Here is a quick snap of The Bear driving while Beanie sleeps in the back seat in here little pillow. She sleeps most of the time when we go anywhere even just down the street to the park! Not much of a sightseer!
This is my normal travel mode. Shoes off, feet up and a good book to read. This book is the new Post Secrets book A Lifetime of Secrets and I am in LOVE with it! It's amazing to read all those intimate secrets of people from all stages of life. Go out now and check it out!
A rare published to the world glimpse of the Bean with no makeup! That's how much I love you guys! This is my Momma Bean. She's the greatest and everything that is cool about me started with her. She will graduate in Sept from LPN school which I am soooo very proud of her for doing.
This is my most wonderful and fabulous Grandmother, my mom's mom. She and my grandfather were the only two people that I had time to see while I was home. I miss them so much. She was making breakfast for my uncle and I and boy was it DELISH.
I could not ask for a better start to the day. Fresh fruit, blueberry jam and Grandmother's homemade bread made into toast. Oh, to die for.
This is the Bear and his mum. He was able to get in a short visit with her and a couple of his sisters as well. Aren't they just the cutest?
Now I must admit that having never been in one in person it literaly took me 5 minutes and reading the owners manual before I was able to even start the car! Yep that's right. It doesn't have an ignition. You just press the brake and push the POWER button on the dash. How cool is that?
Needless to say I had so much fun zipping around town in this little car. It really has some gittup to it and is very sturdy. I can't wait to get one. Maybe for my birthday? Tell The Bear if you see him!
Well on Saturday June 21st at aprox. 2:15 in the afternoon Paul finally tied the knot to JoEllen. I asked him the night before if he was truely over the moon crazy happy in love, he turned to me and declared that yes he truely was. That's all I wanted to know. We love this man like a brother and that's all we've ever wanted for him. Good luck to them both.
I think that you can see from their faces that it truely was a great day. Hey, is he trying to take his wedding ring off already? It is made of titanium! Everything went perfectly as planned. Couldn't ask for more than that.
Here are a couple pictures of The Bear and I. We were both in the wedding. I took this picture while waiting at the church for the photographer to get done snapping pics of the bride and groom.
Here's The Bear and I at the restaurant Bravo after the wedding for the reception. He said that the last time he was in a suit was a job interview 3 years ago and the next time will be in his casket! He's not fond of suits at all. Paul, if you're reading this, he must love you a lot to get it out of the garmet bag and walk around in it in public!
Aren't these just the most amazing things ever? Shan had snapped this pic of my sad little babe while she was here for a visit last november. Beanie had jumped up on the guest bed and was begging not to be kicked off "Please".
I think that the caption that Shan chose to go along with this wonderful face is perfect. I URGE you to go and visit her Etsy shop and see all she has to offer. Here is her site... http://www.shannonsshop.etsy.com/
Okay, I never do this but since I am working from home today and there is no one around to listen to me gripe I will share it with you all. I am just having one of those days where all those annoying little things seem to come to light.
On the Tourmobile with the Fab No and her man D. Since I am way too much of a weenie to drive in D.C. I have figured out a way to grab the Tourmobile Bus at Arlington Cemetery so that we can all enjoy the sites of the city!
The first stop is always Lincoln. I can never resist collecting another shot from the steps. 
I think that this is the first time that I've captured the wall of the memorial where the faces really give you that eery feeling.
Another Ode to Shan shot! I just loved the color of these bricks by the White House. I could see these on my patio giving you a feeling of great relaxation. 
My cousin the fabulous No and her boyfriend D came to visit me for a whole week and while she was her we made a short stop over at the Botanical Gardens in D.C. I just love going there and seeing the orchids. They are my all time favorite. I just love looking at them as I contemplate how nature can create such variety in size shape and color.
The way the so elegantly bend in lovely shapes and lines of art.
The light that filters through them reminds me of Nevada where everything seemed exptic and new to me.
I always seem to crave Thai food after visiting the orchids. What is your favorite flower?
Even on a rainy day you can find things to do. Sometimes it turns out not to be so wet after all. I had been to Mount Vernon before but didn't realize till this second trip that I had actually only seen half of the property. Yeah I know, how crasy is that? We (my fabulous friend Leah and I) toured the house this time and it was amazing, even though there was no photography allowed, poo poo.
We walked around in our raincoats among the intermitant drizzle. Can you belive some tourists arrived with no coat or umbrella? The property is beautiful with fruit orchards, gardens, and even some animals including these cows which are called Milking Derns. They are a beautiful rusty red color. They just look so majestic out in that pature.
George is laid to rest on the property, located on the side of the hill in the woods. It's very peaceful but I am thankful that I am not a famous person so that when I am finally laid to rest I can lay in peace and not have people stopping by to visit at all hours every day of the year. A woman needs her beauty rest!
