Kristel's Photography

~Day 364~ New Year's Eve Eve

2012-02-19T09:50:00.000-04:00

Suffering from a bit of exhaustion, but still having a blast in NYC!

I absolutely adore these giant mini-lights (how's that for oxymoron) near Rockefeller Center.

One of our very favourite places in the Big Apple, the NHL store in Times Square!

The countdown to New Years Eve is on!

~Day 359~ Christmas

2012-02-17T20:49:00.000-04:00

Merry Christmas!

~Day 352~ BEST.KICKS.EVER.

2012-01-30T20:09:00.000-04:00

Got these at the NHL store in Times Square and I LOVE them SO MUCH!

And here are a few shots of our Christmas decorations.

This is an ornament from my sister - it's one of my faves!

~Day 351~ Gift

2012-01-30T19:57:00.000-04:00

First gift of the season was on my desk this morning when I arrived at work - a lovely gift from the Employees Association!

~Day 341~ Mr. Personality

2012-01-30T19:48:00.000-04:00

I love watching this little guy's personality develop - I have been photographing him since he was just a few months old. He is such a happy toddler, but on the other hand, he likes things just so. He's just full of fun, with just a wee bit of mischief thrown in for good measure. Such a joy to watch him grow!

His personality really shines in this shot!

~Day 337~ Homeward Bound

2012-01-16T18:08:00.000-04:00

Time to load up the bus and head back home. Once again, these photos are from my phone. Sometimes there just isn't time to dig out the camera, but the phone is always handy.

Santa was working one of the toll booths on the way home today. That was kinda cool!

Pizza Party

2012-01-15T22:28:00.000-04:00

We were a bit late getting into Portland tonight as there was a small technical issue with the bus. Here is the spot where we were pulled over on the shoulder of the highway for a little while. (Please forgive the quality of these photos, as these are all from my phone.)

Our patience was rewarded with a pizza party once we arrived at our destination. Some of us decided to make it a pyjama, pizza party (yes, I was among the instigators, lol!)

~Day 336~ Tasty Treats

2012-01-15T22:00:00.000-04:00

This morning we stopped at Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken, New Jersey before heading to Portland for our overnight stay.

I bought one of the autographed water bottles.

The red velvet cupcakes in the middle were delicious.

I think this dude's eyes are gonna pop right out of his head!

Buddy's sister, Mary was working that day - she was on the phone for much of the time we were there. Though she did pause for a moment to greet us between her calls.

Grace, another of Buddy's sisters, was ringing up most of the sales. It hadn't really been busy until our group arrived. But when you stop with a bus of approximately fifty people, it makes it suddenly quite busy.

Farewell to New York City - but we shall return before the year is out!

And a few more phone shots...

2012-01-13T23:14:00.001-04:00

...from December 1st.

~Day 335~ Christmas in NYC

2012-01-13T21:20:00.006-04:00

What a great place to be on the first day of December - the decorations are truly breathtaking!

We had a busy, fun-filled day. In the morning, we took the Staten Island ferry across so we could get a better view of the Statue of Liberty.

Lady Liberty!

Then we went to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum.

Ooh, Edward! LOL!

Staring contest with J-Lo?

Darrin with his good buddy, Anderson!

The gangsta room!

Dude, get your hand off my pistol!

I don't know what it is, but there's just something about him that reminds me of Tyson (whom I've always called "my little genius") - they both have that scientific mind. I can't put my finger on it, but there's something in the eyes - it's uncanny.

The next president!?!

Sharing an inside joke!

What's with the grabbing people's shit - GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY AXE!

Then, after a bite to eat, we headed to Rockefeller Center to check out the tree, the sights, and the view from the top.

On top of the world - at least that's what it feels like!

The skating rink at Rockefeller - it looks a lot bigger on TV.

And, of course, we had to do a little shopping.

This monster stretches all throughout the Lego store.

A whole wall of Lego bricks!

Some of the beautiful window displays we passed by.

I could not believe how big this store is - took us forever to find the bathroom!

Window displays at Macy's.

On our way to see Santa (yes, we did - how can you go to Macy's and not visit with Santa!?!)

And back to Times Square till it was time to go back to the bus - happy and exhausted.

~Day 334~ Freedom Tower

2012-01-09T20:16:00.001-04:00

Today was an eventful day of sightseeing. We spent time at Ground Zero, South Street Seaport, Central Park, and Chinatown. This is a photo of the new Freedom Tower currently being constructed in New York City.

The new cross near Ground Zero.

Ground Zero.

Photos and badges.

South Street Seaport.

Getting a hotdog from a vendor.

McDonald's in Chinatown.

Chinatown.

We sampled some interesting dishes at the Nam Wah Tea Parlor in Chinatown. We ate with chopsticks, too.

The Dakota, the site of John Lennon's murder. Yoko Ono still has several apartments in the building.

Strawberry Fields, in Central Park.

It seems there's always a bride in Central Park.

Some of the buildings surrounding Central Park.

In the evening, we had free time, so we ate at the Hard Rock Cafe, then went into some of the shops in Times Square, including the M&M's store with three floors of candy and M&M themed merchandise. After that we saw the Broadway show, The Addams Family starring Brooke Shields.

