Honey Bears and In-laws

So, I’ve finally been going through the zillions of photos I’ve taken over the past several months and came across a trip Bubba and I took down south to Las  Cruces over the long President’s Day holiday. Yeah, I know it’s June, and these shots were taken waaaay back in Feburary, let’s just say I’m behind, and losing at the game of catch up.

Instead of getting all wordy like I always do I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

organmountainsriogrande

Okay, I lied, I am going to get wordy, but only to explain the photos, because some of them really can’t speak for themselves. Well, they can but I’m a chronic interrupter. So anyways, that sandy stuff in the middle of this photo is the Rio Grande River.  And those mountains are the Organ Mountains, very pointy.

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Here’s another view of the Organ’s set in contrast to an alfalfa field.

nmsugardens

Here’s where we almost got married. From another view you don’t see the green houses, but instead see the surrounding gardens. The grounds are operated by the local college, and quite often you’ll see some pretty interesting plant life. One year they did an entire ornamental pepper garden. It was gorgeous!

beyoncegiantmetalrooster

And here’s a giant rooster. Bubba wouldn’t let me bring him home. Maybe one day I will surprise him like the Bloggess (may contain four letter words, and I don’t mean words like “skinny jeans”) did for Victor.

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And here’s a bench made from a Ford tailgate. I couldn’t fit it into my trunk so it got left behind.

church

And an old church, I love old churches.

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This one is in Old Mesilla, Basilica of San Albino, gorgeous church.

While we were in town we stopped by to visit my Bubba-in-laws.

grandpababy2Father-in-law with Bubba niece.

neiceyIsn’t she the cutest? I couldn’t get an un-blurry shot though, the little rascal moves like lightening.

momandbabyHere she is with her momma, enjoying some chocolate cake.

motherinlawSpeaking of momma’s, here’s Bubba’s mom.

After visiting with family it was time to head home and bail our brat girls out the kennel, which is actually considered a pet boutique. Yes, I’m that weird dog lover that can’t bear the thought of my beloved pooches spending any amount of time in a kennel. This place allows free range dogs, so the girls are part of herd while we are away. I think they like it…they come back exhausted as one usually does when away from home and ones favorite chair.

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Or ones most prized sunny spot near the fridge….

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Anyways, getting on with it…

helencorbittbrowniesSince the three day weekend fell around Valentine’s Day Bubba made my favorite brownies from my favorite cookbook by Helen Corbitt. The recipe can be found here.

As I munched on the most delectable of brownies and decided skinny jeans just weren’t in the cards for me I enjoyed gazing at the red tulips that Bubba surprised me with.

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And unloading all the sweet honey goodness I found while poking around a farmer’s market while visiting the southern part of the state.

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I couldn’t resist the teeny honey bears.

And now I’ve run out of pictures and words…how’s that for an eloquent ending?

Banana Pudding

Words…I have so many words….it’s been so long since I got to share my words on here. Oh, and I can’t forget all the pictures, I’ve got two 8GB cards full of photos that are just waiting to be edited. But I don’t have the patience to go through them right now, you’ll see those later, hopefully sometime this year.

On Tuesday the nice people at WordPress kindly reminded me that I’ve been rattling on about randomness on this blog for 3 years now. Three years! Where did those three years go? And how should one celebrate such a milestone? Hmmm….maybe with some banana pudding perhaps?

bananapudding

It was yummy by the way…

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And of course someone had to have a very unhygienic taste…

spoileddog

In the eloquent words of my brother-in-law…..YUCK…..

The pudding was nothing fancy, it was the lazy girl banana pudding recipe on the side of the Jell-o puddin’ box. Took a whole 5 minutes to prepare, but oh so worth those 5 minutes in my stuffy kitchen.

And the green glasses the pudding was served in came from Goodwill a couple years ago. According to the label that was attached ,they were hand blown in Italy. I don’t know how authentic they are or how old they are, but I liked the color of the green glass and the bubbles floating in them. You can’t see the glass bubbles in the photos, but the glasses are slightly seeded.

There are so many other things to talk about, but there isn’t enough room for all of that in one little post. So, let’s enjoy some gratuitous dogs photos shall we?

goldiethinking

Goldie ponders deep doggie thoughts from her chair. And yes, again, the dog.has.a.chair. I never thought I’d be one of those people that would give up a perfectly good chair in the living room for a dog. But then again, I never thought I’d be one of those people that would have a blog, and then blog about her dogs. Guess I’ll just have to step back and enjoy my dog person weirdness.

anniedogsup

I don’t think Annie minds though. She just wants more banana pudding.

