More from Alligator Farm

I had trouble uploading my photos the other day and then this weekend was hectic and I wasn't at home so belatedly here are some more pics from the trip to the Alligator Farm.

 2 Toothy Grins

 

Crocodile Kisses

Clay with crocs (and I am not talking about his beloved brown shoes).  I really liked this exhibit that was set up much like an aquarium so that you could get all up close and personal with the big animals.  They were all very unentertaining though barely moving at all.

 

My favorite part of the Alligator farm was the bird/gator exhibit.  It was a huge area that you walked through on a raised wooden catwalk.  There were birds EVERYWHERE and they were making all these strange noises talking to each other.  We watched herons building their nests and some already had beautiful blue eggs in their nests.  There were some pink hornbilled variety of bird that was beautiful.  I hate that I was employing my camera phone but my camera batteries died right when we got there.  Bummer!   Below the birds in the water were probably at least a hundred alligators swimming or sunbathing up on the land.

 

The Clay and myself enjoying the bird and gator habitat.

 This little guy was not part of the exhibits but was hovering around the table at the snack area and enjoyed a few of Clay's potato chips.  He came right up and took it from my hand.  Needless to say, that made my day!

 

Chomp!

Mom was reading to this lazy gator.

 

Luckily she was with us to subdue this big one, little did she know that creepy white one was coming up behind her.  Mom, you are not a codfish!

Alligator Farm

Our first stop, after making it in to the hotel on Friday night and getting some sleep, was to the Alligator Farm.  Clay has always wanted to go and if I had known that it was more like a zoo, I would have been on board sooner.  This place was really cool.  The exhibits were well maintained and you got to see the gators and crocs up close and personal.  

 

The giant pool in the middle was swimming with lethargic gators.  Every once and a while one would lumber out of the water onto the shore, it looked like it took all of their energy to pull themselves out of the water.

 

 

We were all fascinated by the big reptiles.  There were other animals to be seen too: birds, lemurs, turtles.  It was the perfect size.  Big enough to have lots to see but small enough that you didn't feel worn out after walking around.  The only down side was the stink from the sulfur water that would spin around you when the wind blew.  Pew! 

Saint Augustine Here We Come

I cannot believe that it has been 5 years since we have been to Saint Augustine!  I am so excited to go back to relive some of the same things (like the chocolates above) and try some new things (like the alligator farm).  I looked back through the pictures from last time we went, things sure do change in 5 years.  

 We had such a great time on the schooner Freedom!  We also had a BLAST renting the scooter below and tooling around town in it.  It was a stretch getting that thing up and over the Lion's bridge though.  

 No trip to Florida is complete without a stop at Cap's on the water, what an amazing gem of a restaurant.  Beautiful setting and fantastic food!  I can't go on a trip and not enjoy the food, here is hoping the hotel has a gym so I can even out the calorie intake = )  I am afraid it is going to be raining off an on during the whole trip which doesn't make me think I will get to run outside and enjoy it, otherwise that would be my vote.

I just ordered a print of a photo of us to complete a project I started working on tonight.  Clay gave me the sweetest Valentine present this year, he named a star for us.  I framed the message he gave me and had thought I would find a neat picture of outer space to go with it, but instead I decided to use one of the pictures that Sarah took of us in the fall.  It should be in next week and I can finish up my project and figure out where to hang it.  

Big plans for tomorrow!  It is Old Navy stuff and save time and I am out of summer clothes that fit so I need to refill my closet.

Yard Art

A little frog watched while I worked in the yard this morning.  We had saved a whole bunch of wine bottles and a few beer bottles to make this border.

 

I dug a trench and set the bottles up to measure the depth and make sure that I had enough.  There were exactly enough, I used every last one and had none left over.  The sunlight coming through the glass is beautiful! 

 

This is what is looked like when I was finished.  I will take pictures again after it rains and the grass starts to fill in because now the red clay around the bottles is distracting.  I also think that I am going to plant some hostas in the area behind the border since it is so shady from the crepe myrtle tree.  

Busy Day

After I got off work this morning I walked the stairs before I came home. Plugged out 40 flights in 20 minutes.

 

On to this evening...I had a wonderful and long chat with my sister after I got home from the gym. I made I gigando salad which took almost an hour to eat. We watched the results show from Idol and caught up on Glee. Then we tackled the garage. We made a ton of headway, there are only a few things that we still want to do out there. I have GOT to strip and paint an old wooden and glass display case to match the other one we already completed to store the rest of our Fiesta dishes. After we finished in the garage I did an old school peel-off face mask like I used to do as a teenager. Clay thought it looked disgusting but he did kinda like helping me peel it off. Who can resist that? LOL Looking forward to my Saturday off!!