~Day 333~ Grand Central

2012-01-09T18:59:00.001-04:00

We arrived in New York City today and visited Grand Central Terminal. It was a rainy day, but our evening events were mostly indoors, including the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. What an amazing show that was - simply magical!

Here are a few more of today's shots.

Our festively decorated bus - doesn't everyone looked thrilled to be wearing their reindeer antlers!?!

Entering the Lincoln Tunnel.

Near the "whispering gallery" a popular spot for marriage proposals.

You can see the Chrysler building in the background on the right.

And a few from my phone.

Motorcycle at the NHL store - you can buy one for $100,000.00.

A Stanley Cup Christmas tree - wow, that is cool!

Radio City Music Hall, where we went to see the Christmas Spectacular with the Rockettes. It certainly was spectacular - I hope to see it again some year.

This is a photo of the Nativity Scene with the Rockettes. It's not a very good photo, as I only had a camera phone with me.

~Day 332~ Bus Trip

2012-01-09T18:21:00.000-04:00

We arrived in Haverhill, Massachusetts this evening for our one night stay and tomorrow we will continue on to New York City.

~Day 330~ Retreat

2012-01-09T18:08:00.000-04:00

This is my new sanctuary from the world. It was a project a long time in the making, but it is so nice now that it is finished. I find this room so relaxing and I just want to spend as much time in here as I can.

~Day 324~ Little Miracles & Miracles Dancers

2012-01-09T17:37:00.002-04:00

Went to another Miracles game. They are still having a tough time seeking that first win. I guess it will take some time for a new franchise to come together, but hopefully the fans will have the patience to stick with them with continued support. They have two groups of cheerleaders; the Miracles Dancers and the Little Miracles. You can also see the mascot in the background.

~Day 317~ Boundary

2012-01-06T22:49:00.000-04:00

We had about an hour and a half wait at the border to come back home today - I guess that's what we get for going over on a holiday weekend - seems everyone had the same idea. So I noticed these border markers that I hadn't seen before as we don't usually stop, so I guess that's something...

~Day 316~ "In Thomas We Trust"

2012-01-06T22:31:00.000-04:00

Well, today is the game we had to stay an extra day for - so we could see my favourite player in the whole wide world, Timmy Thomas! Isn't he awesome!?!

When we arrived, we were unsure of where our seats were, so we checked with a couple of ushers along the way and were directed to go up an escalator that led to the Hockey Museum (usually you have to pay to go to that!) They would not even let anyone on the escalator without showing their tickets. Once we got to the top, we were still rather unsure that we were in the right place, as there were only doors that were marked: "Private." We thought we must be in the wrong place and we didn't really want to go in as it seemed we'd be intruding on a private party. Well, it turns out that we were in a private suite (I guess they sell the seats to the general public when they're not being used) and that's why the lady at the box office couldn't show us exactly where our seats were (remember, the ones that were not on the map!) So, anyway that was cool, but wait... it gets even cooler - looking across the way three suites over, who do we see but the Great Legend - Bobby Orr! I couldn't really get any very good photos because I only had a compact camera with me (wish I could sneak in my 5D MarkII!) I got some from the game that are not too bad, but that's because there is so much light down on the ice surface - the suites are very dimly lit in comparison. Anyway, here are the shots that were semi-successful - I hope you all enjoy them!

The Legend himself!

I loved this sign - think I could fit it under my coat, lol!

Darrin, checking out the map for our level.

Wow, six banners now!!!

Think Timmy taught them some of his yoga!?!

This shot is my very favourite in the series!

This was the game that Looch laid out Sabres goalie Ryan Miller (shoulda stayed in your net cryin' Ryan!)

Sabres did put up a little fuss over that, but it was pretty tame - maybe they don't like him much either.

Look up, waaaaaay up, it's the Friendly Giant (well, maybe not so friendly if you're on the opposition.)

Timeout for the baaaaaad boy!

B's win 6-2, we had a great visit and can't wait to come back again next year!

Time to catch the train back to the hotel and prepare for the long trip home tomorrow.

~Day 315~ Remembrance Day/Veterans Day

2011-12-26T20:15:00.000-04:00

This place is so heartwrenching, yet for some reason I find myself drawn there each time we're in the city. So, today was a fitting day to spend a quiet moment visiting the New England Holocaust Memorial.

On a lighter note, we decided to stop by the Garden to see if there were any tickets available for tomorrow night's game. We were told the only seats left were not on the map, but were very nice!?! Well, it's not like we were buying them on the street, we were right at the box office at the Garden, so they had to be legit, right? We took 'em and decided to stay the extra night.

While we were waiting for the box office to open, we walked down to the market and walked around - most of the shops were closed, but here are some of the sights.

Extras

2011-12-26T19:40:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple more from November 10th, that I had on my phone.

~Day 314~ Back to Beantown, Baby!

2011-12-24T01:38:00.001-04:00

Oh, it was SO good to be back in Boston!!!

We went to the Bruins game tonight against the Oilers. Once I got over my disappointment about Tim Thomas not starting, I had a blast! But seriously, what is this about starting Rask every time I have the opportunity to see a game!?! (Saw only ONE game in 2010 and Tuukka played that one, too.) Not that I have anything against him, he's a fine young, goalie and likely the future of the Bruins... BUT, when I travel for ten hours, I'd like to see my favourite player in the game, not on the bench!

