Today I'm uploading photo files to their new home......my trusty EHD what would I do without you!?
And so I come across this little guy I nearly forgot about.
Created just barely a month ago and marking one of Florida's coldest night of the season.
Meet the Florida snowman......ok.....so he's but only 4 inches tall...nonetheless.......he is authentic in his making.........and a rare site for these neck of the woods.
Is he not just the cutest 'lil thing??
Shortly after sunrise, the mornings heat melted Mr Snowman's round belly and off he went, skiing down the roof of the car, sliding down the windshield, and speeding off the hood and air borne onto the warm driveway.

Along comes Trissy, our number 2 Rat Terrier and quickly gobbles up Mr Snowman..........twig eyes and all...........................

Oh, Mr Snowman....how short your life.....but what smiles you brought to your owners as we carefully affixed your scruffy little arms and beady little stick eyes........you fell apart so many times.........by the time we had you built to perfection you were nearly half the size you started out to be.......we laughed so hard.......!

Big ***TOOTS*** to Ree Drummond for taking top prize at the 2009 Weblog Awards for her site
http://thepioneerwoman.com/confessions/

Ree won Best Photography, Best-Designed Weblog and Weblog of the Year.

As an admitted stalker of Ree's site I look forward to her wonderful sense of humor as she shares her daily life of photography, gardening tips, Do-it-Yourself ideas, and scrumptious recipes!

Here's to you girl..........Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!

Couple of pix created playing around with masks and brushes........

Had fun this morning playing with some textures by Textures by Paul Grand Click here
Check out his site if you get a chance....please remember to leave some luv!!!
You can also find a huge variety of super cool textures at
http://mayang.com/textures/index.htm
...............have fun!!!!!
Off to take the pups to the park.....another gorgeous day in Florida!!! :)

Found time to play a bit today........this is Miss Kitty....this day unlike most she was quite cooperative for our little photo shoot........isn't she just the cutest?

This quote by Dorothea Lange is the basis of this weeks creative assignment. To explore our hometown with new eyes. To see what we have never stopped to see before.
In the busyness of our daily lives we too often forget to stop and "smell the flowers". To stop and take notice of the small things, sometimes the important things. Sometimes the big things.
Today I spent some time visiting our local Humane Society. A place I pass by almost daily, never giving thought to the needs that might exist there. What I saw was quite sombering...but also encouraging....as the volunteers who dedicate their time to making the world a better place for these precious animals are a testament to what wonderful works can be accomplished when it comes from the heart.
Being the owner of 4 amazing dogs.......and loving them dearly.......it was heartbreaking to see the eyes of these creatures longing for a loving pat on the head.......a buddy to play ball with, a warm blanket to cuddle to, the joy of having a happy and loving "real home".
They ask for so little and give so much.
The Humane Society's purpose is to eliminate animal suffering and provide pet adoption education and counseling to the public. Their goal is to engage the hearts, hands and minds of the community to help all animals.
The Humane Society is a private non-profit organization and depend on the goodwill of others.
Please consider adoption, becoming a foster family, volunteering, or donating to your local chapter.

Today's my birthday! Yaaay....happy birthday to me!!!
Hubby and I spent the day at Epcot. :)
P.S. Free admission on your birthday.......another Yaaay!!!
Loving all the photo opportunities and completed Lesson 1 for my photography class with Candice Stringham at http://www.jessicasprague.com/

This week’s technical assignment was to take two photographs of someone or something in motion using the TV mode on my camera.
One shot at a fast shutter speed to freeze the motion and one at a slow shutter speed to show the blur of the motion.
Here are my results.
The more pictures I took, the more I studied my results, paying attention to all the settings, the more it started to make sense! Like....aaahaaaa......I get it!! :)

For those into Digital Scrapbooking, Kubivet offers beautifully creative digital kits for free....
Please remember to leave some luv if you download! :)
http://kubivet.blogspot.com/

I found this story on the news this morning quite incredible.....

Now it's been a long time since my children were in school......and I do remember the days of requests for funds to help defray the cost of daily supplies for the children.....but isn't this just a bit much.........

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090108/SCHOOLS/901080424

So the much anticipated day arrived....... I was super excited about the Gasparilla 5K race....hubby spent 2 days trying to conjure up ways to get out of it! But being the great sport that he is we headed to Tampa at 6 in the morning yesterday!
Our first stop....(and I only mention this because I was quite amazed at what we discovered) was MCDonalds for a quickie "energy" boost...lol...nothing like greasy deep fried hash browns to get the body rev'd up!
And though it's been a long time since I've been inside a Mikey D's, this one was quite impressive.
The place was immaculate. The floors were covered in beautiful faux wood tiles, stylish green covered booths, comfy sitting chair areas like you see in popular coffee shops, classy looking light fixtures, and rich brick lining the walls which displayed beautiful rain forest photographs. And the bathroom.......beautiful granite counters and lovely amenities of silky lotion soaps and wonderfully smelling hand cream.
The staff were decked out in professional looking suit type attire all crisp and styling.
And as much as I wanted to, I think I would have really been pushing my luck with hubby if I had gone as far as to photograph them too.......As it were I think he was trying to look like he wasn't my other half as I walked around snapping pictures of all the cool additions to this little "hamburger joint"

A yearly event, the Gasparilla Distance Classic, raises funds to provide the necessary athletic equipment and support required for people with disabilities to stay active and involved through participation in sports.
This was our second time participating in this event and I proudly say my run time excelled that of 2006......OK........so only by 17 seconds.......but hey......at nearly 52 years old and counting, it sure seemed BIG to me!