Meet The Tamron AF18-200 F/3.5-6.3

One of many birthday wishes came true, Christian and the kids totally surprised me with a new camera lens, a totally versatile Tamron lens that does a good job of capturing pictures at a variety of distances and under different circumstances.  It is a perfect lens for me and means I will not have to do much swapping out to accommodate different settings.  Plus, my Cannon kit lens is totally uncooperative these days so I needed something to fill the gap. 

The lens is light-weight but sturdy and only slightly more complicated to use than I anticipated.  I am having fun learning all about the many wonderful things it can do and am only barely able to capture a decent picture right now.  I have to learn a little more about focusing, lighting and distance before I can really be comfortable with this guy...until then, bear with me and enjoy the practice.

The first one was my 3rd shot ever with the Tamron (I had to delete shots 1 and 2, understandably):

These are a few from Sunday when we celebrated Mom-Mom's birthday at the Yacht Club with GG, Papa George and Elaine. The kids loved watching the sailboats...very cheap thrills.  It helped that it was an absolutely gorgeous day to be outside:

What To Do On A Fall NOLA Day - Part III

Last Sunday, before taking Nana and Papa-T to the Lakefront Airport, we had brunch at Cafe on the Square.  The Cafe is in the St. Charles Avenue Hotel on the corner of Poydras and St. Charles. It has big picture windows so that diners can watch streetcars and check out Lafayette Square.  The view of St. Charles is perfect and the Lafayette Square view is even more lovely unless/until the homeless fellows show up for mid-morning naps after breakfast at Ozanam Inn.

I had been to the Cafe for lunch on a few occasions and enjoyed it, and we frequently order catered breakfast from the Cafe for work events, but I had never been there for weekend brunch.  Admittedly, it was not our first choice, but on a cool NOLA morning every brunch place is packed, so we were thrilled to find a place where we could be seated immediately with a party of 6.  The waitress was super-accommodating and immediately brought crayons for the kids (the tables are covered in white paper and the kids were encouraged to channel their inner Picasso), the ambiance was nice, the menu has a great mix of savory and sweet which is important for someone like me who gravitates to sweet stuff for breakfast, and the food was excellent.  I highly recommend Cafe on the Square for brunch - don't let the fact that it is in a hotel deter you - it is worth the trip!

After brunch Christian and the kids took Nana and Papa-T to the airport and the kids spent most of the time climbing around on Papa-T's plane, daydreaming about stowing-away in the back of the plane and hiding out with their cousins in Atlanta...maybe next time.

What To Do On A Fall NOLA Day - Part II

After a lovely and not-too-crowded morning at the City Park Carousel Gardens, Christian and Papa-T spent the afternoon flying from NOLA to Thibodaux and around both cities. It took them less than 20 minutes to get to Thibodaux by plane - amazing!  Christian got some really cool shots of the farm and cane fields while they circled.  He also snapped a picture of our neighborhood.  I will eventually post them (once I can figure out what I am looking at and can properly orient everyone).

While the guys flew, Nana and I took the kids to the Freret Street Market.  I had not been in a long time and there were a few things I wanted to check out.  I knew they would have a few adoptable dogs out there (not too many since the big SPCA event was going on simultaneously in City Park) and there were a few cute ones.  I also figured there would be good music and food.  The highlights for the kids were the crepes and the lemonade.  Poor Nana barely got a bite of her cheddar bacon crepe.  The highlights for me were the crafts - especially Miss.  Malaprop - she has some great rings, hair accessories and earrings - and this delicious herbal tea and infused water stand.  I cannot remember the vendor and Christian was incredulous when I told him I spent $3 on her water BUT it was delicious, truly.

There is so much great stuff to say about Freret Street.  It has clearly become a destination and that is thanks, at least in part, to the allure of the Freret Street Market.  I think the market takes place once a month and I recommend checking it out if you have a free afternoon. We enjoyed every minute of our trip.