 

Spring has Sprung

Happy Spring everyone!!  As most of you know, today is the first day of spring, and honestly I couldn’t be happier about it. I am certainly not a winter girl, the cold short days really take their toll on me. But now that the days are getting longer, warmer and the opportunities to get out and play in the sunshine are more abundant, I can shake those winter blues like Annie shakes off the dead winter grass from her back. It’s quite exhilarating, shaking the winter blues that is, not shaking grass off my back.

With spring upon us, I’ve been enjoying a few spring-y touches around the house.

yellowdafodils

Daffodils, they’re so sunny and bright, they almost smile.

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They make me smile right back at them. I’ve also discovered glitter covered eggs from the dollar store.

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They maybe a little tacky, but at least my table looks Easter-y.

Recently, I’ve been seeing my sweet momma a lot, and finally got to give her the Valentine’s gift I’d stitched up for her.

momandgoldie

The scarf came out huge, apparently I have gauge issues.

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But sweet momma tried it on, anyways. Under Goldie-dogs watchful gaze, of course.

Oh, and spring not only brings with it daffodils to my table and finally a grass free dog, but also new birds to my yard!

northernflicker

A male Northern Flicker Woodpecker.

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Guess the bugs living in between the stepping stones didn’t stand a chance. I couldn’t get a shot of him flying, so I borrowed a shot taken by Laura Meyers, who obviously has a quicker shutter finger than I do.

Via

Doesn’t this guy have a gorgeous undercarriage? The one munching on bugs in my backyard had more of an orange-y undercarriage than the one pictured above. But he still took my breath away. It’s not too often we get birds other than pigeons and doves hanging out back there.

Now that spring has sprung and the sun is shining brightly, I’ll be taking my leave out of doors. (And maybe cut back on my BBC viewing.)

Happy Spring Everyone!

Weekend Happenings: Zombie Apocalypse

Tuesday, where did Monday go? And why is Wednesday already tail gating me? Before I know it, heart day will be here and gone, and then it’ll be time to enjoy that marvelous long weekend! Or what others may call President’s Day. That’s the joy of being a public employee, the long weekends thanks to national holidays.

The point is, this week is just flying by, and it’s not just this week, it’s other weeks, time in general is flying by. As I’ve hit that 30-something mark, the days feel longer but the weeks feel shorter, my to-do list keeps growing, but the tasks never get done. Even right now, as I sit here writing this post there are a million, zillion, things that I know are not so patiently waiting for their turn at my attention. While I think of all the other things that need to be or want to be done.

Whew!

I think I just tuckered myself out thinking about it.

Maybe it’s time to stop, re-focus, and remember all the relaxation that happened over the past weekend.

albertsonscake

We had cake. No, it wasn’t a birthday or some other big event, it was simply Saturday. And the cake was on sale, why not? I should also mention, it was a mini cake. I LOVE cake, but I could never eat an entire standard sized sheet cake in one weekend. Well, I could, but by Monday I’d be waddling into the nearest Old Navy to buy bigger jeans. No thanks, I’ll stick to the mini cakes thankyouverymuch.

teamaker

And I finally got to break in a new tea maker. By the way, thanks Mom for the great gift that provides me with that sweet sweet caffeine!

Yes, I am so addicted to iced tea I can’t wait for the water to boil to make it the old fashioned way. And yes, this is my new tea maker, meaning that I have worn out another one. And yes, I buy home teeth whitening products in bulk, actually, I don’t, I’d rather live with slightly yellowed teeth than have the shade of blue teeth that Suze Orman has. No offense to those who whiten or to Ms. Orman! I love to watch the Can I Afford It segment on her show every Saturday. But it also makes me sad, because I realize I can’t afford it.                                                                              “It” meaning the newest toy I’ve had my eye on.

Where was I? Oh yeah, the weekend…

pinktulips

I picked out my Valentine tulips early this year. Apparently, the closer you get to heart day the more expensive flowers get.

lionbrandhomespunyarnOh, and the most exciting part of the weekend was stepping into Michael’s to find all Lion Brand yarn was 50% off!! I may have gone back a couple more times to stock up. Ya know, just in case there’s a zombie apocalypse that causes a yarn shortage. Since, I hear zombies love to knit and crochet in between eating people’s brains.