The flower gardens are lovely even in the drizzle. The colors always amaze me. Being a person that can not seem to grow even the simplest of herbs, which The Bear calls my weeds, I really appreciate a good flower garden. I look on with envy knowing my wonderfully green thumbed gal E would be secretly snapping off clipping to add to her thriving collection of plants!
I wish the sun had come out for just a moment so that this shot would really have sung for you but this was as good as it was going to get that day. I just love this view. Hopefully someday I will have a little english garden area out my back patio to sit and sip tea among the flowers that I will obviously have to enlist a professional to grow for me! Cheers. Hope you enjoyed this little tour of Mount Vernon. If you ever have the chance you must go!
When I heard my aunt wanted to come and see me for a weekend trip I just knew we had to go get library cards for the Library of Congress since after all she works at the library back home! How cool would that be I asked her? Well of course the idea was greeted with smiles. So we did our homework and found anyone over 18 can get a card. So off we went.
Once we found the little office where they dole out these little gems I stepped up to the counter only to be greeted by what at first seemed to be a cranky government worker type who promptly asked me "ARE YOU PLANNING ON DOING RESEARCH AND STARTING SAID RESEARCH TODAY? THESE CARDS ARE NOT FOR SOUVENIRS." Well the look on my face I'm sure was one of shock and suprise. I stated that I lived in Alexandria VA and that I had family in town with me. Well with that news her face loosened and she smiled and said "OH, YOU'RE LOCAL, WELL THAT'S A HORSE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR. COME ON IN AND LET'S GET YOU ALL CARDS" From then on she was jolly and oh so friendly. I'm sure her job gets frustrating with all the millions of people coming through everyday and all year round. Needless to say we are now proud owners of Reader Identification Cards for the Library of Congress. I can't wait to get my hands on some of those books!
This is a sneak peak view of the main reading room in the Library of Congress as seen through the window of a door. Since I didn't yet have my reader card I wasn't able to go in and take a pic so this one will have to do! What a beautiful building. And as one lovely and close pal said "It's Nerd heaven".
Here we are on the Metro on our way back to our apartment in VA after our afternoon in DC. I am collecting pictures of people that ride the metro with me. No, I did not cut off all my hair, it's just up for the day since it was so hot out!
Sculptures in the Torpedo Factory. For those of you who haven't been there with us, it's one of our favorite places to take people who like art.
Step outside the front doors of Union Station and look to your left and this is what you'll see. I just love the shapes and the light coming in.
A view of the capitol as we walk to the Library of Congress from Union Station. It looks so nice in the spring color and light. Too bad not much work actually gets done in there.
The other weekend I rented a little cabin in the woods on the bank of the Shanandoah River for the weekend as a birthday present for the Bear. Since we work from home most days he never gets a chance to really relax and get away from work. We both love the quiet and simpler way of life so getting away for the weekend was wonderful. Our days were filled with fishing, canoeing, birdwatching and NO tv!!!
I woke up to a beautiful sunrise while the Bear slept in. I grabbed the fishing pole and tried my best to catch something before he woke up but I guess the fish were sleeping in as well.
Each evening we built a fire in the pit and I even roasted some marshmallows. It was lovely to listen to the crackel of the logs and the splashing of the jumping fish just a few feet away. I just know that there was a whopper living in there that we never did catch.
When we first arrived the Bear took my picture in my huge "Gone With the Wind" hat. I just love that hat. This is the same outfit I wore out on the canoe to go fishing. Just cause you're fishing doesn't mean you can't be fashionable! 
The bear and I took a stroll some time ago through the Bull Run park in Manassas on a trail called the bluebell trail and they were just starting to bloom. That's the bear in the background with his buffalo plaid jacket. What a beautiful day it was. The floor of the woods was carpeted in green with fresh little flowers everywhere. 
I have talked about coloring eggs every year for as long as we have been married (8 years May 16th) but never got around to it. Finally this year I did it and the Bear was eager to help! We spent a lot of time figuring out how and what colors to use. The bear was so pleased with how they came iut that he insisted on me taking a picture before we ate them all! So here is your dose of color for the day, enjoy!
A while back some of you back home in Ohio may have heard me talk about our crazy ice storm here in the beltway of DC. I thought that I would share a couple pictures from outside my apartment that night. Kind of interesting to look at. We have never had stand still bumper to bumper traffic stuck on our road like that before. It was stuck solid from 4:30pm till after 9pm that night. Poor commuters. Good thing I work from home!
They shut down the entire highway system right at rush hour due to the ice. Nice move DC.
Here are a couple pictures that I found pretty. I tend to send out postcards and letters in bunches and I liked the look of all the colors and patterns so before I popped them in the mail I took a few pics. You may see one that was sent to you in this pile!
Nothing says I love you like a hand written letter or postcard. It's not hard. In this day of e-mail it is even more important to reach out with pen and papaer to let a loved one know they are worth a moment of you time plus a stamp. Give it a try, you'll be suprised at the smiles and love that comes back your way.