After an evening bbq we headed down Magazine Street to Pinkberry and were entertained throughout the walk by all of the Art for Arts Sake festivities.  Granted, because we had the kids with us and only a limited amount of time (the sun had already set and bedtime was fast approaching), we did not go in any of the stores or galleries (other than Pinkberry) but there was plenty of people watching to do and some great store fronts - even a karaoke machine manned by someone with a love for cheesy 80's music.  AfAS is a fabulous event that has grown exponentially over the years.  There is a free shuttle on Magazine Street so you can drink without worrying about driving and walk knowing that a ride is there for you if you need it.  As long as I am in town I will check out this event every year.  The kids loved it too...but slowly started to get worn out on the walk home:

What To Do On A Fall NOLA Day - Part I

Last weekend was filled with tons of incredible fun and free (or almost free) activities.  The perfect weather was a motivating factor - we all wanted to be outside - but it was also nice to have so many different activities to choose from.

On Friday night we had drinks and dinner at Midway pizza, a fabulous new pizza place that opened on Freret Street.  I know, we have many pizza places in Uptown NOLA, but they are all distinctly different and there is nothing bad about having too many pizza places.  Incidentally, my least favorite pizza place is the one that is closest to our house - NY Pizza - go figure.  Luz and Christian love and will always vote for Theo's, but I think the vote is somewhat skewed. Luz likes it because of the Miss Pac Man machine.  For any ordinary family pizza night, Slice is my pick.  Reginelli's is my favorite daytime pizza place and I like it best for takeout, but I cannot tolerate the crowds at night.  My two favorite "night out without the kids" pizza places are Dommenica (hands down, the BEST) and Ancora (might actually end up beating Dommenica because of the convenience factor -yes, it too is on Freret).  Back to Midway though, I think it is a great, family-friendly pizza restaurant.  The pizza is good, the salads are good, the alcohol selection is perfect, and the vibe of the place is top-notch.  I love that there were couples out on dates, friends meeting up for drinks after work, and families all packed in side-by-side.  The noise level might be a bit tough for the older crowd but it is perfect for families who would like to disguise a toddler meltdown mid-meal.  I highly recommend that you check it out of if you are looking for another reliable pizza destination in NOLA.  If it is a weekend night and you do not want to hang around for hours, arrive early as there was quite a wait by the time we left around 8:00.

We woke up on Saturday morning and decided to take advantage of the already long ago paid for season passes to the City Park Carousel Gardens for a morning of rides.  I am so glad that we purchased the passes at the beginning of the summer because they have more than paid for themselves.  I will do it every year as long as the kids still enjoy the rides.  Luz is now a champ and will go on all of the rides (with the exception of the music express as she is not tall enough and she watched it debilitate Christian for the better part of a day).  She even convinced me to take her on the scrambler and conned Nana into a ride on the never-ending ferris wheel.  It was crowded but manageable...there were not any particularly long lines for any of the rides, except the train and it would have broken James' heart if we skipped his favorite one!  So, if you are in NOLA and looking for a great way to help the kids burn off some energy, consider a trip to the Carousel Gardens.  The cost of rides and admission is not outrageous and if you plan to go multiple times, a family pass is a great option.  Did I mention they sell beer there (Abita and Miller Lite)?  You can also pack a picnic lunch (which I did on Saturday) to save on the overall cost of a day at the Carousel Gardens.  There is ample seating throughout the park.

NOLA Weekend

All it takes is a 70 degree, sunny NOLA weekend to remind me why living here is a good thing and that, even though there is so much about the city that is tough to take, I cannot imagine being anywhere else. 

Our weekend was even better than just beautiful weather and excellent excuses to be outside because Nana and Papa-T flew down to visit us for a quick 48 hours.  We managed to pack in a ton of activity in two short days, but we also had plenty of r and r and a healthy dose of fresh air.

The gang...on our way inside the City Park Carousel Gardens:

Carousel...An Update

Remember, back a few months ago when Luz still hated the carousel,  but caved under the peer-pressure from James, and got up and rode white-knuckle style, looking a little something like this:

which, incidentally, was a vast improvement over every previous attempt which ended in kicking and screaming and buckets of tears - like at her 3rd birthday party:

Well...we have made even more progress.  We spent a quiet, hot morning at the Audubon Zoo recently and rode the carousel, mostly at James' insistence.  And, overall, things started much as I had anticipated they would:

but ended quite nicely.  See she actually enjoyed it:

When I was little my parents always called the carousel the 'flying horses' and, frankly, the name and then the images of the teethy horses, manes blown backwards, nostrils flared, always freaked me out a little.  So, I get it.  But at 6 you should be able to tackle the carousel with a smile...and she did, finally.