And finally, what weekend re-cap wouldn’t be complete without the obligatory dog picture?

goldie

Well, I’m off to check some items off my to-do list:

1. Make dining table pretty, bananas do not make an attractive center piece.

2. Sweep the crazy amounts of fur off of the floor

3. Hide hoard of yarn before zombie apocalypse happens

Weekend Happenings: The Business of Un-busyness

This past weekend was the complete opposite of busy, it was un-busy. Meaning that it wasn’t busy, but it wasn’t quiet or lazy either, just un-busy, pleasantly un-busy.

supervising

It was so un-busy, I took pictures of Bubba replacing the wipers on my car. While Goldie supervised of course.

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We watched a couple of our favorite silly movies. I had to get my Mixed Nuts annual viewing in, the third weekend in January is close enough to Christmas to still be watching Christmas movies right?

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I hope so, because if it’s OK to be watching Christmas movies, then it should be OK to still have ones Christmas tree still up.

christmasbox

Just so ya know though, I am working on taking down all the Christmas jolly’s. Although, if it’s still Christmas in my heart I should be able to keep the outward portrayal of all that cheer in my living room eh?

bhgandcrochet

Aside from watching Bubba replace my wipers, avoiding any type of household chore (like putting away my Christmas cheer), I also did some magazine reading and started a new crochet project. You’ll have more updates on that soon, the crocheting not magazine reading. That would be a pretty boring post wouldn’t? It would just be a picture of me, sitting on the couch reading a magazine.

Anywho,after this short review of my weekend it looks like things were more lazy and procrastination filled than they were un-busy.

But I think I’ll stick with un-busy.

What did you do this weekend? Get shiny new windshield wipers perhaps? Any Christmas tree-putting-away-avoidance?

Weekend Happenings: Wide Angles

YAY! We’ve made it to Wednesday or as I like to call it, Friday Eve Eve!

Even though I’m on the tail end of Wednesday, and well into the work week, I’ve still got the past weekend on my mind. In particular, a new toy that I received this weekend. It’s got me doing a little happy dance every time I think about it.

Amazon

A Sigma 10-20mm F/4-5.6 Wide angle lens for Canon. It’s something that my Bubba and I have been wanting ever since we purchased our first SLR on e-Bay two years ago. Coincidentally, this lens was also purchased on everyone’s favorite auction site as well, and a pretty good deal if I do say so myself. When it finally arrived in the mail on Saturday I felt like Ralphie when he finally got his official Red Ryder Carbine-Action 200-Shot Range Model Air Rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time. And I would have slept with the lens too, if I hadn’t been afraid of rolling over on it and breaking my precious. Sorry honey, but I take my toys very seriously.

Once we both hurriedly opened the box to reveal our newest prize, I quickly hooked it up to my camera and took some random shots.

viewfromthecouch

Never mind my abnormally large leg and the wonky vents on the ugly wall heater, apparently this lens distorts  certain items that happen to be at the edge of the shot. Or things have gotten distorted through editing and sizing down the original photo. Or there’s a worm hole hidden in my living room that could cause a rip through time and space. Or maybe it’s time to cut back on the Doctor Who re-runs. Also, don’t judge me for still having my Christmas decorations out, it’s still Christmas in my heart. And another thing, this is real life folks, no fluffing of the nest going on in this shot. Hence, the pile of coats on the rocker and various other piles of clutter here and there. We pile in this house, it’s how we organize.

teenyannie

I love this lens, it makes my backyard look HUGE! It also makes Annie-dog look so small and alone. On a side note, I think pea gravel will need to be put under the tree this spring, my poor grass is barely making it thanks to all the dog traffic and shade.

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I’ve discovered the wide angle lens captures so much more when shooting landscape shots.

sandiafoothills

cactussandiamountains

I have also discovered that New Mexico is pretty brown and crunchy during the winter months. Actually, it’s pretty brown and crunchy during the summer months too, but at least the weeds and cacti have a little more color to them.

bubandgoldie

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Oh, and the wide angle is perfect for portraits, especially when you want to capture the setting. Ya know, because our couch is picturesque.

Have you gotten any new toys you’er especially proud of recently? Or are you still battling with the remaining Christmas cheer around the house?

Thanksgiving Recap

So, here we are nearly a week after Thanksgiving and I haven’t provided a full and complete run down of my day of thanksgiving! Are you ready to be bombarded with too many pictures of pumpkin pie and faux gourds? No? Well sorry, you’re gonna have to endure this picture laden post, or not. This is the internet afterall, I can’t force you stay and watch my virtual slideshow as I detail each and every event that is documented within each and every photo. Maybe I should make some virtual queso so you’ll all stick around and listen to my babbling. (Can you name that Rotel commercial? Wait, I think I already did. Such a party pooper aren’t I?)

