The water's edge...

I recently returned from a whirlwind weekend in Duluth.

It was my first time in the Minnesotan city...

And I loved it!

From the beautiful area along Lake Superior...

To the cute downtown shops and restaurants... it was a great trip!

I'll have a number of photos from the trip to share in the coming days, but for now I'll leave you with a few shots of the sunrise over the lake.

Thank you for stopping by- I hope you have a great weekend!!

Looking at the lake....

When we were on vacation we spent some time at Lake Superior.
If you've ever visited Lake Superior, you know that it's quite impressive. The surface area of the lake is approximately the size of South Carolina (31,820 square miles). And even in the summer the average temperature of the lake is only 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Luckily the water is a bit warmer closer to shore and we had a blast swimming. But when we weren't frolicking in the waves, we spent our time searching for rocks.
Do you ever look for rocks? We often keep an eye out for something pretty and/or special- and this region of Michigan is a treasure trove of natural resources. From great big hunks of copper, granite, sandstone and calcite...
To tiny fragments of agates and greenstones... we searched for everything!
So when we got to this particular beach we kicked off our shoes, grabbed a bucket, and got to work.
We used all sorts of methods in our search for stones! Sometimes we searched the water's edge while sitting down...
And other times we strolled along, waiting for something to catch our eye!
And sometimes we just went for it and walked into the lake for a better view of the rocks under the water's surface!
But after all that searching, I got a little tired. So I smoothed out some sand and took a seat.
And from that spot on the beach I had one incredible view of Lake Superior! (That's my little brother in the water.)
Since it was such a beautiful evening, we decided to just stick around and watch the sunset.
While we waited for the sun to make it's decent my family had a blast chatting a laughing, and my uncle told us all about the "green flash".
Have you heard of this phenomenon? Supposedly if certain atmospheric conditions are met, the moment the sun sinks below the horizon a green "flash" can be seen. Of course we decided WE were going to see that gosh darn flash... so we waited... and waited...
And saw NOTHING! We all swore we didn't blink (and I took a tone of pictures just in case I accidentally did)... but we didn't see a green flash of any sort!
So while we might have failed failed at spotting the flash, we certainly succeeded in having a wonderful afternoon and evening!

Thank you for visiting my blog- I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Quitting time

Like everyone else in the world, I sometimes have to work late. For example, the other day I got home just as the sun was setting over Manhattan!
A few weeks ago, I snapped a photo as I crossed Broadway at dusk!
And earlier this week, the subway broke down and I took a taxi home after it had gotten dark.
(Yes- I totally took photos out the window as we sped across town... why do you ask?)
As we crossed the Queensborough Bridge, I had a wonderful view of the NYC skyline.
You know what? I've decided leaving work late isn't so bad... especially when I get to take weird pictures like these! Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Only a LITTLE sunburn...

Apparently Mother Nature didn't get the memo that April=Spring, because she delivered a weekend of summer weather here in NYC! All the weather(wo)men kept saying it was going to be a hot weekend, and they sure weren't kidding.

In preparation for the unseasonably hot temperatures, I did a little shopping on Friday at lunch. There's a great bargain shoe store by my office, and I picked up these flip-flops:
I thought I would buy some SoCal sandals to impress SFS- wouldn't you know that I picked out the shoes that were made in BRAZIL! Oh well- NEXT time I'll get the Reefs!

Friday evening found SFS and I hanging out with his roommate on the roof of their building. His roommate also invited their 3 year old neighbor (and his dad, of course) to play wiffle ball on the roof- and we didn't lose any balls over the side! After that excitement, we watched the sunset over New Jersey... don't worry, it was much prettier than it sounds!

In honor of the AMAZING weather, we spent most of Saturday in Central Park. There were TONS of people there, and I only got a SMIDGEN of a sunburn to show for it. And SFS bought me a red/white/blue popsicle... I might have gotten sticky fingers, but it was worth it!

After church on Sunday, I got to hang out with KS. She and I worked at the scrapbook store together in Dallas, and we met to catch up, grab some cold drinks, and enable each other's addictions. We headed over to PortraitBug, and I bought some really great stuff:
Aren't those papers great? Seeing all the new product just gets me all enthused to create things... especially all those vintage-y Jenny Bowlin goodies... I think they'll work PERFECTLY with pictures from my visit to the Flour Museum in MSP last summer! Hope you had a great weekend- Happy Monday!

M.O.N.D.A.Y.

What a fun weekend! After work on Friday, I headed to the UWS to meet SFS after work. Since I get out earlier than him, I spent some time in Joan of Arc Park, drinking an iced tea and crocheting. Dorky, yes... wonderful, OH YES! I took a couple of pics on my cell, just because the sun was setting and was making everything sparkly!


Then SFS took me out to dinner at Flor de Mayo. When he said it was a Peruvian/Asian place, I had my doubts... but it was SO delicious! I had Lomo Saltado with yellow rice, and a strawberry daquiri or two. (OK- technically I ordered two, but SFS helped me with the second one!)
On Saturday, SFS and I hit Central Park. It was a REAL spring day- 70ish degrees and sunny with a slight breeze. We found an empty spot on the grass and people watched to our hearts' content. We saw at least a thousand runners/bikers whiz by, tons of cute dogs/puppies out to play, and a little boy even "relieved" himself in a bush about 15 feet away from me. What can I say? I'm glad he made it to the bush!
The services at church went well yesterday- the week after Easter is always sort of odd. The attendance goes back to normal, but the lessons still call for BIG/exultant music. We sang the "Easter Fight Song" (our nickname for the anthem "Ye Choirs of New Jerusalem"), and I have to admit that it's not a bad piece when I'm vocally rested! :)
And now it's Monday- back to the grind! I hope you're having a SUPER day!

Sunshine-y day

What a beautiful day- the sun is shining and it's warm! Not much to write about, but it'll be quite a busy day. I did take a moment to update the look of the blog, thanks to "Cutest Blog On the Block"! Hope you have a GREAT day!!!