Summer has been GOOD to me so far

1. The Brazilians came to visit and hubby was happy with his best friend in town.
2. Vacation down at the Gulf of Mexico... ooh yeah!
3. Seeing our Floridian friends twice (count 'em, TWICE) in the span of 30 days.
4. Shopping spree at the outlets
5. A short-lived power outage during the derecho, but an extended weekend stay at my parents!
6. Baby shower for my little sister
7. Bridal preparations with my dear friend B
8. Unveiling hubby's citizenship video
9. Indulging in all three 'Fifty Shades of Grey'
10. A pint of ice cream in my lap and my favorite show on TV

I Conquered My Camera!

Monday I took a 3-hour workshop called "Take Your Camera Off Program Mode" presented by Okello Dunkley. I've had my DSLR camera since Christmas, but every time I've ventured away from "Auto Mode," I've ended up with dark or blurry pictures. About a month ago I saw this workshop offered through Living Social, so I decided to give it a try. Afterall, the price was right...

It was SO worth my while! Okello went through the basics: ISO, aperture (F-number), and shutterspeed. It was just what I needed to feel like I know the mechanics of leaving "Auto Mode" behind and forging ahead into the world of Aperture Priority and Manual (oooh... shivers down my spine!). Anyway, I felt so empowered that I stopped at the park after school yesterday and tried my hand at capturing the beautiful clouds while not losing the brilliance of the trees below. No edits! What do you think? Not bad for a first try... right?

10 for Tuesday: Anticipation

Thanks to a little inspiration from Jackpot, here's my 10 for Tuesday:

1. My new bathing suits were waiting at my door when I got home. Now if only it was time to fly to the Gulf already!
2. I took a break from Mary Kay this month, but she's sending me little signs that it's time to get busy again.  Watch out, May!
3. Hubby and I have plans to re-stain our balcony, and as soon as we do I'll be able to buy my summer flowers and plant, plant, plant!
4. I can't wait to see my Goddaughter this week! She's 15 months and changing every day. (I'm looking forward to seeing her momma, too).
5. A fresh pedicure and my cute little toes wiggling in the warm sun. It's almost time for sandals and flip-flops!
6. This book I'm reading is HOT. The next few chapters will be fun...
7. This weekend I'm going to get in some girl-time with my sister-in-law AND catch up on my digital scrapbooking. Yay!
8. For the next two days I have to work, but not at school. I always love a break from routine and a chance to catch up with my friends who work in other buildings.
9. Dinner will be delish... we're repeating a recipe that we tried last month for the first time: chicken stuffed with roasted red peppers and feta cheese. Simply scrumptious.
10. Going to bed early and catching up on those elusive Zzz's...

Brazilian Buddies

Hubby and I hosted our dear friends Lin and Yoko. Lin is actually the guy who introduced B and I all those years ago at that Snoop Dogg concert! We loved having them with us for 3 short days, and we crammed in as many local activities as possible.

FRIDAY
Chaps Pit Beef

A Quick Tour of the Inner Harbor

Drinks in Fells Point with Eizzil and her hubby

SATURDAY
Six Flags (and yes I actually went on 3 of the roller coasters!)

Red Robin followed by the Cheesecake Factory

SUNDAY
A Walking Tour of DC
(including the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the WWII Memorial, the Washington Monument, the Capitol, the American History Smithsonian, and the Butterfly Garden)

Pizza at Ledo's

Lin! Yoko! When are you coming back?!

Custom Curtains

Woohoo! Take a look at our sun room before the curtains...

...and after! The fabric is perfect and my crew of workers couldn't have been better! My mom and I sewed for a day and a half straight (it was a LOT of fabric to deal with) and then my hubby and dad hung the curtains for me today. Aren't they cute?!

Picture perfect!

I got the original idea from a page that I ripped out of Good Housekeeping. I loved the bold print and Roman shades--and I already had the red couch--so I decided to copy cat. The result is just lovely! Whimsical, light, and airy, just like this room should be. I would be remiss if I didn't also mention that I followed a tutorial for the faux Roman shade.

Reclaim Your Free Time!

"Culturally, there's now a vision of work without end as the central focus of one's existence--but leisure is a crucial part of the American Dream."

These words really spoke to me this morning as I lay in bed, about to get up and start my day. Today's plan was to include a complete overhaul (ie: Spring cleaning) of my house. I still intend to take advantage of this day to whip things into shape, but first I'm taking a moment to blog and do something that I enjoy.

"To reclaim our free time--and enjoy it--'shifting our standards is critical... our expectations that we can get everything done are totally out of sync with our lives.' We would be happier if we prioritized time for ourselves, thereby allowing ourselves to tackle our responsibilities later in a better frame of mind. In our survey, women who set aside free time on a regular basis even though they had not finished all their chores were happier, more cheerful, and more optimistic."

Dangerously Delicious

Today I discovered an amazing new taste sensation... Girl Scout Trefoil cookies + Trader Joe's mango butter. Yum! I ate an embarrassingly large quantity of these today when I got home from work. Oops!

PS: I just realized that this month marks my THIRD ANNIVERSARY of blogging. I have to admit, I was completely shocked by this, and had to go back to reread my first post and verify that it really was written 3 years ago. Where did the time go?!