My New Blog...

...My Lens on Life.

With the purchase of a new camera, a long loving relationship with photography, and a renewed thirst for knowledge and something new, I am starting a blog devoted to the view of things from my camera's lens. I am going to be learning new things, trying new shots and experimenting from all angles and you can see it all right here. This blog is, for the most part, just a way for me to document and keep track with the new things I learn and shots that I try. However, I welcome friends, family and guests who are interested in seeing how things look for my side of the camera to have a look and visit often!

Feeling Beachy... Part I

I thought I would share some of my pictures from the beach with you today, because quite frankly, and to quote a shirt of Bentlee's, "I'm Feeling Beachy!"


As stated in previous posts, Tybee Island, GA is perhaps my favorite place on earth other than my home here and my childhood home. For one, it holds many memories from childhood vacations. It also, however, is just a little slice of heaven if you like low key, laid back, Atlantic coast line! Mmmmm. The Island is small, not very commercial, sports only one traffic light on the "main drag" (if you can even call it that), has a *tiny* IGA market, one fast food place, a couple local seafood joints, a sprinkling of hotels and a couple small condo buildings and lots of little beach homes. It is just what I envision as a classic, quaint beach town.


Here is the view from the balcony of our condo. This is in the middle of the day in the middle of July... so few people! That is what I love about Tybee! Compared to so many other crowded beaches, this is about as close as you can get to having it all to yourself!



I was impressed with my little camera for this shot! While we were there, we enjoyed a full moon over the ocean! I had hoped for some sunrise pictures, but never made it up for that... this great picture of the moon reflecting in the ocean made up for it!

Here is a picture of my beautiful Mom! I love the color of the sky in this picture - so bright in shades of teal and blue and almost purple! This particular evening the girls we were with wanted to load up and head to Savannah for dinner and some shopping. Mom and I were in much more of a low key, chill mode and have both "done" Savannah several times. So instead we opted to stay on Tybee... we enjoyed some time reading and talking on the balcony, headed down to the beach front restaurant attached to our condo for some killer crab quesadillas and then walked down to the beach for a couple of pictures! It was a relaxing evening and wonderful just to be in each other's company!

And last, but not least, a picture of Me and Mom at the Crab Shack. We had THE BEST food while we were gone! Every meal was "my favorite." I think I ate my weights worth in crab and shrimp and threw in some scallops and fish on the side! :-) By the time we headed home I think we were all ready for Mexican, Pizza, or Steak... anything but seafood! lol.

Stay tuned for "Feeling Beachy... Part II" where I'll fill you in on my top ten must do's when visiting Tybee Island!

Hot spot... Hot city!

There are many advantages to living in the 'boro! I won't go into all the reasons I love calling Murfreesboro home, but I will list one perk... living so near Nashville! We are just a hop, skip, and a jump from the great NashVegas and the wonderful nightlife that can be found there. Not to mention all the things to do during they day that I take advantage of often... Titan's games, The Frist Center for the Arts, and all the fun restaurants, shopping, and stops of interest. Honestly, every time I go to Nashville, I wonder to myself why I don't make that short drive more often! SO, when Jerri called Thursday night wanting to do something and suggesting Nashville, I decided I would accompany her! Doug, his friend Morris, myself and Jerri headed to Broadway for barbecue on the roof at Rippy's and then across the street!

The original plan was to meet some friends at Tootsie's, but by the time we finished dinner, they had moved to Big Bang - a piano bar - so we just met them there to enjoy some good tunes and an ice cold brew! Here is a picture inside Big Bang:

And here is a picture of me and Jerri at dinner! We always have so much fun together!!!

All in all it was a great way to spend a hot summer night! By the time we got home around midnight (pretty late for an old school teacher, huh? Ha!) I was worn out! :-) It was a great time though. I had never been to Big Bang before, so I wasn't disappointed to head there instead of Tootsie's! Plus they are no smoking and you could actually carry on a conversation. So for you local folks, or those passing through, if you want a "true" taste of Nashville, you need to hit Tootsie's of course... but if you want a low key, smoke-free night with some tunes you'll know and love, head across the street and down a block to Big Bang! :-)

Now, have you noticed anything different about this post? Here's a hint...

