It was like magic. We’d just finished a class at the gym. Claire took one look out the door and said, “Mom. You NEED to get a picture of this!”
Everyone got out their phones, and one person even had a “real” camera. We stood still, whispering, mesmerized, trying to capture the vibrancy of the colors with the click of a button.
The above photo hasn’t been altered in any way.
It was even more magnificent in person.
It’s nights like this when there’s no doubt we live in Colorful Colorado.
One of my gifts this holiday season was a Nook! If you don’t know, a Nook is Barnes & Noble’s answer to Amaz0n’s Kindle, both of which are eReaders for reading electronic versions of books. I’m sure the Kindle is great, too, but for reasons we won’t get into, we’d rather support Barnes & Noble than Amaz0n, plus, my hubby wants to get the Nook Tablet eventually, and the sharing capabilities led us in this direction.
I wasn’t sure if I’d like it. I mean, I look at screens all day. My reading time is a break for my eyes from the electronic stimulus.
My hubby assured me that he’d heard great things about the “screen” and the “ink” used and that I’d be impressed. He even said there’s be no glare, so I could read outside if I wanted.
Also, the Nook came for free on Eva, and due to her screen size and the speed at which I read, I was too distracted by all the scrolling than I was with following the story. Would I like the way the Nook felt when I “turned pages” with a swipe of my finger?
Bottom line? I love it. I’m carrying around 1431 pages of a trilogy I’ve been dying to finish, and it’s smaller than a paperback! The screen looks just like a paperback page to me. It doesn’t seem like I’m looking at a “screen” at all. In fact, I was so engrossed one evening that I accidentally turned my little Nook completely over while trying to turn to the next page. Ooops!
Despite that little blip, “turning pages” comes naturally to me on this device, and I love it!
When I’m done with this trilogy, I can download my next adventure directly to my Nook with a click of a button.
Then again, time will tell if this is really a good thing or not. ;)
As 2011 comes to a close with 2012 quick on its heels, I’m reminded of our very first New Years as a family of three.
It was tricky balancing a party hat on the head of a squirmy baby, but we did it. It’s amazing to me how much has changed from that year (It was 2006! Claire was so tiny! …and look at my hair!) and how much has stayed the same.
May 2012 be all that you hope it can be and more.
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A rare sight
The weather reports said, “We’ll get a couple inches.” Well, we did get a couple…feet. Yes, we had over a foot-and-a-half of snow! The drifts were deeper than that in spots.
In a rare occurrence, our city declared this a “Snow Emergency” and allocated funds for contractors to remove snow from residential streets!
Yes, we live on a hill that will never be plowed unless an emergency is declared. No, that’s not very convenient sometimes.
We heard the news of elusive plows being released into the neighborhoods and then crossed our fingers.
Would we see one? For real this time?
Imagine our delight when this thing roared up our street!
This was only the second time we’ve seen large snow removal machinery on our street…and we’ve lived in this house for over 10 years.
I had to take pictures of this rare sight.
Seasons usually come in as lions or lambs, but this year, winter came in like a large piece of machinery.
Literally…for once.
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Claire holding the sun
Our friend took this photo in Cozumel, and I just can’t get enough of this picture!
I think it’s very appropriate to give you the sun on the shortest day of the year!
Topes
Toh-pays. That’s how you say “topes” in Spanish. I really wanted to get a picture of the topes and their warning sign, but alas, I was either too busy relaxing to think about it or hanging on for dear life when actually experiencing one.
What are topes?
Well, just calling them “speed bumps” doesn’t quite do it justice. These are not messing around! And, they were everywhere on Cozumel. Everywhere. Anytime we saw the sign or the tell-tale skid marks on the street, we’d yell, “TOPES!” …just in case the driver hadn’t noticed. Some of the topes were the equivalent of trying to drive over a beam that has been bolted into the ground…because they were beams that were bolted into the ground.
Regardless of who was driving, the warning shout was much appreciated. After all, we didn’t want to break our rental car…or our teeth. Driving in Mexico is a team sport, after all.
Motos
Moh-tohs. That’s how you say “motos” in Spanish. Motos are little scooters or smallish motorcycles. Nearly everyone in Cozumel has a moto. They are everywhere. They come out of nowhere. You have to pay attention, as a pedestrian, and as the operator of a lager (albeit smaller than normal) vehicle.
We saw whole families on one moto. Yes. For real. Mom, Dad, and two or three kids…all teetering on one moto. Yes. For real. Nearly everyone had on a helmet…except the babies. Yes, the babies. My heart stopped every time I saw a family on a moto.
“MOTO!” was another word we yelled as we were driving along. Between avoiding the motos and the topes, it’s a wonder the driver wasn’t jittery.
The Direct Translation of Mexican Road Signs Makes Me Giggle.
All along the highway were signs. There was no rhyme or reason to the signs, and they almost all looked alike at first glance. None of them were in English, but I wouldn’t expect them to be. Some were informative with mere suggestions (“Don’t forget to dim your lights!”), and some were extremely important. (“One lane road ahead!” or ” Loose gravel!”)
This has to be my favorite:
“NO REBASE CON RAYA CONTINUA”
Literally means, “It does not escape with continuous ray.”
Do you have a continuous ray? Because if so, we’re never getting out of here.
What does it really mean? “No passing with a solid line.”
Gee, that’s not nearly as exciting.
Then again, after dodging darting motos and coming to a screeching halt to hump it over topes, the bar of excitement was set pretty high. ;)
This is one of my favorite photos from our Cozumel trip.
First of all, look at that water. It’s ridiculously clear. This photo hasn’t been edited. It’s been cropped per my husband’s Online Photo Contract, but other than that, it’s true-to-life.
One day, we headed out to find some waves to play in. The water near our condo was relatively calm, and we wanted some action. We soon discovered a nice stretch of beach that had wonderful waves, soft sand, and no rocks. It was the perfect place to play, so we parked the car, made our way down the embankment, and played.
We handed our friend our water-proof camera so that he could take a “family” portrait of us in the water. The cameraman is being jostled by the waves. The camera subjects are being lifted and rocked by the waves, and we got some fun shots. Then, just as we’re doing another shot…all of a sudden…a wave blasted all of us.
What you see above was the resulting photo.
I love it! The colors are gorgeous. The expressions are funny. (You can’t see the expression on my husband’s face, but it’s totally the essence of him.) Every time I look at it, I can hear all of us laughing in that moment.
It’s fantastic.
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