This Thanksgiving, much like every Thanksgiving, was spent at my mothers house. I got to pretty up the table.

I just used what Mom had around the house, nothing new here. The covered cake dish that I used for the base of my pumpkin extravaganza, was given to my mother for Christmas one year by me, her favorite child of course. The clear dishes have all been collected over the years from various garage sales and thrift stores. My mom has an even greater weakness for pretty glassware than I do.

The table linens were all purchased at Wal-Mart after the holidays many moon ago, at a pretty steep discount. That bargain hunting runs deep through my veins thanks to Momma. (Don’t you love how it’s all about me?)

And what Thanksgiving would be complete without the Thanksgiving fowl?  No, not the one in the oven, the fowl of the decor variety. The hen and rooster are usually floating around Mom’s kitchen somewhere, but that little turkey in the middle? She’s made her annual appearance for the past 4 or 5 years, no Thanksgiving is complete without her nearby.

And did I mention that Mom has a weakness for interesting and vintage glassware?? I love this piece, and it was in brand new condition. Apparently, it’s previous owner never used it. Mom was able to pick up a few pieces from the same household that were all equally unused, and in perfect condition. If only I had thought to take a picture of these stunning pieces, but alas, dinner was calling my name.

After we feasted on our roast beast and Who-pudding, it was the doggies turn for their Thanksgiving dinner. Let’s just say that didn’t sit around the table and talk about the things they were most grateful for before chowing down.

Pardon the fuzzy pictures, excited dogs are hard to photograph at dusk.

And the best part of this holiday, ya know, aside from the thankfulness and the spending time with family, the left overs.

Don’t they taste so much better the next day?

The Day After

Today I’m recovering from cooking delicious food with my sweet mom, eating way too much corn bread dressing, and cleaning up from a lovely feast. So, no indepth post today, and no black Friday shopping, I’m not one for a crowd. Instead, I’m staying home and enjoying some delicious left overs.

And doing lots of this, granted I typically take my naps on the couch.

Once the leftovers are eaten and all naps have been taken I’ll be back with stories of thrifted treasures and

dog tales (tails!!)

Happy Thanksgiving

With today being a day dedicated to giving thanks to all of the wonderful blessings the good Lord has bestowed upon us, I am forgoing the regularly scheduled Thrifting Thursday. Instead, this day of thanksgiving will be spent with my loved ones reflecting on those blessings too numerous to count, and also eating copious amounts of pumpkin pie.

“Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.”

1 Chronicles 16:8

Fall at the River

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!!  Those of you celebrating Thanksgiving are probably busy preparing for the major feast to occur tomorrow. So, I thought I’d give you a nice break from house cleaning, pie making, and in general feast prepping by sharing some shots I took a few weeks ago at the River. We call it the river around these parts, because there’s really only one major river running through the entire state, the Rio Grande. And around these parts we call the banks of the Rio Grande The Bosque.

Since I couldn’t make it up to the mountains to see the changing of the Aspens this year, I ventured out to the Bosque to see the changing of the Cottonwoods and various other trees I don’t know the name of.

The trails through this area are super sandy, and require appropriate footwear.

Of course I came fully prepared. ICKY! I’ve got 40 pairs of shoes, at least 10 of those being sneakers and in general comfy shoes that would prevent river dust/sand from getting between ones toes. Did I wear those shoes? Nope. I had to wear my shopping sandles because darn it, it’s still 70 degrees outside! I’ll have to keep a spare pair of sneaks in the trunk for impromptu river walks.

After muddling through the nastiness of sand between my toes, Bubba and I took the obligatory facebook shot. This was a day after a hair cut, so glad my bangs have grown out of their buster brown phase.

In years past we’ve brought our brat dogs, but every year they’d find a patch of these burrs. I don’t know how much time I’ve spent picking these nasty suckers out of fur. But they make a pretty picture when they aren’t causing a member of my doggie brat pack pain.

While I was enjoying nature and snapping pics, Bubba was also enjoying nature in his own way. I just know he’s gonna get arthritis in his thumbs some day.

And ya know, it’s not just fall at the river, it’s also fall around the office.  I snapped these one day while taking a little walking break.

That’s a view of the river from a balcony.

And in this tree lives a family of hawks, sounds romantic but it’s not so great when you see the remants of their pigeon dinner scattered throughout the parking lot. *SHIVERS*

This is the tree I park under everyday, it’s like magic in the fall.

And on that magical note, I’ll leaf you all to enjoy your eve of Thanksgiving!!