I did get to see Timmy in the warmup, at least.

Check out that beautiful, new banner - that alone was worth the trip!

I <3 this shot so much that I couldn't decide between colour and BW, so you're gettin' both!

Somebody's gettin' in trouble...

The Oilers decided to go with their back-up goalie tonight, too. We had some Oilers fans sitting in front of us that were somewhat disappointed - I feel their pain!

Check out the awesome Championship ring on Blades!

LOVE the intensity of the goalie that comes through here. Goalie shots rawk! (They're always my faves to take and I like the results the best - maybe that's why I have a thing for goalies!)

Lucic scores right here, mere moments after this shot was taken!!!

Celebration!!! B's win 6-3!!!

Timmy's got an idea, LOL! (I'm secretly hoping it's to shave his "Mo" - he's way hotter without it!) I think he should stick with the look he sports on the cover of Improper Bostonian in November! I picked up a copy of that issue when we were there - the feature and photos on Timmy are awesome! Next year, we'll have to try to avoid "Movember" when we go.

~Day 297~ Miracles

2011-12-24T01:23:00.002-04:00

Moncton has a new pro basketball team, called the Moncton Miracles and they had their first exhibition game today. They lost, but it was pretty close at the end and very entertaining, so we had a blast anyway.

~Day 295~ Road Trip

2011-12-24T01:09:00.002-04:00

Had to make the trek to Halifax today, as Tyson was in "desparate" need of a new cymbal that was out of stock in Moncton!

~Day 282~ Turkey Day

2011-12-20T18:41:00.000-04:00

My lame attempt.

~Day 281~ Apple Orchard

2011-12-20T17:51:00.000-04:00

We always like to take a drive out to the apple orchard around Thanksgiving and pick a bag of nice, fresh apples!

~Day 254~ Twenty

2011-12-18T19:32:00.001-04:00

Wow, he's not a teenager anymore! Time goes by way too fast!

My little drummer boy!

~Day 252~ Edwards House

2011-12-18T19:03:00.000-04:00

Tyson's home away from home.

~Day 248~ Lord Stanley & Andrew Ference

2011-12-16T11:12:00.002-04:00

On this day we were supposed to leave Boston in the early am to head home. We heard, however, that there would be an unofficial, impromptu Stanley Cup parade in Boston's North End as the way that Andrew Ference chose to spend his day with the cup. Well, we were already here, how could we miss that! So we stayed an extra day, galavanting all over the North End to try to find out where this parade was going to happen and discovering lots of little Boston treasures along the way.

Trapped in a sea of Black & Gold. Is there any better place to be? I think not.

The Old North Church.

Paul Revere Statue with The Old North Church in the background.

Copp's Hill Burying Ground, a very cool, old graveyard that's been here since the 1600's.

It's on the Freedom Trail and one day I would like to walk the trail in its entirety.

LOVE old gravestones.

Love this guy's epitath. And the skull and crossbones are way cool!

The North End is predominantly Italian businesses, kind of a Little Italy area of Boston.

~Day 247~ Hot and Hazy

2011-11-19T14:17:00.000-04:00

Today was a gorgeous day for a ball game - too bad the Red Sox lost again, but we had a blast, anyway!

~Day 246~ Boston

2011-10-22T08:40:00.000-03:00

Today was our "tourist-y" day in Boston! We went on a trolley tour and a harbor cruise and learned some of the history and saw some of the historic sights of our beloved second home!

Here's a shot of the souvenir baseballs given to each fan at yesterday's game. It was the 700th consecutive Red Sox sellout at Fenway Park.

We went to the Garden to see the Bobby Orr statue!

Boston's got big balls baby!

Whooooooooooooo - Stanley Cup Champs!!!

From Boston Harbor.

The USS Constitution (AKA Old Ironsides) is the world's oldest commissioned warship that is still afloat. They offer free guided tours given by active duty Navy Sailors. We didn't have the time to do one today, but it's definitely on my to-do list for a future visit.

In the background (to the right of the ship) you can see the Bunker Hill Monument, which stands 221 feet at Breed's Hill, the site of the first major battle of the American Revolution fought on June 17, 1775. One day I'd like to visit the Monument and climb the 294 steps to the pinnacle - the amazing vista at the end of the journey is said to be well worth the effort.

The dude in the white shirt and hat was our tour guide on the harbor cruise.

Buildings downtown.

Massachusetts State House.

Boston's Historic North End - LOVE this neighborhood!

The Holocaust Memorial is a must see on every visit to Boston. It will move you to tears. Words just cannot describe it (not my words, anyway) but you can read all about it here:

http://www.nehm.org/intro.html

~Day 245~ Fenway - 'Nuf Ced

2011-09-18T08:53:00.000-03:00

Here we are once again at our favourite place on earth - Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts. The game played by the Red Sox was certainly less than stellar, but you can't help but have a good time when you're at Fenway! It's just magical!

Here are a few more from our night out at Fenway!

As it happened to be the 700th consecutive sellout at Fenway that we were in attendance for, we each received a commemorative baseball as we left the park that evening.

~Day 244~ Whoopie

2011-09-07T19:47:00.002-03:00

Today we left for our vacation and our first stop was a night in Portland, Maine where we were presented with free whoopie pies upon check-in at our hotel. That was a first for us - kind of a nice gesture.

