Be right back, Christmas came early. Setting up my new computer.
Distracted—Blogmas Day 10
daily life
Blogmas Day 9
This is one of my favorite photos from a road trip to New Orleans several years ago. My mom, my sister spent a weekend in New Orleans that was so much fun. This photo is hanging on my wall as a memento of that trip.
It’s been a day….Blogmas Day 8
Pandemic teaching is a lot. Some days are better than others. Today, the kids were fine, it’s admin that’s driving me nuts. You win some, you lose some. So, not to dwell two much on the negative, I present to you some of my sweet girl Idunn (pronounced Eden). She is looking at me over the ottoman because there’s a tennis ball under there that she wants me to get for her, despite the fact that are at least 10 other tennis balls scattered around. She turned 8 on Sunday and is my shadow. When I was home for most of November, she wouldn’t leave my si
Ten on Tuesday—Blogmas Day 7
If you have been reading blogs before Instagram and TikTok took over, you may remember when Carole over at Carole Knits hosted a Ten on Tuesday. I think she still does something similar, but not as often. Anyway, I thought I’d dust off that tradition and try out a Ten on Tuesday. Today’s list is Ten of my favorite things about the Holiday Season.
- Christmas lights!
- Cooler weather means lower electric bill. (I’m in Florida, I’ll take what I can get!)
- Being able to wear long sleeves.
- Christmas decor.
- Hallmark Christmas movies! (My family makes fun of me, but I think they secretly like them)
- Being able to read for pleasure. Currently grad school takes up that free time.
- Knitting!
- Starbucks holiday drinks (Well, not the last two years since they discontinued my fave…gingerbread latte.)
- Holiday Break
- Homemade Christmas Candy. (I like to make my Great-great Aunt’s Heavenly Hash candy)
What are your ten favorite Christmas or Holiday things?
Sunsets. Blogmas Day 6
We get some pretty spectacular sunsets from my backyard. I missed tonight’s, but caught the last bits of it. Florida in December, got it love it.
Sunday-ing. Blogmas Day 5
For the past six years, our favorite place to go while in St. Pete is Bandit Coffee on Central Ave. (I think I discovered it a year after it opened). For the last few months, Amanda and I have made it a Sunday morning tradition to go get coffee and breakfast, often getting the newest pastry offerings. This is one of the most welcoming and unpretentious coffee shops in St. Pete. Prior to the pandemic, it wasn’t unusual for Amanda to head up to work for a while, and even now, it’s not unusual for us to make a run over the Skyway after work for a coffee fix. (Yes, it’s 20 minutes from home, but it’s worth it.). Their interior has been closed since March of 2020 but has managed to survive, thrive AND expand it’s food offerings for drive up only. Earlier in the year, the Tampa Bay Times wrote an article on how they stayed open through the pandemic when many places closed. If you’d like to read about it, go HERE. Sara never fails to ask how we are doing when we see her, and I can’t wait for the time when they are ready to reopen their interior. If you are in St. Pete, please stop in for a coffee and a pastry made by their amazing pastry chef. Today I had their parfait bowl because I’m still not back to eating bread, but oh, my goodness, there is some sort of glaze or syrup on this that is just delicious. Just look at the strawberries, blueberries, bananas and this luscious granola, all on top of some silky smooth Greek yogurt. Follow them on Instagram Bandit St. Pete for photos that will make you want to get up on a weekend, or any day, and grab a coffee and a pastry. PS. We adore the shortbreads 🙂
Look! A Squirrel! Blogmas Day 4
Today I had to go out to Coquina Beach on Anna Maria Island to photograph a very sweet family. I have had the privilege of photographing them for seven years now. (I’ll post sneaks tomorrow) While I was waiting for them, this squirrel decide that he(or she) would be my model. It was a nice way to spend the time. I shot these on my iPhone with minimal editing. I think the only thing I did was crop them a little bit.
Meanwhile, back at home, Amanda is puppy sitting this one, Luna is seventeen weeks old. Our dogs can’t be bothered. Poor thing, she just wants to play, all of the time.
How is your weekend going?
Blogmas Day 3. A Foggy Start
This morning I woke up to a rather foggy morning here in Florida. The closer I got to the river, the thicker the fog got. This above photo was taken on campus about 6:15 this morning. Yes, I was already at work. I needed to get a head start today. Anyway, our TSA kiddos came in this morning to check in and to test their bridge to see how much weight it would hold. They built it yesterday, had to let it cure and then tested it this morning. They are prepping for our state competition in February. Speaking of which, some of the weekend will be spent on registering for that event and working on a parent letter home.
After school I had an amazing facial that just made my whole month. I’ve been going to Elizabeth for a couple of years and she is awesome and such a wonderful place. Tomorrow is an early morning photoshoot at the beach and then I have some things to do around here, including cleaning out my closet. Doesn’t that sound like fun? Hope your weekend is amazing!
Re-entry- Blogmas Day 2
After taking most of November off due to medical leave, this week back at work has been exhausting. I could go on a rant about how my kids didn’t do anything while I was out and what a mess this year has been, but I’m just going to keep reminding myself that Winter Break is less than three weeks away, I’m finished with this semester of grad school, I can now read and knit without guilt and that I’m recovering nicely. 🙂 We have a crazy weekend coming up. I have a photoshoot Saturday morning and we are puppy-siting for a friend. Adding the puppy to our crazy three labs should be entertaining! lol Hope everyone is having a great week.
This and That
Spring Break has come and gone. We didn’t go anywhere, and truth be told, I didn’t do anything productive. Well, I did write a paper for one of my grad school classes, but that had to be done anyway. I’m just trying to get through this semester. I wanted to quit after that awful February, but like Joel says, just get keep plugging on. We did binge both seasons of A Discovery of Witches, but I don’t think that counts as productive. I don’t know, I’m just tired all of the time. Aren’t we all though? Anyway, here are some photos from the last few weeks.