That's right kids, my camera cord has arrived!!! Stay tuned for more beach pictures and "catch-up" on some other images and events!!!

Side note: I ordered a Serta 2.5 in. think memory-foam topper for my big 'ole king size mattress and it finally arrived! (STEAL of a deal on Overstock.com - my favorite!!!!) So, last night I basically slept on a cloud... seriously! Best night's sleep I think I have ever had! If you are even ever slightly question your mattress and whether or not it could be improved, I highly encourage you to hook yourself up with some genuine memory foam! It's heaven, on a bed! :-)

This one's for the girls...

Yesterday was the long-awaited girlz day! The credit has to be given to Moo for having the idea of taking an entire day off work just to have a girlz day (you rock!). So the day was scheduled and yesterday it arrived! Me, La, and Moo met at City Cafe at 8:00 AM to start our girlz extravaganza! I had biscuits and gravy - Y-U-M! I love the City Cafe... it is "Murfreesboro" personified to me. It just encompasses that small town feel that I love so much about this town!

Anyway, after we ate to give us plenty of shopping fuel, we hopped in the expedition and hit the ground running! We shopped and shopped until we were starving again and then we headed to Mimi's cafe! Again... Y-U-M! While we were at Mimi's there was a little thundershower - which was good thing because it was about a thousand degrees yesterday and that really cooled things off a little! Also as we ate, David (La's hubby) brought her new car to us! It was SO fabulous! He switched the cars while we ate and we finished our girlz day shopping in the new ride!

After lunch we did some more shopping then headed to the theater to see Mama Mia! It was really cute and we enjoyed sitting for a while in the dark, cool theater munching on pop corn and chocolate!

Overall it was an absolutely marvelous day! I can't think of anything else I would rather have done with my last week of summer! Thank you beautiful girlz - I love you both so much and I don't know what I would do without you two in my life!!!!

Another note of business. A huge thank you to another beautiful girl - Betsy! Thank you so much for my blog award! I am honored! Those of you who have not checked out Betsy's blog - she is on my blog roll to the right - you should check her out! She is an elementary school teacher and she absolutely inspires me! She's a great mom, a wonderful wife, and she is so creative and talented! I am always impressed with all the projects she completes and all the things she has going on in her world. Betsy, thank you for the recognition. You are truly wonderful and I am honored to call you my friend!

Another recipe

I just thought I would pop on here and post a recipe that I tried tonight and enjoyed! I got it from Robin Miller's show on the food network! She called them Baked Ricotta Bowls... but I decided I like calling them Ricotta Cups better because "Ricotta Bowls" quite frankly sounded too much like "Ricotta Balls" and I didn't like the way THAT sounded at all! SO.... here is the recipe for Ricotta "CUPS" :-)

Preheat an oven to 375 while you cook up a couple chicken breasts in a skillet.

In a bowl mix up a cup of ricotta, 1/2 a cup of shredded cheddar, 1/4 cup parmesan, 2 eggs, 2 tbs dijon mustard, salt and pepper. When the chicken is done, cut it into small pieces or shred it and add it to the mixture.

I placed the mixture in pre-made mini pie crusts from the frozen food section. Robin Miller used refrigerated pie crust and pushed the dough into muffin cups - I figure you get about the same result ether way and my way was faster and I didn't have to dirty a muffin pan! :-)

At any rate, you fill up the cups (it makes 8), top with a sprinkle of parmesan, and bake for 20 min.

It was SUPER quick, SUPER easy and SUPER good! I was impressed with the recipe... it will certainly be added to my favorite quick meals list!

Weekend Rundown

I had a wonderful weekend with a good balance of social and solo time! I love it when weekends work out in such a balanced way!


Friday night I ended up meeting my friend Rondda at Santa Fe to have dinner. I don't know why I don't go there more often, it was good food and a good deal! Rondda (mother of three) was ready for break so we went to my house away from the cooking, cleaning, mothering, and drama of teenage kids to watch Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants! She wanted me to see it so that we could go together to see the sequel. Have you seen that movie? It's really cute!

