Homegirl Quel (kel) in Austin

February Foto-A-Day! Day 14: Heart

Happy Valentine's Day!

February Foto-A-Day! Day 5: 10 A.M.

As I mentioned before, I am posting all the photos from Fat Mum Slim's February Photo A Day Challenge on Tumblr. I could not resist sharing this one here. 

I took my son out for brunch at Magnolia Cafe South. I thought I had gone wrong as a parent, somehow, when he sat across from me still playing the game he had started while we were waiting to be seated. 

I was relieved when the waiter brought paper and crayons to our tablem,  and my son turned the Touch off and handed it to me saying, "Mom, I'm all done with Angry Birds now, I want to color."

February Foto-A-Day!

*I posted this on January 31, because I thought it was February 1. I lose track of dates. That's just what I do. But the same photo would apply on Feb. 1. I'm standing right there, most days. Right now, in fact. *

I ran across this meme on Pinterest and knew it would be a perfect chance for me to reunite with my camera. Remember when I use to do a Daily Photo? I'll do my best to bring, at least, interesting photos based on the guidelines set by @Fatmumslim for this game.

Day 1: Your View Today

Anytime you see me online, imagine me standing here, in my living room, back to the TV, facing my kitchen. Yes, I said standing. I rarely sit when I'm at home. I sit when my husband gets home and turns on the TV. Or if I'm knitting, I will sit, sometimes. See that bowl to the right of my laptop? That's my lunch. I had collard greens for lunch today. Usually there's a hot cup of rooibos tea with a bit of cream and sugar there. 

All my photos will be posted on Tumblr.

Because Shouldn't We Celebrate Christmas Every Day?

I think this is an appropriate first Homegirl post of 2012. The fact that our Christmas tree and stockings and house lights and yard ornaments are still up kind of represents my general outlook on things. If it's cute, makes you smile and isn't hurting anybody, let it be. Especially if there's a celebration involved. We leave birthday party balloons and Mother's Day flowers around the house until they die. Rarely is my home without a helium balloon floating around someplace. Because, why not. At some point, it all has to come down. The yard stuff. I have a few neighbors who are yet in the Christmas spirit, and there's comfort in numbers so... The Homeowners Association is sure to say something about the reindeer and the lights on the trees, but only after Chinese New Year which is like three weeks away. My tree is safe inside. I'm sure it won't be there three weeks from now, but I quite like to enter the room and see it there. It's not a small tree. I'm 6'1" and it has a few inches on me. I like looking at it. Most importantly, it makes my son smile. I started to remove ornaments the other day and he said , "But, Mo-Om! Don't take it do-Own! Keep it up! It's SO beautiful! I love Iiiiit!" He really didn't have to be so dramatic about it. Secretly, I had wanted to leave it there. I was trying to start off my year by checking things off my to-do list ever single day, and the Christmas tree's number was up. I'm glad the boy protested. We are still enjoying our tree, and Zack gets to have Christmas every day. When he comes into the living room or when we're approaching our house, he says something like, "It's still Christmastime!" Then I say something like, "Does that make you feel happy?" Then he says something like, "Yeah!"  Then I say something like, "Awesome." He hasn't mentioned toys or lists to Santa. He's just happy that it's still Christmas. Obviously, so am I. How does my husband feel about the after-Christmas tree? As long as he has a plate of food to eat in the evenings and knows where at least two of the TV remotes are, he's happy. Everybody wins. 

Am I alone? Does your home also still look like Christmas? 

Yo Gabba Gabba Live in Austin was awesome!

A little background. I entered a video of my two year old playing drums in the Yo Gabba Gabba Cool Tricks Facebook contest. Then I begged for my Facebook friends to vote for weeks on end. Thanks to their votes, he won! The prize: VIP tickets to the show, tons of organic toddler snacks by Revolution Foods and access to the after party to meet the Gabba Gang. I thought we would get to meet DJ Lance too, but when he didn't show up early on at the after party, we asked the door guys and alas, it was not meant to be. No DJ Lance. But we sat so close to the stage, that every time he came to our side of the stage, he appeared to wave right at us. Although I can't say definitively, my guess is that he did wave right at us because we stuck out like brown...brown...sore thumbs in a sea of white thumbs. Mhm. DJ Lance waving at us was enough for my son to think he had actually met DJ Lance, which works for me.

Photo: Fun. Sun.

I took this picture with my Blackberry last Saturday. There was a community festival in East Austin and Zack too a break in this kids area set up with his favorite playthings...sidewalk chalk, buckets and dirt for digging.

 

Toddlers Have Got It Figured Out

Joie de Vivre

I admire the way toddlers live their little lives with such abandon. They are so carefree! To them, it is perfectly acceptable to lay down in the dirt and play if that's what brings them the most happiness at that moment--it's just dirt, after all. My son plays this way often. The first time I saw him do that, I fought the urge to tell him to get up out of the dirt, 'cause it's dirty. I'm glad I did. Right now, he's a kind of free that we humans get to be for only so long. I encourage that and celebrate it every chance I get. My child is so blissful and free, and it is rubbing off on me. I hope he keeps that basic joy of life about him as he matures. 