Life

While I was busy living it up in Annapolis for my cousin's wedding, pretending to be someone without a care in the world, I got a text from my friend, Elizabeth, that quickly took me back to reality. She had kindly agreed to cover for me and carpool Lucy to a skating birthday party (a tall task in light of the fact that Lucy had never skated before...ever).

Her text was as follows: "Congratulations, Lucy got to to take home Suzi Q, the class pet, this weekend. By the way, there is a lice epidemic at school right now so you might want to make sure Christian runs that thing in the dryer before the kids get too close to it."

I guess Christian did not understand the urgency of my request, or maybe it is just that he is a guy and does not have a huge appreciation for hygiene, or maybe he has never had lice. At any rate, late that night when I finally had a chance to talk to him he told me that he didn't bother putting the stuffed animal in the dryer because he figured it was "too late at that point anyway." Grrr. I was on pins and needles all weekend thinking about a lice infestation and my inability to handle one. And when I got home on Sunday I immediately checked heads, holding my breath the entire time, not exhaling until I was sure there was no trace of lice. Here is Luz with sweet, clean, lice-free Suzi-Q:

Happy Birthday to Me

I turned 38 years old today. 38. In two years I will be 40, at which point (as Luz so kindly reminded me this evening) I will then be 'over the hill'...yikes. So, yeah, I am feeling (and looking) a little old. But it was a perfect birthday weekend - a family wedding in Annapolis with plenty of time to visit with family members I do not see often enough, a lovely day with Christian and the kids visiting with friends and opening presents, and a delicious dinner with my family to end the weekend and celebrate in style. I totally relaxed this weekend - Christian and the kids stayed in NOLA and, although I missed them terribly (we all did), it was nice to have my hands and mind free - no chasing kids around and making sure they stayed out of trouble. Without my muses though I barely took any pictures. Fortunately, plenty of other people did... Here is one that Mary posted - me, with some of the cousins, at the wedding reception:

I am the old person somewhere near the middle, you cannot miss me.

Chuggington

James has been filling up the sticker charts I created as an incentive to help him potty train like it is his job. The reward - a trip to Magic Box to select a new train. He is an equal opportunity train collector - Brio, Thomas, no-name brand dime store set - he loves them all. Recently, however, he has become completely obsessed with Chuggington. The trains run on a wooden track that is compatible with the miles of Brio track at mom's house that are left over from when James' Uncle Josh was equally as crazy-obsessed with all things train. I see a train table in James' future, right?

What's New

I finally updated the blog design a bit. I have so many different ideas about what I would like to do with the blog, but there is just so little free time these days that it cannot be a priority. Consequently, I simplified things a little and decided I would start to feature some of my favorite old pictures in the blog header and rotate them in and out periodically because there are so many that I love.

And, speaking of pictures, I am in desperate need of a new lens. I never replaced the 'kit' lens after my first generation Rebel finally bit the dust (or was dropped one too many times) and I just cannot get the old lens to cooperate these days. It was sluggish for a while and now it is practically non-responsive and impossible to use. So, I am keeping my eyes on this little guy, which I hear is a versatile 'go-to' lens and is totally compatible with the Rebel.


It is a little more lens than I need (and probably a little more than I would know what to do with), but I have a birthday coming up soon, which means I just might be in luck.

Oh, while I am dreaming...it would be very cool to get a pair of these:


Newtons are supposedly THE latest in running shoe trends...maybe they will make me faster (yeah, right).

One more thing...I love these charms. I got a necklace with a "J" charm when I was a bridesmaid in my cousin's wedding and I wear it almost every day. Now I just need an "L" to add to the mix and have Lucy represent!