~Day 243~ Bubbles

2011-09-07T19:39:00.000-03:00

The water cooler looked pretty cool with the sun shining through it, so...

~Day 239~ Tyson

2011-09-07T19:31:00.002-03:00

Just a shot of Tyson, after a nice afternoon swim in the pool.

~Day 233~ Entertainment

2011-08-28T21:06:00.000-03:00

Well, the children like to open a new jar of peanut butter when there is still plenty left to scrape off the sides of the old jar (OMG, that just takes too much effort.) Well, I hate to waste it, but since it's garbage night, it would be best to throw out the jar tonight than to keep it around for another week. So Darrin suggested that the dog might like a little peanut butter treat. Well, that was certainly entertaining. LOL!

And a few more from today!

~Day 225~ Patterns and Textures

2011-08-21T17:07:00.000-03:00

Spent this evening at the wharf!

~Day 218~ Splash

2011-08-14T12:08:00.000-03:00

Just some more pool fun!

~Day 216~ DKM!!!

2011-08-07T10:47:00.001-03:00

Tonight, we went to see the Dropkick Murphys at the O2. It was wicked awesome!!!

Note: Please excuse the poor quality, as DSLR's were not permitted, I was stuck using my iPhone :(

And, a bit of video footage...

~Day 213~ New and Old

2011-08-07T10:22:00.002-03:00

~Day 212~ Aftermath

2011-08-07T10:10:00.000-03:00

Today, we spent the day at Magic Mountain (water park.) And, while I didn't bring my camera in because I had decided to go in the water today (one day I shall have a waterproof camera), I did capture the aftermath of yesterday's U2 concert on the hill. While I did not attend the concert, as I find much of their music to be dull, dreary, and drab, it seems they had a very unique stage setup. Here it is being disassembled.

And one more from today.

~Day 211~ Gazebo

2011-08-07T09:10:00.001-03:00

(again.) Hanging out under the lights.

I wanted to do some test shots using a bit of fill flash at night so I could expose for the ambient light and use fill to light the subject. I still need a lot of work on my flash skills, but I don't use flash often enought to get enough practice, so when I do use it, it's kinda like starting over again.

This one is in the kitchen after we came in.

~Day 204~ Stormy Night

2011-07-30T10:04:00.000-03:00

Well, our regular Saturday night movie night had to be postponed due to a power outage from 8:30-ish until just after midnight. Instead we had a candlelight reading of Harry Potter performed by Dylan. It was very entertaining!

~Day 199~ Twenty-Two

2011-07-30T09:22:00.000-03:00

Justin's twenty-second birthday! He chose a chinese buffet for his birthday supper, but we had to wait until after Tyson's drum lesson, so it was a bit of a late supper. Then we had cake and ice cream out on the back deck in the late evening.

~Day 197~ Shades

2011-07-24T09:59:00.000-03:00

Here's our pool mascot, Shades - LOL! Actually he's a twin (he's really just a pool chlorinator and there's two of 'em in the pool!)

And a few more from today!

~Day 189~ Googly Eyes

2011-07-10T09:49:00.001-03:00

Well, it's finally summer, my favourite time of year - the hotter, the better! I hope we can have lots of hot, sunny days to enjoy the pool, deck, and outdoors this summer.

Here are a few shots of the boys having a splashin' good time!

And the gazebo...

And the yardware...

So, though I may not have a photo each day, occasionally, I will partially make up for that by having several to post in a single day.

~Day 181~ Patio Lanterns

2011-07-10T08:23:00.002-03:00

Remember that old song by Kim Mitchell!?! Sometimes it gets stuck in my head when I'm out enjoying the gazebo all lit up (the gazebo's lit, not me - LOL!)

And, a shot of my cake (Darrin was working on my birthday, so we had a night out, followed by some cake, today instead.)

~Day 171~ Yikes!

2011-06-29T17:39:00.001-03:00

Just as we arrived home from an outing today, Darrin pointed out, as he shut off the car, that we had hit 70,000 km right on the dot. That's a lot for us in three and a half years. (We used to put about 7,000 km per year.) Must be all those trips to Beantown and back and forth to the boys' universities every weekend or so.

~Day 167~ Tank

2011-06-29T17:33:00.001-03:00

My good luck charm, for my favourite player - Timmy Thomas, you're the best!

~Day 166~ Best. Day. Ever.

2011-06-29T17:27:00.002-03:00

Or at least in a very long time. I can't believe the boys finally won the Stanley Cup after 39 years (and I certainly cannot say that I remember the '72 series.) But the Red Sox made us wait more than twice that long before they became World Series Champs in '04. So having been around to see the Bruins, Red Sox, and Celtics all win championships in the past few years rawks!!!

PS. I wouldn't normally fill a memory card photographing the television, as I know they don't turn out so well, but I was so caught up in the moment that I just couldn't help myself! My first inclination when something exciting happens is to grab for the camera, so that's what I did. It was almost like being there. (Well not quite, but one can dream.)