Photo: The Block Clips The Chip

Zack finally let his dad near him with the clippers. Got me a couple of strong domes. Who needs a DNA test? lol

Gorillapod! How cool is this thing?

I ran across it this in the latest LL Bean catalog I received in the mail. Instant lust. It opens up a whole new world of possibilities for taking awesome self portraits and for putting an end to group photos using the timer from that same boring front-on angle. Joby, the makers of Gorillapods, also designed some for holding iPhones and other mobile devices. I want this.  

Check them out online: http://joby.com/gorillapod.

X Marks The Spot

 
This is where you'll find me...

I'll be back soon to announce book giveaway winners (see previous posts, there's still time to enter!), and to get on with my usual Homegirl randomness.

P.S. I love my fancy digital camera, but am photographing my entire vacation almost exclusively on an iPhone 4. This thing is a beast! That is all.

Crescent Moon and Venus

 

As a kid I would go outside and sit on the ground at the end of our driveway and stare up at the stars on nights when they were visible. Very often during the summers. I took a long time looking up at the beauty of the sky last night as well. The moon and this one bright star were the only light in the sky, which is why I noticed it and went for my camera. Took tons of photos. Happy to share these two with you guys. I took the first one in my driveway before I left home to make a grocery store run and the second, close-up one in the parking lot of the store before returning home.They're not the best quality photos, but I'm glad I had my camera handy.

Whaling Around

     

 

Fun times at Champion Park in Round Rock, TX. The whale's spout water park is the coolest thing about this park. When the water's off,  the giant dinosaur bone playscapes and sand dig keep little people pretty happy.

No Words...

Well, actually, like, a thousand words.

  

Puddles!

(Yes, I still take pictures. Just not every day.)

This is a photo that I took with my Blackberry this afternoon. We where at the neighborhood park. Instead of playing on the playground, Zack decided he wanted to spend about thirty minutes splashing in the puddles on the parking lot. I had so much fun watching him. he could have puddle-jumped forever and I would have watched every second, but the temperature started dropping and he was all wet from attempting to swim in one of the big puddles.

Wordless Wednesday: Hometown Visit

An Awesome Old Photo Of My Mom

This is a picture of my mom that was taken just a few days before she gave birth to my brother and me. A childhood friend of mine found it and posted it on Facebook last week. It's one of my favorite pictures of her. My mom was so glam. This is one of her house robes. You can't see the matching gown underneath. That's me in her belly facing the camera--I was born ready for my close-up, y'all. LOL. The matador hanging on the wall in the back? We use to think he was our dad (not that he looked like him aside from being big with a short fro)...and then Elvis (we lived in Memphis) until we where old enough to understand that it was just a painting.

Rooster At Freddies On First

This rooster looks over the outdoor eating area at Freddies in Austin. Zack and I had lunch there with a friend today.

Old Fashioned Rx

Billy brought this bag home from the neighborhood pharmacy the other day. These are old fashioned ads for medicines all over the black and white sack. This is one of many changes our neighborhood grocery store has implemented. I walked in there about a month ago having been away for a while (I usually shop at our local discount grocery store outside my hood), and there is like a living room section with a fireplace and upholstered armchairs, a Starbucks, another little cafe area...they're almost about to make me start shopping in my own neighborhood. The sitting areas are so convenient. I've had to stop there a few times just to feed my son and didn't feel bad for not buying anything. Sometimes, he not eat when I offer it to him then say he's hungry as soon as we get into the car. The store prices have gone down a bit too and I just found out they double coupons. Hmmm. So these charming little pharmacy bags are working on me. I'm one of those people that marketers love--easily charmed by these little touches.

Found Things

I bought this book, Black Girl in Paris, at Half Price Books (for $1! Score!) a couple of days ago. Yesterday, when I flipped through it, I found a bookmark from a specialty used and out-of-print book resale store in Maine and the postcard pictured above. The front of the postcard is all pink and red and Hello Kitty. I can't figure out the relationship between "Lovest" and "Shannie"-maybe sisters or husband and wife or lovers? There's no address or stamp or anything, so Shannie must have left it for Lovest to find at just the right moment. So sweet! I heart buying previously owned things. In case you can't read the photo, it says:

"Lovest, Have a stellar meeting. You are my star--Brilliant, Dreamy, [drawing of a star],Lasting, Hot! [drawing of a heart] Lovest you, [signed]Shannie"

Peekaboo

Can't keep his hands off the camera. Every time he sees it now he's all, "Camera? Pitcha? Light? Click! Cheeeeese!" I blame Diego and Click The Camera.