I slept late Saturday which made me drop my plans to go to an antique store in Woodbury, but I did manage to meet my friends Donnie and Julie for lunch at Olive Garden. It might be my last trip there... the food is good, but all three times I have been there the service was horrid! It's like the poor kids working there have no clue what they are doing! I was very patient, but it was difficult to say the least! For the rest of the afternoon hours I relaxed and enjoyed being at home.

Saturday night was 80's themed Bunko night! It was so much fun and I can't wait to post pictures (Mom's mailing my cord this week so I'll be way overdue for some long picture-y posts!). We had a wonderful time at Bunko and I wanted to share a recipe for these little bacon wrapped wienies they had! They were SO good and sure to be a party hit at my next game night or your next gathering! Perfect for football season (YAY YAY YAY... It's almost time!!!)

Bacon Wrapped Wienies:
Mix the following in a large bowl:
3 cups Brown Sugar
2 tablespoons Garlic powder
3 tablespoons Cayenne Pepper
2 teaspoons Salt

Wrap cocktail wienies in bacon (My friend uses the hickory smoked and depending on the size, usually cuts the bacon slices into thirds) and secure with a toothpick. Roll each wrapped wienie in the above mixture. Place on a broiler pan (so grease drains) and bake until bacon is done.

They were Yummy, Yummy, Yummy!!!!

Today I went to the early service so I could grab lunch and then relax a little before Dawson came to visit! My sweet sweet boy! Lauren dropped him off and as soon as she hit the door he started crying... not a little... A LOT! I tried everything... we rocked, we sat, we laid, we played... we rolled, we got batteries for the vibrating chair - no luck. I tried diaper changes and diaper time, eating, juice, tv, and toys to no avail! Turns out... he just wanted his sweet Mama! I can't blame him, she's a pretty cool chick! I guess he is at the age where separation anxiety kicks in. Bless his little heart! Between cutting teeth, missing Mama, and being stuck with me, he was a mess! Luckily when Lauren finished her work and came back he brightened up and we met David, Web, Moo, and Vance at Red Robin for some friend-time and dinner!

Overall it was a good weekend with a nice balance of fun with friends and quiet home time! How was your weekend?

Relaxin' in the Rain...

After my wild bee experience, I have been takin' it easy the last couple of days! My battle scars are slowly healing, but far from gone, and life is returning to normal! Believe it or not, I found two more bees in my house over the last two days and the last one finally bit the dust last night! So, for the first time since Wednesday, I finally felt relaxed and at ease in my own home! Crazy, I tell you! I don't do bugs... I mean, seriously! Half the time when I find a bug in the house I don't even want to get close enough to kill it... so you can imagine how the bees traumatized me! Haha!

Wednesday I went to my school to work on my classroom! I had to move classrooms again this year, so there was much to be done! My room, unfortunately, is not in very good shape! I am having to move a bunch of stuff out that doesn't belong to me and clean and dust to get it back into working order, so I got a lot done Tuesday, but I still have a lot more to do!! Wednesday night I met my friend Jerri at the Pig (one of my favorite little places in the 'boro... it's kinda like Cheers where everyone knows your name!). Anyway, we went over there early, around 4:30, and enjoyed an appetizer and a glass of wine and caught up! That was enjoyable!

Yesterday was fabulous! I finally got to see my girlz! We got together at Top Nails for pedicures, cherry coke, and some sweet treats I brought back from Savannah! While there, Lauren and I got our treats from Leigh Ann! I wish I could load pictures... LAH sent the three of us a precious card and we each got a monogrammed hand towel! So cute, so us, an each one unique! She included surprises for the boys too! It was a wonderful surprise - thank you Leigh Ann!!! We enjoyed our girlie girl time so much that we decided to extend it by going back to Megan's for some pizza and then we all went out to "the farm" to see Megan and Web's house taking shape! I have to say it is absolutely beautiful! A dream home! Every window has a breathtaking view of the countryside, the layout of the home is wonderful... I can just imagine it finished and Vance running around in the yard and all the fun times and memories that will be made there! I was truly touched that Megan and Web wanted to share a preview of their home with me! It was beautiful and I can't wait to see it completed!

Today it is raining and I am relaxing! I woke up in one of those sappy moods that happens on a rainy day when you only have one week of summer left! I plan to clean a little, relax a lot, and enjoy the rest of my day!