~Day 163~ Baby Blues

2011-06-29T16:00:00.002-03:00

So, if any of you have been following the blog, you know that I had an injury that has prevented me from completing my 365 project. But I've been photographing this little guy since he was a couple months old and when his mom asked me to do some photos for his second birthday, I couldn't disappoint. He really made me run for the shots (literally) today, and, after overdoing it yesterday (setting up the gazebo), I was so sore that I could hardly keep up. But I think we got some great shots, nonetheless. Most importantly, his mom is happy!

So here are a few more of my faves from today's shoot.

~Day 162~ Outdoor Oasis

2011-06-19T21:31:00.002-03:00

Happy Birthday, Darrin!

I overdid it today, setting up the gazebo for a surprise for my honey, but he's always done so much for me that a little extra pain for a couple more days was more than worth it.

We had a great day today - spent the morning together and did the lunch thing, I worked on the gazebo while he napped in the afternoon (he did have to work last night, but has tonight off for his birthday), and went to see the movie "Bridesmaids" in the evening. After the movie, we came home and had cake on the deck. It's the simple pleasures that make it all worthwhile!

~Day 149~ Blossom

2011-06-19T21:19:00.001-03:00

Oh, so pretty!

~Day 146~ Green doors

2011-06-19T21:14:00.002-03:00

I've been seeing these doors a lot lately - they make you stare at them for hours on end, then give you a moment of their time (they are the doors that enclose the doctors' hideaway at the local hospital.)

~Day 145~ Skin

2011-06-19T21:10:00.001-03:00

My phone has a sexy new jacket!

~Day Whatever~

2011-06-19T20:39:00.000-03:00

OK, I'm not sure if anyone has been following my project or not, but if you have, you may have noticed an extended absence. Well, the project has pretty much come to a halt, but it was not by choice. I was fully committed to doing an entire year of one (at least) photo a day, but my body just wasn't willing to follow the program.

I was pretty much incapacitated for three weeks or so, by a very painful injury. I spent a long time in so much pain that I was unable to get out of bed, let alone lift a camera (and some of my equipment is very heavy) or sit at a computer. I missed a lot of time at work. I couldn't grocery shop, fix meals, do laundry or housework, or much of anything really. I was pretty much an invalid. I couldn't even attend my aquacise classes (if you knew me, you'd know what a big deal it is for me to miss a class.) I was in so much pain that I spent much of that time just screaming, crying, and doing my best impression of a person afflicted with Tourette's Syndrome. It was like a delirium of pain, somewhat akin to having a very high fever and not being lucid enough to know what day it is - or even if it is day or the middle of the night. (There were nights I didn't sleep at all due to the pain, and days that I slept all day.) I did have some drugs that pretty much knocked me out and that was the only reprieve I had from the pain. (I rarely take even an Advil, so I have a low tolerance to drugs.) I would say it was a hundred times more painful than childbirth.

It's hard to say what happened, because nothing actually did happen. It's not like I fell or was in a car accident or anything. The pain was at the base of my neck, shoulder, and arm. It felt like pins and needles, but at the same time like it was on fire, not just a burning sensation, but like it was actually on fire. It hurt so much that I wanted to die so the pain would be over. I was actually disappointed when the "Rapture" of May 21st came and went and the world didn't end. That's just how painful it was.

To this day, a good three or four weeks later, I still have pins and needles in my index finger and severe weakness in that arm (I can't really support much of anything with that arm anymore, I've just become accustomed to using the good arm for mostly everything.) I never did get a definite diagnosis, just several different possibilities, such as rotator cuff strain/tear, trapezius muscle strain, tendonitis, C7 vertebrae injury. Whatever it is, it must have been some sort of repetitive strain injury (since nothing happened to it) and whether it was inflamed muscle or badly aligned spine, there has to be something crushing a nerve somewhere.

It seems like it will be a very long, slow healing process, so for now the heavy equipment is on the shelf, only being used sporadically. I don't think carrying it around on a regular basis is in the cards for me for a long time (if ever.) For the remainder of this year, I will still be posting, but will be limiting my shooting to once a week or so, and only for the more important events or occasions. (I don't know how I will ever go on if I have to trade in my DSLR for a point and shoot!)

I do still have a few photos to post that were taken (mostly with my phone) in the early days before the pain reached its peak, at a time when I was still hoping that I would be able to keep the project going. (I was just unable to sit at my computer to post them.) And I have a few more that were taken once the worst of it was over and I just NEEDED to get back to shooting.

Also, I must not forget to thank my super-terrific hubby, Darrin, who kept the house running single-handedly while I was unable to contribute ANYTHING at all to the cause. He did it all, (while working full-time nights, plus overtime - I can't remember the last time he worked a regular forty hour work week.) Meals, dishes, laundry, groceries, housework, errands, taking care of me, you name it, he did it. And I know it was hurting him to see and hear me in so much pain, and not being able to do anything about it. He's a rock and I don't know what I would ever do without him. Thanks, hon - love you more than you can ever imagine!

~Day 144~ OMG Again

2011-05-25T19:59:00.000-03:00

No, I didn't miss another day - but I might as well have. I took only one shot today. And it's a terrible shot. A blurry camera phone shot. But it's all I have so here goes:

We went out to the movies after work today (not that there was anything we particularly wanted to see, but it had been a very long time since we'd had a date night. And it was Darrin's night off. And it also happened to be cheap night. How can you NOT go when things align like that. So we saw "Something Borrowed" - good for a couple laughs, but certainly not epic.) After that we had to take the dog for a walk, and it was getting dark, but we passed this house. And Darrin pointed out that we should not buy this house. As it's "OLD". LOL!