But seriously...do you want to know what I REALLY want for my birthday? It is all very simple and the older I get the more I feel like I sound like my mom and dad when we asked what they wanted. What I REALLY want are the following things:

1. sweet, well-behaved children (which I have, mostly);
2. more time in the day to spend with sweet, well-behaved children;
3. more quality time with Christian (which I had today - we went to the Saints game together, without kids, and it was a perfect afternoon);
4. one morning to sleep late in a dark, quiet, cold room;
5. less work-induced anxiety (which I might have since I just settled the last case I have that was set to go to trial in 2011);
6. the ability (mentally and physically) to run longer and faster;
7. world peace; AND
8. a new sports bra

But, truthfully, I am very happy and feel blessed to have celebrated another year with people I love...because the BEST birthday present in the world is seeing things like this...and it happens all the time:





Luz & James outside of the Audubon Zoo, Luz's pick for an activity on a quiet NOLA morning after a little celebration at the Magic Box toy store to pick up James' reward for totally owning the potty this week - even while I was out of town for three days.

Summer Afternoon....Poolside

While we were in Thibodaux over the weekend we spent many hours by the pool. It was the first time in a long time that the water felt refreshing, even a little on the cold side.

The kids swam, lounged in the sunshine, blew bubbles, napped, enjoyed picnics and even occupied themselves long enough for me to read an entire Lucky magazine...the whole thing! It was a lovely couple of days.

Here they are next to the gigantic, inflatable whale that Uncle Richmond got them during his trip to the San Juan Islands over the summer. This guy was a big hit until he split at the seam (probably when I jumped on him):


A few more pics - the one of me is courtesy of Luz - she is getting pretty good with the camera:

Haircut...for Real

On Saturday James got a much-needed haircut and went from this:


to this:



and almost in an instant it seemed as if his personality changed too...and I know it was just me, thinking that he looked suddenly like a 'big' boy, but the personality fit...there were no naps over the weekend and all sorts of games involving running and jumping and screaming and so much talk...endless streams of questions and comments...and by the end of the weekend the haircut grew on me and it seemed a little less like the story of Samson and I could still see that sweet little baby inside when he told Winnie all about the sun setting over the sugarcane fields.

Who Dat Season

After a long day of driving that followed a somewhat contentious hearing and a sub-par night of sleep on one of the hardest hotel beds ever, I wanted nothing more than a large glass of wine and a peaceful night. I do not know exactly how it happened but for some reason James and Lucy were in rare form tonight. They were bouncing footballs off of furniture and each other, chasing each other around the house and running and jumping. Not that we sit in silence and knit and read most nights...but this was exceptional. I suppose they were excited about the possibility of staying up late to watch the first Saints game, or maybe it was the sugary Gatorade I let them drink with dinner. Or maybe they just missed me and were thrilled that I was home...I will believe that was the reason.

Here they are, in Saints gear, ready for the game:

Surviving Lee

After FINALLY beating back a virus that circulated the house for about a week we were looking forward to three days in the fresh country air, swimming, playing on the John Deeres and generally chilling out. The unpredictable storm in the Gulf over the weekend caused us to change our plans and we settled for three quiet days around the house instead. But there is not anything quiet about a 2.5 year old and there is not much that is quiet about a 6 year old who was sick in bed for three days and finally feels better. Needless to say, we all (well, almost all of us) experienced cabin fever just a few hours into our Tropical Storm Lee lock down.

Fortunately, what I initially dreaded ended up being a lovely, restful three days. I think it was a break that we all needed and there were some fabulous moments over the course of those days - lots of time to snuggle on the couch watching movies, a few mid-day runs in the cool rain through neighborhoods that are not on my usual route, walks in the rain and splashing in the puddles with the kids, blowing off steam at ASH's new gym (and a run on the new indoor track - it is incredible!), and sleep...plenty of it. I guess it is all just to say that sometimes there truly is a silver lining...and I appreciated all of this one.

James, before going stir-crazy:


James and C, ready for the UGA game:


James, playing Plants v. Zomies on the Ipad:



A trip to Audubon Park to ride bikes this evening after the sun sort of came out:

Luz, after asking C to take her training wheels off and then changing her mind...potty training and two wheel riding in one weekend is a little too ambitious considering our collective lack of patience around here: