud and sky behind it...  I thought it was so pretty and was so close to the ground like you could reach up and grab it.  

I was able to grab my camera and get this shot.  But by the time the guys came to see, the darkness had taken over.  As if it was only there for my eyes.... Ha.. until now as I post it to the world..

SPRING IS IN BLOOM

The flowers didn't show up as pretty in this photo, but you get the idea.... Spring is here, flowers are blooming, everyone is sneezing and the bugs are back... Funny that one week ago we had snow!

WENT TO THE ZOO

So I seriously have mixed emotions about the whole Zoo thing... If you go, then your giving money in supporting the capture of critters that deserve to be wild.  But if you don't go then our children would never see these animals and understand the importance of saving them in the wild. 

If you do go, then there is hopes that your money will help build habitats and provide better lives for the animals already there.....  If you don't go, then you prove you don't support the captivity of these beautiful creatures but they won't ever be made wild after being captive, so that is a needless point....

Which takes me back to my original statement of  having mixed emotions about going to Zoos. 

However, I WILL NOT go to Circus's or Rodeos... gotta put my foot down somewhere.  *smile*  and besides clowns scare me.

With all that said... we did go to the zoo today...We had a great time... we even did some touristy stuff, got our pics in the photo booth, made some wax souveniers...   And saw some animals that we normally don't see.  Even the Cheetah was out in full view.  The bears were very playful..  All the big cats were roaming.   There were just a few animals still hiding for the season...  And of course the babies weren't here yet.

For some reason, I only took pictures of the odd creatures this time..........

Except this bear... he's not odd... He was just big, and so darn cuddly looking!!!  I do realize he could eat me up in one gulp, but he still looked so cuddly!

This is the biggest, floppiest bunny I have ever seen!!!  Soo cute!

Can someone please get these naked rats some clothes?....ewwww!!!

 

If I just keep swimming, they won't see me......

The Meerkats.... They are the silliest bunch of critters:

You lookin' at me? 

Because I said so, thats why!!

No Pictures please, I'm in a hurry!

And the scarriest animal of all, that escaped from his crate just in time to get this photo:

FLOWER IN WINTER?

Either this cabbage flower thing really likes the cold, or it is really confused...  We found them popped up on a walking trail over the weekend...

VEGMOM GIFT GUIDE

The gift giving season in our home has sort of been a month long process.  When my Mom was here we got some gifts.  While going to our friends holiday gathering, we received gifts... and boxes have been arriving on our doorstep from everyone else....  So I must share some of  the unique gift hi-lights of Christmas 2007!!  Sorry, in advance if I forget anything...

Bananagrams - Its like Scrabble but with out the board, points and brains.   Our friend got us this and it is actually much harder then she led on... Oh Yes, she said you didn't have to be smart to play, so I thought we fit that category very well.   However, it is quite challenging.  Hubby and I played tonight and it took over an hour to clear the pile and make words.   I did win this first round, by the way... must throw that in!  *smile*

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101 Things to do with Tofu - This too was purchased from my same friend who knows that I'm always looking for fun (easy) recipes.  This book has over 100 easy recipes that even I can do.  From Appetizers to Dessert and everything in between.  Can't wait to start using this and making lots of new things.  Perfect timing, now that Hubby is on board with this Veg thing... I'll need to be creative with food choices and this will be sooo helpful.

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This Vera Bradley bag is from my MIL.  There was some confusion on the colors, but she did get the one that matches my backpack.  And it is a retiring pattern..  Its supposed to be used as a Hand Bag.  But I've never used anything called a "Hand Bag" and don't plan to at this time... Oh No!  I have changed the name to "Veg's Travel Bag"  It will perfectly hold all my toiletry items and cords and phones etc when I'm traveling.  It has pockets and more pockets, then a big center area for brush, travel size bottles and such.  I'm actually pretty excited about this one.. Especially since I have a trip coming up soon

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VTech Vsmile Pocket Handheld - It's actually called "VTech V.Smile Pocket Learning System"  However, NeeNee went all over her State to find the "Vtech Handheld"... Only to find out it was called a "Pocket"...  *smile*  Poor NeeNee... But she found it and our Veg is Very happy.  The cool thing about this is that it holds all the same games he already has for his bigger Vtech System.  Which means we didn't have to buy any new games.  But it did come with a game that he didn't already have so that was a bonus.  NeeNee also bought him two more games to go with his collection.  So he is Stocked.  This little system is small enough that it is easy for travel but big enough that he can control it and the screen is easy to see.  And even better, you can plug it directly in to the TV and play off the big screen if you choose.  This will be great for traveling..  Another cool feature is for those kids that are Lefties... The controllers flip from lefty to righty with the flick of a button.  It is a VERY cool gadget! 

Silly Sentences  - This silly game was a complete surprise from another friend.  We met the other day and she surprised Veg with this Christmas Gift. 

Veg looked at it and said "AW Cool, I have one of these, but this will give me more pieces"  I just love the way he sees the positive in things.  I remember when I used to do that more often.... (note to self, get back to thinking positively about things)....

Anyway, when we got home, Veg had already started taking a part all the pieces and ran to get his similar game.  They were the same but different.  One is called Silly Rhymes.  And this new one is called Silly Sentences.  Basically for both of them you have to make sentences using puzzle like pieces.  We ended up having a lot of fun reading and making word groups all last night.  The fun part was that he could tell if he was missing a word to make a complete sentence because the puzzle pieces didn't match.  So fun and very educational...

In addition to the items above, I also got my craft organizing cubes, shown here!  and A new Vera Bradley laptop bag and some crafty supplies.  Veg has received clothes, lots and lots of toy cars, a giant Excavating Truck thing, handmade gifts, a Playmobile Nativity Set, games, and more. 

So the Holiday isn't even over yet and our house is full of stuff.  Good news is, Veg agreed to begin getting rid of stuff after Christmas.  So I think that will be a new tradition.  The day after Christmas pack up all your old things and ship them off to make room for the new.

Thanks to everyone, for so many fun and wonderful things.  I can't wait to use and play with everything....

SUN COMES UP - SUN GOES DOWN

I just love this time of year!!!  Crisp Cool Breeze, and these beautiful Sky Pictures....  Sunrise and Sunset!

(click on the pictures to see them bigger)

 

LOOK UP

Fall is still here!  And this tree in my yard keeps getting brighter and brighter.   They may have changed late, but they sure are making up for it.

MOUNTAIN DRIVE

After a nice walk and chat with a friend this morning I saw how nice it was outside.  And Hubby noticed the leaves changing a little more (this has been a strange leaf year)  So we decided to drive up to the Mountains...

Veg made his first solo walking hike, 1/2 mile up hill and 1/2 back down.  He was so proud..."Look I'm doing it" he said with joy...We also climbed to the top of a tower and walked a couple river banks to skip rocks.  Here are a few pictures of the scenery.

Air Quality wasn't so good but you could still see pretty far!

Just a funky tree!

Such beauty!  You can see the road in the distance. 

We started out on that road!

Pretty Leaves floating in the water!

A Tree eating the sign!

FINALLY A PRETTY LEAF

The leaves are changing, the leaves are changing....  OK, just this little patch of leaves... (the rest are still green).  But at least they are thinking about it.

Happy Fall Everyone!!!