I might have been able to pull off a decent, maybe even interesting shot, had "the beast" been with me, but as previously discussed, I've not been toting that around with me at all lately. Maybe in a month or two.

~Day 143~ Signage

2011-05-25T19:45:00.000-03:00

Discovered this new signage on my walk today. It has been awhile since I've done much more than a trek around the block, as it has been far too painful. The pain is still significant, but tolerable enough that I can get back to some of my shorter routes.

~Day 142~ Devilish

2011-05-25T19:37:00.001-03:00

Though, I don't know if you would technically "wear" a handbag!?! This is my other new baby, but it hasn't gotten any use yet, as it has taken a backseat to the "Coach", which I love.

~Day 141~ OMG

2011-05-25T19:29:00.000-03:00

I guess I missed a day in my drug-induced stupor - I can't find anything on my memory cards or even on my phone with a May 21st date stamp! Oh, well! It may be the first time I forgot, but it probably won't be the last! (If later on, I find an image that did happen to be taken on this day, I will add it then, because with my injury coming right after my trip, my CF cards are all disorganized and I'm not even sure if they're all accounted for.)

~Day 140~ Journal

2011-05-25T19:23:00.001-03:00

Just a shot of my cute, little journal - it came along with me on my trip, so I could jot things down in it to remember later.

On a side note, I made it till almost noon at work today. By then the pain was so intense, that I took the afternoon off.

~Day 139~ Repeat

2011-05-25T19:16:00.001-03:00

Well, the only difference between yesterday's photo and today's is that today's was taken with my phone. I was not even lifting "the beast" today. Wow, do these things ever knock you out! I got up at 6, ate breakfast and took my meds (supposed to take them with food), called in sick and went back to bed. Didn't get up till twenty after two!?! (Which is insane for a chronic insomniac like me!) Stayed up for a couple of hours, then dozed all evening in front of the telly. Not a productive day! I'm so not used to that.

Other than knocking me out so that I'm pain-free while sleeping, they really have not done a whole lot.

~Day 138~ Drugs

2011-05-25T19:10:00.000-03:00

I was in so much pain today that I could barely function. The doctor said I have injured my rotator cuff and trapezius muscles. (I wonder if that might have been a result of dragging heavy camera gear all over NYC.) Anyway, since I was not inclined to create art today, this will have to suffice.

~Day 137~ Retail Accounting

2011-05-25T18:59:00.002-03:00

All the different departments in our building have been busy putting together a scrapbook to present to the CEO or our company upon his retirement later this month. We added a group photo to our contribution, so as the photo hobbyist of the group, I was commissioned to set up and shoot the photo (with my handy, dandy remote.) Since, these were the only photos I happened to take today, it will also serve as my contribution here, for my photo of the day.

~Day 136~ Amusement

2011-05-25T18:47:00.001-03:00

We spent some time at Crystal Palace this evening - the boys didn't go on any rides, they just played some games.

~Day 135~ Coach

2011-05-25T18:41:00.001-03:00

Got me a pretty, new bag down in the Big Apple - I've always wanted one of these!

~Day 134~ Absence...

2011-05-25T18:35:00.001-03:00

...does make the heart grow fonder, perhaps. I think they missed me maybe a little. I certainly missed them even though I had the time of my life. It would have been even better if we all could have had the experience together. A dream for someday, maybe...

~Day 133~ Departure

2011-05-25T18:25:00.002-03:00

Well, all good things must come to an end. Today, we had to leave New York, but I plan on returning as soon as I possibly can. We are staying in Portland, Maine tonight and will return home from there tomorrow.

Once we arrived in Portland, we got settled into our hotel, then spent the evening at the Portland Mall. I got some cool shirts for the boys (Bruins, KISS, Sheldon Cooper, etc) at f.y.e. and a cool Red Sox case for my phone at Best Buy.

~Day 132~ Mr. "Cake Boss" Himself

2011-05-23T20:00:00.001-03:00

Today was such an exciting day! After spending the morning at the Willowbrook Mall (that's not the exciting part), it was time to go visit Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken, New Jersey, where they film the TLC show "Cake Boss." They were filming that day, so a lot of the stars of the show were there and came out for a quick greeting. We got to see Lisa, Mauro, Joey, and the star of the show, Buddy!

On our way.

First, we had to wait in line outside the store.

The young guys at the door let a few people in at a time. They give you a number as you enter.

So many yummy cakes to choose from.

Some display cakes around the shop.

This one had to be my favourite.

Or, maybe this one. They were definitely the top two.

Mary looks kinda scary on this cake.

This gives you some idea of how small and crowded the shop is. You pretty much have to go in knowing what you want, as you can't really get a good look at the selection of goodies they have.

The gals from Salisbury made a nice poster for Buddy and everyone on our bus signed it.

There's Danny in the back.

Buddy's sister, Lisa, came out and took photos with some of the fans.

Mauro came out and read a letter that a little girl left for him. Unfortunately, they had already left the shop before he came out.

Joey came out briefly.

And finally, after waiting for what seemed like hours, Buddy came out to greet us!

What a great time we had at Carlo's Bakery!

Next, it was off to see Grand Central Station!

