Lookout...

When the hubs and I are out and about,

I am always the passenger in the car and I am always on the lookout.

 

What am I looking for, you might ask?

Anything I can take a picture of.

 

My head is spinning all over the place and

I often see things that aren't even there.

 

Like most of my deer sighting, they usually turn out to be broken trees,

or small boulders, resting at the roadside.

 

But on November 24, 2012...

I hit the jackpot when I spotted this gorgeous

Red-Tailed Hawk

 

There was a quick "spin around" involved,

one small leap of the curb,

and one middle-aged, dark haired fool flying out of the car!

 

but isn't he a beauty??

 

I'm sure he was on the "lookout" also...

not focused on me at all!

 

He flew off pretty quickly and I did not get any flight pictures.

Please don't ask!!

Linking with Clytie at Random Hearts
because she always finds the love and hearts! 

 

My Addie Girl

I spent today with my great niece Adelina Rose.
Please tell me, could she be any cuter??

 

Words can not express the amount of love I have for this girl!

 

Here she is showin' some love for the new pink teddy bear
that her favorite Auntie Debbie brought for her!

Today was awesome, I love you Addie girl!

 

Blog to Print

It's cold and raining in New Jersey today!

Good thing we took advantage of yesterday's beautiful weather,
and had some Fun in the Sun!

Today was an inside day and I spent an hour or so
on an inside project, preparing to print my blog.

Have any of you done this??

Here is a picture of my first book.
It begins with my first ever blog entry on October 17, 2010
and ends with my June 30, 2011 entry.

It has a Hard Cover, begins with a Dedication of sorts
and has a nice Table of Contents.

Here's a peak inside at a few random pages.

It covers eight months, 230 entries with 264 pages.

After completing this project, the plan was to print my blog every six months.

So today, I prepared and laid out July 1, 2011 - December 31, 2011.

I would like to complete January 1, 2012 - June 30, 2012 tonight,
because the following discount is being offered:

"Last chance to save 20%! It's the last day to save 20% on the best gift ever,
a blog book made by you.
Don’t miss out on our best sale and save 20% with coupon code SuperSave.
(PS - the code SuperSave expires at midnight tonight!)"

Today's book cost was $ 155.85
20% Savings - $ 31.17
Making the total cost $ 124.68, shipping is free.

I am printing in six month increments because I am organized
and it keeps the book to within a reasonable size.

If you are wondering if I love it, I do!
And I definitely feel it is worth every penny!!
 

Fun in the Sun!!

Today was our first day at the beach,

after Super Storm Sandy!

 

There wasn't a wave in sight, 

but we did see lot's of newly formed sand bars,

 

and we found lot's of beautiful sea glass.

 

I'm not sure if I have ever "felt" a calmer ocean.

This local fisherman wasn't catching anything,

he told me "the ocean is dead".

That must be fisherman lingo for the fish aren't biting!

The ocean here in Spring Lake, looks just like a lake.

Here are the two "finds" of the day,
one red & one rose colored piece of sea glass.

The boardwalks are all gone,

These concrete support structures are dated 1937.

It is so sad to see all the benches and boards piled up by the street.

She was just beautiful today and I enjoyed every, single, second!

 

The Connecticut Christmas Trees

I thought perhaps you might enjoy actually looking at

the Christmas Trees we saw in Connecticut.

A closer look = without us blocking them!

 

Five in all, they were just beautiful!

 

This tree was in the hotel lobby.

 

The rest of these trees,

were just sprinkled randomly around the hotel and casino.

 

This one was my favorite!

This was the main Christmas Tree,
they were going to light it today.
Since we are home, we missed it! 

 

The trees were heavily decorated with gorgeous ornaments,

 

 I did not remove any, but I wanted to (smile)!
I'm honest right, how many of you would admit that??

Pretty waterfalls,

handsome cardinals,
 

live poinsettias and snow!
 All the decorations were so pretty and we had a wonderful time!

 

It's Christmas in Connecticut...

The hubs and I spent Thanksgiving in Connecticut,

with our oldest son Scott.

 

Youngest son Michael and his sweet girl Alisa were both working

on Thanksgiving.
 

So we decided to hit the road and spend the day with Scott!
We stayed at The MGM Grand at Foxwoods.

There were Christmas Trees set up throughout the resort,

and we posed in front of every, single, one!!
I had no idea it would be Christmas already, so I was not
prepared with my usual "red" shirt.

We had dinner at The Cedars Steakhouse,
in the Foxwoods Resort and Casino.
Everything was delicious!

I hope everyone enjoyed their day as much as we did.

Scott, it was wonderful to spend two whole days with you!! 

 

Shucks, Darn - It

Just a teeny tiny bump in the road!

 

~ Comments Turned Off ~

 

Roughing It

During Super Storm "Sandy" we found ourselves,

without power for 6 days.

"Roughing It"

Let me show you what I mean.
 

The day before the storm, I picked up a fresh baked pound cake,

at The Scone Pony, just in case!!
 

After it was sliced, it received a nice bath in

my special whipped egg mixture.

(Lighting a gas stove without electric, requires only a flame.)
 

After it was browned on both sides,
 

it received a pretty dusting of powdered sugar.
 

I had cooked a pound of bacon, the day before, (good thinking)

I warmed up the syrup (nice touch, right)

and then we all inhaled this yummy breakfast!!

So this is how we "rough it" in our neck of the woods!

It's Rural Thurdsay, what fun things have you guys been up to??

Share them today with Nancy at A Rural Journal

and

Lisa at Two Bears Farm

Autumn's Beauty

More Fall images from before "Sandy"...

October 27, 2012,
more of the calm before the storm.

 

Falling temperatures and diminishing daylight,

 

is helping these pretty trees to prepare for winter.

 

These trees were just starting to shed their colorful fall leaves.

 

I adore this pretty farm, in Howell Township.

It's hard to see the farm from the road
but they have several gorgeous horses, there to the left.

 

This is Spring Lake

We visit here all the time.

This is a large lake surrounded by a bike/walking path,
we bring the bikes here and it's a wonderful place to ride.

This is one of our favorite spots on the lake and one of our favorite trees!

In the last few weeks we have experienced summer temperatures,
a fall hurricane and a Nor'easter with 6 inches of snow!

But here at the Jersey Shore, we can handle just about anything,
mother nature wants to throw at us!

The rebuilding has begun and the transformation is already amazing!

It's A Feeding Frenzy

My back yard is a hot spot,

for our feathered friends, that is.

 

I am not sure I have ever had so many birds at the feeders.

 

But talk about "dine & dash",

it's the usual suspects but no one wants to pose for pictures.

I don't think I have taken one good picture today!

 

On Sunday, the hubs cleaned my "feeder window".

He washed and filled the feeders

and cleaned and filled the bird bath.

 

You can exit here if you like, or stay and view,

the not so good pictures, I have taken today!

 

This gorgeous Male Cardinal was just outside the window,

no cropping was necessary.

Note to self, be sure and trim those tree branches.

 

This picture is not too bad...
This Titmouse is bigger then the ones I usually see,

and his tail was extra long!

 

I only see these White-Throated Sparrows

during the fall and winter.

Of couse the Blue Jays were hogs! 

 

This little Song Sparrow was willing to pose
but the camera just could not figure out what to focus on.

Of course the squirrels got in on all the action,

 everyone has to eat, right??