Things to do on a Day Off

John had some vacation days that had to be used by next week, so he was home this past Thursday and Friday. Without any major homework to take his attention, I had him all to myself! I can't even begin to describe what a fun day we had together, without having to be anywhere or do anything. It has given me a glimpse of what our life will be like when he finishes school in nine weeks, and I can hardly wait! Sharing him with books isn't as much fun as it sounds.

We started our day with some errands. I went to the gym while he got his new drivers license and some scheduled maintenance done on his car. We enjoyed a lunch out, John getting three double cheeseburgers at McDonald's, while I chose to eat some Chik-Fil-A. We sat outside of the restaurant and enjoyed our beautiful spring weather.

When we got home, we played a little bit of our new Wii game, Mario Galaxy, which we bought for the upcoming family reunion in Sedona. To ensure maximum enjoyment with the family, we had to do a little quality assurance first. It was lots of fun, and it never ceases to amaze me how incredible John is at video games! Then we went outside for some yard work! Wearing official lawn-mowing attire of shorts and flip-flops, John mowed while I supervised. This involved lots of deep and thought-inspiring questions like, "Did you do this part already?" and "What about over here, babe?" I think I now know why John usually mows the lawn when I am at work! John also had to pull some pretty big weeds, but luckily, I was there to supervise the entire event. He did well and passed my inspections. We worked to rake up some leaves from under the fig tree, which bit John on his foot and made him bleed. I guess it's part of the package when wearing official lawn-mowing attire. Though the pictures don't back my story, I actually DID help quite a bit. It felt good to be outside making the yard look better. I am really looking forward to having our own yard someday.

Then we headed inside to clean up and eat some snacks of red grapes and homemade Chicken Noodle Soup, which has been my staple all week. It's healthy and filling, so it's perfect for me to eat! We folded laundry, then emptied the dishwasher since I sleep better at night when my kitchen is clean! It was a social evening, eating at the neighbors for dinner, then having three separate and unexpected groups of visitors to our apartment throughout the evening. We felt so popular! It was such a fun day together, even though we didn't do much. Sometimes nothing is better than anything!

Spring, Macro Mode, and Neighborhood Thieves

Taking into consideration that most people are still buried under snow and shivering under the covers at night while blizzards and wind storms rage outside, I very much love that I can sit outside and enjoy an afternoon of very bright sun. I love being outside. Even more so when I have wonderful but brutally-honest friends look at my pictures from last week and say, "You need some sun." I aim to please, so I suffered through an hour in the outdoors this afternoon to take some shots of the newly blossoming spring leaves in our yard. And then I sat in a lawn chair for some direct sunlight to appease the previously-mentioned uberly-critical friends. It's not my fault that I live in a basement.

Macro Mode: my favorite thing about taking pictures. I love how the focus is so sharp on part of the picture and completely blurs out the unimportant stuff in the rest of the photograph. I love how crisp and detailed the photos can turn out. I love how the results are mostly a guessing game until I load them on my computer. Some photos just blow me away, while I toss about one-third of them into the recycle bin. Someday, when I own a big-kid camera with interchangeable black things that attach to the end of the camera body, I think that lenses capable of composing awesome macro mode shots will be my go-to for everything. What's for dinner? Should I buy this t-shirt? Which stocks look promising for investment? Hold on while I ask my lense...

It's a little late for oranges, as many are already falling to the ground. But I wanted to take a picture of the ones that are still attached to the tree, meaning they survived the foraging midnight neighbors who happen to like my oranges better than store-bought ones. I can't say I blame them...they are delicious. But the limes go so quickly that we question whether or not the tree grows any. My alcohol-free margarita mixes have suffered as a result. Dang those lime-loving, nocturnal neighbors!

My oh my, how I love living in the Valley of the Sun. And it's really not that hot in the summer! Honest!