So, How Was YOUR Weekend?

Wilma, sweet Wilma. I hope my fellow Floridians in Naples are doing as well as we are here in Central FL. Wilma was all bark and no bite...in fact, she didn't even take the bark off one single tree. I'm grateful for so many reasons -- mostly because I never made a water & battery run. She DID however, kill my Ponytail Palm. Bitch



Saturday I took CuddleBug and three of his heathen friends to Clearwater for the day. Word gets around in a small, small town (props to Mellencamp) when a new skateboard shop opens up, and these boys were itchin' to break a deck. If you've ever been to Clearwater, you'll realize there are exactly two things to do there; beach it, or pray to the aliens (it's a Scientology reference...keep up). Since I was not in the mood to do either, I strapped on my Nikon (the second best electrical thing I strap on) and played sport photographer.

Once inside the park I realized I was not going to make it a full four hours. It was hot -- extremly hot, and it smelled like sweaty boys. CuddleBug thought it was cool to have his own photographer, and I was amazed how many kids tried to sneak into the shot. After a few test runs, I managed to capture these.




This last photo is a test of my dedication as both a mom and a photographer. I stood ready to snap my son flying into the air and landing in a pit of foam. As he came off the ramp, I shot from instinct, then let out a loud, "Oh CHRIST!" He continued his journey through the air, landed butt-first in the foam, and pronounced, "I meant to do that. I, uh, saw it on a video." I'm not sure what feels worse; seeing my child hovered over a wooden platform, or downloading my photos and realizing I shot first and swore second.

A girl can only smell so much boy sweat before she has to go shopping. I wandered a miscellaneous mall in Tampa for a few hours, then realized if I hurried, I could make sunset in Clearwater. I hit the first strip of beach just in time to watch a couple geting married. It was a beautiful, quiet, private moment, and NO I did not take pictures. (Okay, I did snap two, but they didn't turn out). The sunset was not as beautiful as I had hoped, but I did manage to capture a few nice images.





I had a few spare moments before heading back to the skateboard park, so I sat in the Jeep and looked at my pictures. I did notice the pick-up truck pull in beside me, and I did notice that the driver left the engine running. I didn't get nervous until he rolled his window down. My "ruh roh" alarm went off, and I packed the Nikon and pulled out of the parking area. As I backed away, the driver stepped out, dropped the elastic wasteband of his shorts, and showed me how exciting my photography really is. Note to self: never shoot pictures at sunset off the Courtney Cambell Causeway, unescorted.

Sunday, sweet Sunday was a day for more yard work. My husband has made me his garden bitch, and I'm loving it. Here's what we've accomplished in our pink wonderland of a backyard.

This is a shot of the dry river bed we cut, leading from the patio to the gate.


Here's a closer view of the path winding toward the gate.

Right up TO the gate...

Leading away from the gate...

A close-up of the dry river bed, nicely pedicured toes and all...

AND a funky-assed plant thingamabob that DID weather that bitch Wilma.

Next weekend I will attempt to take more pictures; it's good for my soul. I will not, however, be viewing any wangs I do not hire and pose myself. Seriously.