DC part 2

I've been on a blogging hiatus. But I finished editing and uploading my pics from my business trip to Washington, DC.

On day 3 I decided to be adventurous and go to the zoo. It was a beautiful day and I *thought* I knew how to get there and get back to my hotel. I got on the metro and got off on the Cleveland Park exit.

I walked through the zoo. Saw the pandas.

Saw the gorillas.

(p.s. This monkey kinda reminded me of Nic. He would not leave his mom's side. LOL)

Walked to see the elephants but there were no where in sight. So instead I noticed the sun sneaking through the trees and got this cool sun flare shot.

After about an hour of exploring the zoo, I made it to the end.

Then I started walking to where I thought was the closest metro stop. I asked a jogger and he had said that the closest metro would be just after the first bridge.

I walked and saw my first bridge but no metro.

Then I saw another one.

And another one and then I started to get worried.

There was no metro insight but it was still light and a lot of people. I saw the last bridge as I was coming out of a park and went toward a strip of restaurants. And there it was a metro stop.

My night did not end there. I was persuaded by a Planned Parenthood girl that the best food would be at Adams Morgan, a short bus ride would get me there. (I will not be taking advice anymore from random people on the street.)

I walked around Adams' Morgan and settled on a South American Tapas restaurant called Rumba Cafe. It was amazing.

Now it was dark and there was no metro around so I thought I would get back on the bus and get to the closest metro. I got on the bus but it went the opposite way. I asked the bus driver to please let me know where the closest metro stop would be. I finally made it to a metro and was on my way back to my hotel.

It was a long afternoon and then as I walked into my hotel room, a light bulb went off in my brain, TAXI!

The rest of the week was less eventful, thank GOD!

Later!
N@

Eating and Drinking in DC....

This is my second time to DC in the last year (for work) but probably my 10th or so time. And I love it. It is such a fun and eclectic city. There is no shortage of great and diverse restaurants and even when I'm on my own I try to hit up different restaurants every time I come. So the 2nd night in I took the metro to China Town and had dinner at a great brewery, RFD.

They were having a great specials and I only spend $10 for a beer and a burger. It was DELISH!

First came the beer. It was a little different but hit the spot.

Then came the huge delicious burger and I thought I would only have half....

But nope, I finished it all. And here is the picture to prove it.

I'll be here for another 2 days. I'm hoping to get some more cool shots while I'm here. But as the day unwinds, I think of my boys back home. I'm missing them a bunch but I'll be back pretty soon.

More DC pics in the upcoming days!
Later

N@

Scavenger Hunt 9/20

I seem to work best under pressure. Three of the five pics from the scavenger hunt were taken yesterday and one today. (oops again). These were kind of hard for me because they really didn't have a human component. Or at least I couldn't find one. So with no further ado...

Wish/Dream

I had always dreamed of going to Paris. This is one from my archives (circa Feb 2008). It was taken w/ my P&S and I re-edited for this scavenger hunt.

Clean

I found this bar of soap last night in my hotel room. Soap=Clean.

Currency

Leo went to Malta and he brought back some Euros. This is one of the coins.

Pair

Here I have two pairs...a pair of jeans and a pair of shoes. No head b/c it was a guy standing waiting for the metro yesterday at the airport.

Square

And I took this one today on my way to work. I was looking for a square and was frustrated that I could not find one. Then I looked up and say them....a building full of windows in the shape of squares. Score!

To see more great entries go to:

Later!
N@

Scavenger Hunt Sunday 9/12

Hey all! I'm joining the party just a little late. I actually took two of my pictures today...please don't shoot me.

Here are my interpretations...

Power line:

I jog every Saturday and along the trail are these power lines that stretch a few blocks. I was looking forward to photographing this stretch of power lines but once I got to the park, I realized I forgot the least for my dog! Pebbles is my jogging partner and I could not leave her behind. So instead I took this one right before I drove back home to get the leash.

Newspaper:

I took this one today. These line the entrance right as I enter my job. I edited in a vintage style since newspapers are a dying breed.

Pose:

Nicolas was playing Sunday morning with his dinosaur puzzle and he posed his dinosaurs along the window. Perfect opportunity.

Hobby:

Photography is my first and only hobby. For a while I thought cooking was my hobby but Leo is the pickiest eater so that limited my creativity.

Landscape:

I looked for a "true" landscape in my pics from my vacation and none spoke to me. So instead I'm entering this sunset/landscape as a landscape. I love sunset pictures and I took plenty while on vacation.

I hope you have enjoyed my entries, even if they are a little late.

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Have a productive week!

