Day- I have no freaking Clue! March 30, 2010

I have failed in my attempt to take a picture each day, much lest post them.  I have recently taken quite a few pictures, but have been so busy I haven't even thought about posting them.  

So here is a few shots of what I have been up to. 

Recently Route 81 north was closed due to a building that was in danger of collapsing onto the road.  This created a detour take made my 7 mile-15 minute drive home a 1 hour long ride home.  It brought me through what used to be many, many moons ago a nice part of town-the North Side- Now it is run down and has a lot of problems- I took this shot as I sat at a traffic light- a random tire leaning up against a storefront.

My office is located on the sixth floor of the west tower at Crouse Hospital.  Right outside my window is the Heli-Pad for Upstate Hospital's Mercy flights.  I have been trying to get a shot of one of the helicopters landing or taking off for months.  I either forget my camera at home, or by the time the sound of it registers in my mind- I have missed the opportunity.  Well I finally was on the ball and got a few decent shots. 

The weekend of March 13th, three girlfriends and I went to New York City.  We went to a Broadway show, shopped and ate- a lot....It was my first show and I truly had a great time.  I give Rachel credit for this shot- She stopped me as we were crossing the street and said "this would make a great picture"- She was correct- Thank you Rachel!

Monday March 14th Todd and I went to Rochester to see Thousand Foot Crutch, Red, Chevelle and Breaking Benjamin.  We ended up getting kicked out because of my camera.  This is one of the few shots I got before two rather cranky security "ladies" started stalking me. 

This is the drummer for Chevelle- Sam Loeffler

March 20th- We had Amanda's 15th birthday party at The Comfort Suites in Cicero.  It was me and six teenage girls (or almost Teenaged)- We had a very good time and they were beyond loud in the pool- The young man working behind the front desk deserves a medal for putting up with their constant demands for more towels.  Six girls can go through more than you can imagine

March 21 Barb and Gerry Schad had the first BBQ of the season at their house.  It was tons of fun and the house was crawling with kids. This shot is of Maddy- Barb and Ger's six year old daughter.  Maddy is fearless, rambunctious, spontaneous, and filled with more energy than I have ever had in my entire life.  This is Maddy jumping off the back of the slide!  Which she did without any injuries.  When we showed her this on my camera- she got this crazed look in her eye that said "I can do better"- She did- she went and did a cartwheel down the slide- unfortunately, I was not fast enough with the camera to capture it.

March 23- I won tickets to see Cavo, Lifehouse and Daughtry at the War Memorial that evening.  Included with these tickets were two passes to meet Cavo, see them perform acoustically, have pictures taken and get autographs.Thank you KROCK!!!!  I took Sam with me, she had told me the week before she really wanted to go to the show to see Cavo- We had a blast and I did get quite a few great shots-

This is the guitarist for Cavo- Chris Hobbs

March 4, 2010- March 9, 2010- Days 15 through 21-Boy I'm bad at this everyday thing

I know, I have not kept up my end of the agreement.  Not only have I not blogged daily, but I have not taken pictures daily.  I have no excuse except for life, and it was Amanda's 15th birthday on Saturday 3/6/10.

I took shots 4 or 5 days of the seven that I was M.I.A.(aka-consumed by the teenagers and animals that run my life)

My pictures cover a broad or not so broad variety of topics- Birthdays x 2, Animals (come on, that's a given), Winter's release of the death grip it has on Liverpool, NY, Babies, Animals that are not mine and the damage Winter leaves behind.

Birthday # 1- Ger's birthday (Barbara's hubby)- I went over to Barb's house last Thursday the 4th to watch Gray's Anatomy and Private Practice.  I did not know that it was his birthday, but happened to bring my camera along to take my picture of the day.  When I walked in Barb let it be known that I was in time for cake and ice cream(I did NOT eat any, I had my not very fun salad instead)-Barb was very excited to see I had my camera with me, and I am also- I truly need to work on the "portrait" (I use this word very, very loosely) picture taking.

Animals- A picture of my Pooch- He was sitting so nicely with my hubby-waiting oh so patiently for someone to get his ball-Does anyone notice a common theme when it comes to Luscius??????? I do believe that I took these on Friday 3/5/10

Birthday # 2- Amanda Marie Santaferra-McCarthy born  at 2215 on March 6, 1995 at St. Josephs Hospital Health Center in Syracuse turned 15 years old on Saturday.  I spent this day at the mall with six teenagers (boys were included), took them to a movie(I was NOT allowed to sit near them), got dragged around the mall, bought them all pretzels, fit eight people in my husband's Mazda 6(for those not familiar this is NOT a SUV or a Minivan), then found out that my lovely daughter thought she had gotten away with something the weekend before(thank you Linny-Nelson's Mom) and that she has a boyfriend-Nelson!!!!(newsflash! She is not supposed be dating for a whole additional year).  We finished off this action packed Saturday with Cheesecake, movies and introducing Savannah Banana & Tiff-i-n-i to Pee Wee's Playhouse(the word of the day is How)

Winters Release- Sunday 3/7/10 was a beautiful day.  I was rather productive.  I brought Momo outside, brushed her, brought her for a walk and took quite a few pics of random things around my yard(have I mentioned I am not very creative?)

Babies- Monday 3/8/10-OK so these shots were taken earlier in the week, but I need something to fill my gap of days! This is my Addy(No, she is not really mine, but she is such a good baby that I wouldn't mind having her)

Animals Not Belonging to Me- Tuesday 3/9/10-OK you got me again, this shot was also taken late the week before(pretty sure on Ger's birthday)- This happens to be Chewy(sorry Chew if I spelled it wrong)- Chewy is Barb & Gerry's Chihuahua, he is 3 pounds of fierce-That is he thinks he is fierce.  Chewy will greet you at the door, and  greet you some more as you take off your shoes and jacket.  He will then greet you as you say hello to Maddy & Addy(two really cute kids), Chew will continue to greet you as you pet him and say hello, he will greet you until you sit your a*s down.  For those not familiar with my code: Greet=Lots of loud persistent barking.  Chewy is a good boy, he just really enjoys greeting people.  :)

March 3, 2010---Day 14----Dragonflys in My Home

Everybody has a favorite color, a favorite food, a favorite activity...I have a favorite insect..I love Dragonflys..I always have, I find them to be beautiful and very interesting.  I like them so much that for my 31st birthday Todd bought me my second tattoo- a very large Dragonfly on my back, spanning the area between my shoulder blades. 

Contrary to popular thought a  Dragonfly's average life is between a few months to five years.  Most of it's life is spent in the naiad stage (aquatic larvae)- up tO three years.  When they come out of the water they immediately mature to adults.  Adult Dragonflys are harmless to humans, and actually help us by eating mosquitoes.

There is something special about being outside on a hot sunny day and having one land on you.  It makes you hold your breath while you try to get as closer look at the amazing kaleidoscope of colors they come in.  

My daughters and I also believe that they are part of our Uncle Bruce-He lost his fight against brain cancer almost three years ago at age 50.  After Uncle Bruce passed whenever we spoke about him, or to him, a Dragonfly would show up.  Maybe it is wishful thinking, but I truly feel that my Uncle is here with us when we need him in the form he can take and one I will recognize. 

Due to my love of them, I chose different representations of my favorite insect around my home for tonights subject.(in the process realized that I need to dust!)

Oh by the way, I am still working on that only one picture rule (I don't follow rules all that well)

Enjoy! 

March 2, 2010--Day 13-If I only Had Thumbs!

My doggies are as dear to me as my children-in some ways more than my children.  They are always happy to see me, they don't complain, and are SO very grateful for getting their balls out from underneath the Lazy-boy, the backpack, the plant, the coffee table, and the armoire in the living room.(Luscius) 

I was wandering around my house again tonight looking for a subject for tonight's picture(it's cold, I do not go outside in the cold) and I was telling myself that I could not shoot the poopies again, they were my subjects two days ago.  

Well too bad!  Animals are interesting, and no matter what they might be doing, you can find a good topic to use.  

Tonight's Topic- If I only had thumbs.  This stems from a commercial and my family's odd but loveable habit of speaking for the animals.  

It goes something like this....There are some guide lines

1. All animals male or female, feline or canine all have the same voice

2. It sounds like a cross between a chronic smoker of many years and the cadence of Dug-the talking dog from the movie UP.

Luscius speaking to me-"Mom, could you please get me the ball, I do not have thumbs"

Me speaking to Luscius- "Pooch, I just took the ball away, I am sick of getting out from the poinsettia for you"

To which he responds- "Well Mom, like I said you have thumbs, I do not, If I did, you would not have to get the ball out of the big scary plant that might bite me and make me scream like the stupid puppy Cosmo"

These are actual conversations that occur between my dogs and myself (OK not just me, every other member of my family, just in case you were thinking about calling someone about me)

The point is, I took pictures of my dogs using their thumb-less hands.

Enjoy!

 

March 1, 2010- Day 12- My True Passion-Concert Photography

I am cheating a bit.  I did not take the following pictures tonight.  They were taken in Albany, NY on February 5, 2010 at the Three Days Grace, Chevelle & Flyleaf concert.

Concerts and Music are a huge part of my life.  I relate memories in my lifetime by what music and songs were popular at that time.  In my everyday life, an average day includes at least ten hours of music in it.  Life is just too quiet without it.  I try to go to as many concerts in a year as I possibly can, I would say we see at least seven to ten shows on average.  Our Crue (giggle) consists of Me, Todd, Jenni (Soul Sista) and her husband Chris. Todd and Chris are very good men, they take us to shows, deal with us being at times a 'lil inebriated, and keep us safe.  The two of us are social butterflies at shows and run into numerous friends that we typically only see while at a concert.  We do our best to help out and educate the next generation of rockers (sometimes with more success than others), but more than anything we go to rock out.  We sing our hearts out, scream at the top of our lungs (and get many looks when we do), and truly enjoy ourselves. 

Anybody that knows me well (Soul Sista to name one) understands that I get truly excited when I get an amazing shot at a concert.  

It is very difficult to get a good quality picture at a show.  The lighting is; to say the least, unpredictable, and the crowd around us can make the task quite challenging.  Now, I feel that anyone can get a great picture if they are in the front of the stage or even on stage on the sidelines; but it takes some skill to get a good shot while standing in the middle of a crowd that is seething.  Bodies pushing up against you, beer and other liquids flying in the air, crowd surfers over head(watch for feet!), and the inevitable mosh pit that opens up right where I am standing.  Add to this the next generation who do not have any concert etiquette, and there are times when I wonder why I even try.  Then, I get the shot..............

Lacey Mosley- Lead Singer of Flyleaf

Adam Gontier- Lead Singer of Three Days Grace

 Adam Gontier

February 27, 2010----Day 10---Winter Wonderland

I haven't posted in the last two days, and I apologize.  Life got crazy for a little bit, but I am back.  The pictures I chose today are were actually taken on day 8 of my project- 2/25/2010.  

Living in Syracuse, NY we are for the most part used to a lot of snow.  This winter though, has not been that bad, so when a nasty storm came to give us all a reminder of what we have been missing on Thursday everybody slightly panicked.  

Mary, my wonderful boss was concerned about the roads, and decided to shut the office down at 3:00 instead of our normal 4:30.( I love her for this, because the roads did get horrendous).  I got home around 3:30 or so, and decided to take advantage of getting home so early.  

There is a dog park in Liverpool, our poopies love it, but we are unable to bring them there very often.  Luscius is not neutered and will get into a territory battle with any other un-neutered male that might be there.  I figured the park would be empty because it was a Thursday, people are at work and the weather was awful.  

I advised my lovely daughters Amanda and Samantha that they would be accompanying me on this adventure; and they rather reluctantly got themselves ready.  Now Pooch and Cosmo knew something was up and were very riled, as soon as I turned into the entrance Lusicus started his "talking" (I cannot begin to describe it, except that his dialect contains yelps, frustration yawns and lip blowing/puffing)

Luckily I was correct and the dog park was empty.  We played with the poopies for about an hour and a half.  In the process, we lost both of Luscius' favorite balls, Sam built a miniature snowman named Hewitt, and Momo injured her leg. ( we didn't realize this until later in the evening- aspirin works well).  

We really enjoyed ourselves and so did the doggies.  I took a lot pictures, and it was very challenging.  My glasses had turned into sunglasses (transitions), it was snowing very hard (snow flakes on my glasses, viewfinder and lens), plus I would fog up my viewfinder whenever I shot for an extended amount of time.  I chose a few pictures that were my favorite- one each of my ladies and a couple of my other babies.

Enjoy!

Cosmo

 

Luscius with Cosmo bringing up the rear

Pooch had the ball and Momo wanted it

                                                                                                       Samantha and Hewitt

 

Amanda 

February 24, 2010----Day 7---Baby Kitties Are Here!!!!!!!

Good evening everybody...Today was a very exciting day for the Flora household...(My Cousin aka Soul Sista Jenni & Her Family).  Kitty- the cat they rescued this summer gave birth to her long awaited and overdue babies. 

Both Jenni & I rescued kitties this summer after losing between us three very loved and still horribly missed Kitties- Lucy, Cassie & Mogwai (Moggy).  Nothing takes away the pain from losing a loved one but certain things can be done to help you heal.  Our rescues, both unplanned have been named very unique and individual names- Kitty (jenni) & Kitt~Unn (me).  

The saga of the new babies started one day about 8 weeks or so ago...Kitty went outside and didn't come home, Jenni got very very worried and even posted an ad on Channel 9's Petfinders Website.  Thankfully Kitty came home the next day to everyone's relief.  Then the Floras noticed that Kitty seemed to be putting on some weight.  Uh Oh!

Once the shock and oh crap what are we going to do's were over, we all started betting on how many she was going to have and when.  This morning at 3:00 am, Kitty's water broke on Jenni & Chris' Bed.  

After many long hours in labor she gave birth to 5 beautiful babies.  Two dark orange tiger and three fawn colored babies.  One of each color has a bob tail (Mama is a bob tail).  

Luba is taking one, and a dude Chris works with is taking another...I've named one, he is a orange tiger who looks a lot like our Benjamin.  His name is Burnley.  So if Todd falls in love we will have a Ben and a Burnley (Breaking Benjamin anyone?)

Here are some pics of Mama and babies...Enjoy!