212/365: In DC at Air & Space

E and I went to the Air and Space Museum this morning. One of the exhibits were the paintings of Alan Bean. They were amazing!

211/365: Leaving for DC Again

Please make sure my luggage gets on board.

Thank you!

210/365: I Love This Wine

YUM!

Need to go to Germany to get some more! Great little sweet dessert wine. Anyone in MN have this in their shop?

209/365: Banana Muffins

Someone gave us a huge box of bananas after E's base ball game on Saturday. So I started baking up a storm. Here are the banana muffins I made.

207/365: Please Visit Me Mr. Starbucks Man

Imagine my surprise to see Mr. Starbucks Man handing out coffee as a treat during today's parade.

206/365: A Great Play

E had his annual game at Lumberjack Days this year. He an awesome play at first base. And no worries we had no injuries.

205/365: I am Betty Crocker

Here is my submission for the local pie contest. It is a Tiramisu pie with a pound cake crust.

YUM!

204/365: So Much for My Car's Warranty

So much for my car's warranty. On the dirt road on the way home tonight. I hit 36, 000 miles. So glad my car was in for warranty repairs earlier this week.

202/365: Big Rain Drops

Huge rain storm today. Which really stunk as it was all ready so cold outside. There was also massive hail which was not cool as I had a rental.

201/265: I Love This Place

E and I ended up driving by the Fort Snelling Chapel today. I love this place as we got married there in 2006.

200/365: Photographing a Baby

Today I photographed a good friend's newborn. I took their wedding rings and put them around her little toes and photographed them.

199/365: Only 50 in July!

A cold day for base ball. E had a game today and in the cold, he actually had two homeruns in the same game and made some awesome plays.

198/365: Ooops didn't mean to take it in B & W

That's what happens when you change your settings on your camera and forget.

197/365: Long Days

I have become a prisioner to my laptop and Caribou this summer. My
goal, finish 12 credits and write 3 college courses. I guess it is a
good thing that there is wi-fi, Pandora, Google Docs and Caribou Coffee.

194/365: I Love Fresh Fruit

I went  to the store today and purchased some fresh fruit. I am going to have to restrain myself not to eat it all in one sitting. :)

Tomorrow I am going to be going to dinner with Dorothy, Karla, and Camille. We are going to have a big Mexican feast cooked by Dorothy. I am excited as I am responsible for the dessert.

193/365: When You Know the Pyrotechnic

I have this new fascination with taking pictures of fireworks. One of E's good friends is a pyrotechnic and we get invited to enjoy the fireworks with him and his girlfriend. One of the nice things is he knows when the big or cool fireworks are going to take place.

Although I should remember to bring my tripod with (and maybe get a remote) so I don't have to hold the camera extra steady. I put the 8-point star filter on which gave it an extra 'sparkly' effect.  I will have plenty of other opportunities to try taking the pictures.

192/365: Not Spring Chickens

I snapped this picture of E and I, late into the night at Station 4. I have realized at 29 and 31, we are not longer Spring Chickens.

191/365: A Night with Cronkite Satellite

This is my cousin who lives in Qatar but is back for a summer visit. E and I enjoyed hanging out at Station 4 tonight.

I snuck up close and snapped his picture as he was playing. He was so focused that he did not even flinch as the annoying double flash went off.

190/365: My Little Tree

My little tree is not really growing. Hmm. I was hoping for a big maple tree. Soon it will be big enough and I will be thinking to myself, 'What was I thinking?' In the mean time I will love my little tree and hope a big storm does not take it.

If you are curious what the neighbor is doing, I have no clue but it smelt awful outside.

189/365: It's Hard To See...

... although if you are a friend who knows me well enough you know I took a picture of the little brown sign that says 'The OVAL Skating Center.' How I wish the oval was open year around and I could skate there every day in the summer. I guess I will have to wait until November.

188/365: No Water Fights

One of the benefits of having an industrial faucet, it really cleans. One downside, there is a lot of water. So there is a standing rule-- No Water Fights! If you would like to have a water fight, please engage in one with yourself. As when you are doing dishes the water will splash you enough to make you reconsider that water fight idea.

187/365: Our New Faucet

Yes, it is way cool. And yes, I have the coolest poppie ever. So E and I bought this new faucet. It is one of those industrial kitchen faucets. It was a bit over my head to install (had it been a residential faucet I wouldn't have had a problem) so my poppie came over and helped install it.

In return, I made my poppie his favorite soup- Split Pea and Ham.

186/365: A Day at the Game

Today we went to Armed Services Appreciation Day at the Twins. While it was a great game (they won!), I loved seeing some of the signs around the dome. I snapped this picture of a person and his 'Go Twins' sign.

Thank you to those who serve.

185/365: Such Determination

Each 4th of July we go to Northfield, MN for an annual vintage base ball game. I have only missed one game since E has been playing (and that year I was on a plane heading to NECC 2006). It is a great time. This year my family came along with Camille, we did well as 'cranks' (fans).

I snapped this picture of E during the game. I love looking at his determination while playing this gentleman's game.

Happy 4th of July!

184/365: Gearing Up

As I returned to the hotel from the Spy Museum (which was my last fun thing I did in DC), I came upon this individual decorating the hotel for the 4th tomorrow. I am bummed that I will be missing the festivities.

I learned it is sac-religious to leave DC on the 3rd of July. No worries I will be back for a 4th someday.

Well, time to head home. I am sad to be leaving but happy to be returning home.

183/365: A Day at the Museums

This morning started with a trip to the Museum of American History (one of my favorites).  The remodel has made this museum even more cooler. I loved the new entry way, as it was so bright and airy. We saw things like Julia Child's kitchen, Apollo's skates (I drooled over the Maple Blades), and Kermit the Frog. After we finished the American History Museum we went to the Natural History Museum.

While at the Natural History Museum I took this picture of a giraffe. I had to wait a while because of all of the people that were walking by. Finally I snapped the picture with no people. I was so excited that it turned out.

We finished our night out with a showing of Night at the Museum 2 at the IMAX theatre.

Tomorrow is my last day in DC , but no worries I am returning in a month with E.

182/365: Rain Coming Down

One thing about DC I have learned. It rains a lot. I should have known that, it rained at least once a day the last time I was there.

Today was the last day of the conference. I compare NECC to summer camp. You make a ton of new friends, you learn a lot of things, and you get to do some really cool things. On Monday, I got to do a cell phone scavenger hunt. Tuesday, I helped run a board meeting for the SIGilt. Wednesday, I got to hear Erin Gruwell (from Freedom Writers) speak.  I was bummed to see the conference close but I will be back next year.

After Erin's keynote, Dorothy and I headed up to Georgetown to explore the city. We enjoyed that a lot. We went to Dean & Delucas to look at the cool kitchen things and the wonderful deli displays.

The highlight of tonight was that Dorothy and I (along with A and B, her two kids who had flown in) were suppose to travel to the top of the Washington Monument. Since a bad thunderstorm came through, the park service had to close the monument and rides to the top.

I snapped this picture. As I attempted to lighten the picture on my computer the auto enhancer was accidently bummed and this was the picture that resulted. I thought it was too cool, so I stopped editing.