N@

St. Lucia Vacation Part 2

Our vacation continued and we ate, played in the sun, took an excursion around the island, hiked, snorkeled and ate some more.

On the tour of the island we went snorkeling, went to an active volcano, bathed in these muddy waters, had an authentic St. Lucian lunch, bathed in a mineral spring and headed back to the resort. It was full day and it was awesome.

We were taken snorkeling in this boat. The sun was blazing and the water was blue!

These are the Piton Mountains. I shared a picture of Leo and me with this backdrop here for a scavenger hunt. But here you can really appreciate the view.

The water was stinky, hot and black. The water was mixed with stuff from the volcano (I wasn't paying attention). We bathed in the water and I swear I felt like I was going to boil.

We took a short break to get a cute picture of us.

This is right by the souvenir shops on the side of the active volcano. Seems a little dangerous but no one was worried.

The next day we took a short hike up a little mountain. I had a great time but these things are not Leo's cup of tea.

But it was AJ's cup of tea. He was climbing on everything. He was in his element. The higher he could go the better.

There are very few pics just of me and while this is not the greatest, it will do.

And did I mention that Leo doesn't like to hike, well his face says it all. But he was a good sport and did not complain once.

And lastly another one of my BFF and her hubby.

This was last full day in St. Lucia. We had a great vacation but couldn't wait to get home to see Nicolas. We decided the next beach vacation will be with Nic. He would have a blast at the beach.

To see more pics from my vacation click here. I hope you have enjoyed them.

Later!
N@

Planes and Pizza

The week started by Leo leaving on Sunday for a business trip. Lucky me, Nicolas came down with a mini-virus that night. He fought his sleep, stayed up past his bedtime, cried for 10 minutes, and finally fell asleep. The next day he was still not 100%, fought bedtime again, and didn't go to sleep until 9:30pm. 4 hours later he was screaming at the top of his lungs "mami" it broke my heart. I brought him back to bed with me after 1.5 of struggling to get him back to sleep. He never fell back into deep sleep and tossed and turned until 5:30am and was up for the day. I took off Wednesday to make sure he was ok. By this time of the week I was EXHAUSTED.

Lets fast forward to today. He was a happy camper this morning, I picked him up at daycare a little past 5:oopm. We went to the airport's observation deck to watch airplanes. Instead he played in the playground and maybe glanced at the runway and say one airplane take off. I sat there and watched him play and have fun. At around 6pm I ordered some pizza and we came home had dinner and watched Dora. He was signing along with Dora, asking for more pizza, was just happy as could be. We played outside, came back in, I bathed him and got him ready to go to bed.

The best part was putting on his pj. He was cracking up because I was tickling his feet. It was that contagious giggle/laugh. I could not help but indulge him with more tickling. He giggled and laughed for a good 10 minutes. And just like that I couldn't remember the crappy first part of the week. I didn't miss Leo for those minutes, it was just Nicolas and me. I read him 4 books, sang him his bedtime lullaby and put him in his crib and he drifted off to sleep.

I miss Leo terribly and can't wait for him to be back but if all days were like these I think I could deal without him (at least temporarily). Some days being a mother is so un-rewarding but then there are days like today. Nothing too crazy, just the simple things: the happy giggles, the glass of wine, downtime in from of a computer, editing pictures, soft music playing in the background.

And what is a post without pictures. Here are some of tonight.

Hanging out in the sand...happy as a clam.

Two kids came to the playground and he was observing and trying to get their attention.

This is a picture of the observation deck. I'm going to have to come back without Nicolas as the sun is setting. I can just imagine what kind of shots I could get.

Have a great weekend!
N@

TMMAPC-Pets

You don't have to twist my arms to showcase the most beautiful mutt you will ever see. Her name is Pebbles and she is the sweetest, most hyper, jumpiest dog you will ever meet. She is almost 6 years old and acts like a one year puppy. Here are just a few of her...

I have shared this picture a bunch, but it is my favorite of Pebbles and Nicolas. This is Nicolas at 5 months! How time flies.

This is a horrible shot but I was feeling sick and exhausted so I let Pebbles lay down with me as Nicolas was watching some TV. Leo got my camera and took this picture. On most weekends I will nap when Nicolas is napping and you can find me and Pebbles napping together.

Here you can start seeing she is getting old, her gray mouth.

And this is my "official" entry. One of Nicolas' first words was Pebbles and one of the first words he utters every morning is Pebbles. They are like "peas and carrots." Usually they are driving each other nuts but this time he was just holding her hand. They make me smile and laugh on a daily basis.

To see more great entries click below.

Have a great weekend!
N@