Juicy Morning

I brought Clay a yellow rose from the yard that I had planted for him.  One of our favorite songs is "yellow rose" by Christopher Jak.

I actually got up early this morning to enjoy the sunrise.  I'll have to get a nap in later before heading to work tonight. 

It was a little chilly this morning but I made some juice anyway.  In the mix: 1 pear, 1/2 cup of pineapple, a handful of parsley, about a cup of water and 4-5 ice cubes thrown in the blender.  Tasty, lightly sweet and very refreshing!  I added a tbsp of chia seeds too, but I like the little crunchy pop that they give.  I do think I am going to nix the laying out in the sunshine idea however, with the chill in the air and all the wind going on outside I think I will stay in and enjoy the day through the window.

Raw Again

I am starting on a 2 week raw vegan diet again today. I am much less apprehensive this time since I know it can be done and it really isn't that hard to do. For my first meal I threw together a delicious fruit salad. In the mix:

1 sliced banana, 5 sliced large strawberries, about 10 blackberries, 1 small sliced pear, about 10 green grapes sliced in half, then topped with 1 tbsp chia seeds.

New Video from the Hubby

I thought Clay was playing his computer game this evening and come to find out he was making a new video with pictures from Sarah's photo shoot with me last Sunday. Sneaky and sweet fellow.

Yelp Swag

We picked up some swag at the event last night. Pretty cool, huh? Shot glasses, mint tins, and not pictured Yelp elite watches.

Yelp Event

We headed up to ATL Georgia tonight for our first elite Yelp event at the Hard Rock Cafe.

We found somewhere to eat nearby thanks to Yelp. We tried out Alma Cocina and LOVED it. We had a fantastic dinner. We started with some guacamole with butternut squash and chipotle sauce. Clay had some tasty pork loin with brussels and bacon and tequila sweet potatoes. I had the poblano chile relleno with apple, butternut squash, raisins, and craisins supper yummy! We were full but had to try desert. Clay got sucked into the chicharrones chocolate cake trap which was fabulous. Super rich but only lightly sweet with the crunchy chicharrones on top with candied peppers. My mind was blown with sweet potato ginger empanadas with cranberry compote and horchata ice cream. Oh, and I almost forgot my side dish the elotes which was corn on the cob charred the covered with cheese and herbs. So Good!

Then we walked right down the street to Hard Rock for the Yelp event. We waited outside for a few minutes before they opened the doors. We met a couple that we hung out with for the evening, Peter "Soy Sauce", and Amanda. The band was really good, it was hard to chat once they started but they were awesome. There were eats at the event and we each had 2 tickets for beverages. Next time we will not eat before because we went in stuffed to the max.

Video of the band that played the event.

Some Great Photos

The photos from the wedding shoot on Sunday with my sister turned out AMAZING! I stole a few from Sarah's website so the quality isn't that great, head over to her page to see them more clearly and there are a lot more to look through. I downloaded a few of my favorites. She definitely has an eye for photography. I am hoping that all the right doors will open for her and she will be able to make a living doing what she loves. These pictures brought so many smiles to my face and I am not even getting married so I can only imagine the joy it would bring to someone in the midst of that emotional time.

Getting Ready

We are doing a bridal shoot this afternoon. Excited to see the finished product!

Antique Station

Hung out at the station before getting ready for a photo shoot with my awesome sister this afternoon. A guy from Florida stopped by and chatted for a while, he was in town visiting his mother. He was very complimentary of the store and gave some great advice. He was also very encouraging about the business in general, and he works with places like this in Florida. What a small world!
On that note, I need to get on the ball and make some more cards to put at the store. Ok, bye. I am about to get my hair did.

Did some major yard work today. The pics are grainy and bad because I didn't get done until about 8pm and the lighting was terrible but I did want to get some pictures because it is fun to compare after things have grown.

We went to see a matinee of the Hunger Games first and picked up paving stones and plants at Lowes. We really enjoyed the movie and were pleased with how true they stayed to the book. There were some changes we noticed but for the most part they did a great job. I would never have pictured Lennie Kravitz as Cinna but he fit the role perfectly.

We bought paving stones to go around the edge of the yard at the fence to *hopefully* keep Chico inside the fence since they are too heavy for him to move so he won't be able to dig right next to the fence to get out. In an attempt to make them look a little less ugly I planted an azalea bush every couple of stones and also planted some sedum succulent to grow and cover parts of the stones. I scooped up all the old mulch in the beds and moved it to the plants on the side of the house and replaced it with new mulch. I also planted some okra and cucumbers in that bed.

I planted some English ivy to cover the pavers that are under the crepe myrtle tree since that area is very shady. I also planted 4 elephant ears there too. In the planters on the back patio I started some cilantro and lettuce seeds.