It was cool to get to actually see some of the places where they filmed scenes from the movie, "Arthur" having just recently seen the film.

Cool, Black and White cookies, just like on Seinfeld. (I also saw Drake's coffee cake in one of the convenience stores.)

Junior's apparently has the world's best cheesecake, but having just come from Carlo's Bake Shop, I was unable to put that theory to the test. Maybe next time!

And, we ended this eventful day with a Broadway show, featuring Daniel Radcliffe and John Larroquette. (Yep, I saw "Harry Potter" live, in person.) Unfortunately, photos are not permitted in the theatres, so I had to make do with some shots of the billboards, before we went in. (These are not the greatest quality, as they were taken with my phone.)

There is a ferris wheel in the Toys R Us. (It was closed so I had to shoot through the glass. We were just passing by on the way back to the bus, after our show.)

Just before boarding the bus to go back to the hotel for the night, we saw Reeve Carney being interviewed on the side of the street. He is currently starring as Spiderman on Broadway, and incidentally, will be visiting the Moncton area this summer when he and his band, Carney, open for U2 at Magnetic Hill.

~Day 131~ On Broadway

2011-05-23T10:12:00.000-03:00

Here are a few more photos from my wonderful trip to NYC. The big Phantom billboard in Times Square is three dimensional and very cool. I wanted to capture that from a unique perspective.

We spent the morning at South Street Seaport.

Then we had an afternoon tour around New York on the bus, where our tour guide pointed out various points of interest. We also got off the bus and toured a few of the locations on foot, such as Central Park and Chinatown.

Here are some shots from Chinatown.

We were all fascinated by the Chinese McDonald's!

These ones were taken in Central Park.

This is Mark, our wonderful tour guide, taking a group photo of us. Poor guy had like seventeen cameras handed to him with which to photograph our group.

Strawberry Fields, a tribute to John Lennon.

The guy kneeling proclaimed himself to be the "mayor" of Strawberry Fields.

Here's our amazing bus driver, Terry (shoulda seen him manoeuver that large bus through the tight streets of Manhattan) chatting with our tour guide.

Then we went to General Grant's tomb.

Outside there were some sculpted, mosaic benches.

And last but not least, for today, Times Square.

We ate at Hard Rock this evening.

At the Disney store.

The M&M store, three floors of candy and M&M inspired merchandise.

Saturday Night Fever M&M.

And the Hershey store is right across the street - a dangerous corner for chocaholics!

I bought a few souvenirs in this store.

This is where you can get discount tickets to select Broadway shows.

Police presence on horseback...

...motorbikes...

...and vehicles.

The lobby of the Empire State Building.

~Day 130~ Excitement

2011-05-15T23:02:00.000-03:00

Today, we left the hotel in Haverhill, Massachusetts early this morning to set off on our journey to New York City. The bus was abuzz with excitement. We stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrel in Connecticut, then headed into the city.

We crossed on the Staten Island Ferry to get a better view of the Statue of Liberty. From the ferry we had great views of both the statue and the city.

I love the little bit of rainbow in the bottom corner of this one.

Then, we went to Ground Zero and saw the site of the devastation and some touching memorials. But we also saw hope and spirit. They are currently rebuilding 1 World Trade Center, AKA Freedom Tower.

Then we went into the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site. They have a model of what the new World Trade Center will eventually look like.

These were taken at St. Paul's Chapel, which served as a place of rest and refuge for recovery workers at the WTC site in the weeks and months following the 9/11 tragedy. It was closed when we arrived, so we were unable to go in. I hope to someday be able to visit again and go inside.

~Day 129~ Vacation

2011-05-15T17:35:00.000-03:00

Well, it's finally arrived...

...after months of planning and counting down the months, then weeks, then days, then hours. Today is the day I leave on vacation with Heather and Drosou from work, and Kelly from my Aquacise class. We had to get up very early to catch the bus at 6AM. It was a very long day of travel with a stop at Dysart's in Hermon, Maine for lunch and a few rest stops along the way. We arrived at our first destination, Comfort Suites, in Haverhill, Massachusetts, late in the afternoon and proceeded to explore a bit. There wasn't much to see in the immediate area (within walking distance, anyway), so we went to Marshall's and Payless, then to the 99 restaurant for supper. I was still full from lunch at Dysart's (their servings are WAY too big), so I just had a bowl of soup and some ice water. We all took some photos while we were out. They had some lovely trees in full bloom near our hotel.

For these next few vacation days, I will probably have more than one photo to post each day, so I will make the first one my "official" photo of the day, but I will also post a few of the other shots from that day! (Some of these are from my phone, so they're not very good - especially the inside ones.)

~Day 128~ Pile 'O Junk

2011-05-08T16:48:00.000-03:00

It's junk pick-up week in our neighbourhood - here's our contribution!

~Day 127~ Empty Calories

2011-05-08T16:45:00.000-03:00

...my favourite!

Happy Mother's Day to all!

~Day 126~ Nothingness

2011-05-07T07:27:00.000-03:00

This photo has no particular relevance to anything. But today was not much better than yesterday; still no printer and, though I have my computer back, it's still got the same issues. So it was time to start our movie - movie night had to be moved to Friday night for this week, because Tyson is working tomorrow night - and I had no photo for today, so I just took a few random shots and this one came out the best. (Yeah, if this is the best you really don't want to see the others.)

~Day 125~ Stormy

2011-05-07T06:57:00.000-03:00

Today was a complete fuckarow (credit Stephen King for the perfect word to describe the day - perhaps he didn't invent it, but that's where I first heard it.)

I had so much that I just NEEDED to accomplish today and barely got anything done. See, I had no computer for most of the day. It's only at times like these that you realize, there's really not much you can do without a computer.

I spent most of the morning on the phone and emailing back and forth with the IT department. Finally, just before lunch, he decided he just needed to take my computer back to his workstation to work on it.

On top of all that, our printer chose to die today. It's a printer shared by the ten people in our department, and on average each person prints something about every two minutes. So, after various solutions were tried and failed, we were set up to print on a printer downstairs. But we couldn't print from all of our applications, just some of them. We made do - the important ones were covered, though not without issues.

A schedule was made for each of us to take a turn to run downstairs and get our print jobs every half hour. On top of my turn for picking up print jobs, I also had to run downstairs several times to test my computer. So I spent the afternoon running up and downstairs - got lots of exercise at least. Good thing, because it poured all evening so I didn't get my evening walk in. Thankfully, the walking club started today, so we walked about 2k at lunch - took us about 22 minutes. That was the only break I had today - I ate my sandwich around 3 o'clock at my desk.

So, I was feeling a bit down after such a rotten day, but then I got an evening call from Heather (my fellow accounting clerk) and we had a happy chat - that brightened my day! Thanks, Heather!

I hope you all had a better day today.

~Day 124~ Lucky Clover

2011-05-05T18:23:00.002-03:00

Today, I finally remembered to order my Celtics necklace from Avon. (OK, it's not really a Celtics necklace, but it's close enough for me!)

~Day 123~ Hoops

2011-05-04T07:26:00.000-03:00

There's usually a pick-up game of basketball occurring in the driveway when I come home from work, so I grabbed my camera and snapped a few shots.

~Day 122~ Splash

2011-05-02T21:48:00.000-03:00

Here's a little splash of colour in anticipation of spring. (Soon, I hope to have some real flowers to shoot.)

~Day 121~ Desktop Clutter

2011-05-01T22:33:00.000-03:00

I really need to find some time to de-clutter my workstation. There just aren't enough hours in the day!

~Day 120~ Candies

2011-05-01T12:35:00.000-03:00

Well, today got away from me (as they so often do) and it was movie night and I still hadn't taken a photo, so after the movie was over, I took a photo of these jujubes. Makes for a colourful photo. The black ones are the only ones worth eating, though, in my opinion (but would make for a far less interesting photo.)

~Day 119~ Moss

2011-04-30T19:11:00.000-03:00

They say a rolling stone gathers no moss - I guess that's not true of shed roof shingles, though.

~Day 118~ Soda Bottles

2011-04-30T12:41:00.000-03:00

They just looked kinda cool the way the light was hitting them.

~Day 117~ Multitasker

2011-04-30T12:30:00.000-03:00

Always with the laptop and the television ("The Game", any game, doesn't matter, just has to be tuned to "The Game") on at the same time.

~Day 116~ Tuneage

2011-04-30T12:11:00.000-03:00

Just a couple new CD's we picked up - wasn't a very exciting day.

~Day 115~ Eggies

2011-04-30T11:59:00.000-03:00

Well, I'm no Buddy (well I've always known I was a nobody, but I meant Buddy from Cake Boss), but here's my attempt at Easter cupcakes. I think the photo is better than the cupcakes were, so I guess I'll stick to what I know.

~Day 114~ BAR.BE.CUE.

2011-04-30T11:44:00.000-03:00

Today, we had our first bbq of the season and it was nice to be able to get out and enjoy some nice weather for a change. Having nice weather on a day off was an added bonus.

Of course, since we hadn't barbecued for several months, we were all out of barbecue sauce, so I had to send Darrin to the store to get some. We're not terribly good in the planning department.

Mmmmmm, dogs.

This dog was enjoying the nice weather too, sunning herself on the deck.

Seems someone else is busy sunning themselves, too, while I do all the work. It must have been exhausting to "run" to the store. (Really he took the car.) That's OK, hun, don't get up - I like my burgers cooked anyway. LOL!

Listening to some tunes whilst cooking (and dancing and singing) makes the task that much more enjoyable.

And, the end result...

(OK yes, I do make everyone wait until I photograph the food before they can eat it. LOL! They're kinda used to it.)

~Day 113~ Noise

2011-04-24T18:49:00.000-03:00

Well, Tyson's back...

... and I'm sure the neighbours are thrilled.

~Day 112~ Spring Cleaning

2011-04-23T07:00:00.000-03:00

I was too busy working to take any photos today (well, except for these. Why did I shoot my blinds drying on the deck!?! I have no idea, but it's good that I did, or I wouldn't have had a photo today at all. LOL!)

~Day 111~ Moving Day

2011-04-22T10:31:00.001-03:00

How much crap can you pile into a compact car? Not much apparently, at least not if you still wanna see out the back of the car (and still have room for the passengers.) It's amazing the amount of stuff a university student can accumulate over the course of one school year - I swear they always come back with three times more stuff than they left with.