Day 11: Favorite TV shows

I like all sorts of shows. :) When we have access to the Discovery channel, this is a favorite:

I get to watch reruns of Criminal Minds on a channel we get here, and though some episodes really creep me out, I do love the show.

I love, love, love Judge Marilyn. :D

And my favorite silly veggies.

And I can't forget the Penguins!!!

I have to say that NCIS probably tops the charts for me as a show that I've watched for years and keep going back to it.
And yes, I watch way to much TV while on maternity leave. What else can I do if the babe doesn't want to be put down, and prefers to eat/sleep/play while attached to me? ;)

Day 10: Something I'm afraid of...

One of my biggest fears is deep water. Like any water where I can't see the bottom, and I don't know what is lurking down there to eat my feet. ::shivers::

I also have problems with heights. I get some mad vertigo if I go too high, and some serious spins if I make the mistake of looking over an edge. Even taking this picture on Mackinac Island make me a big queasy and nervous, even though I was just standing on a rather big hill. ;)

Day 9: A Picture of my friends

I have a group of friends from high school that are really my only lasting friends (outside of my family). We haven't all kept in touch as well as we'd wanted to over the years, but we are all on facebook now (well, in one case, her husband is fb friends with us all), so we keep up with each other.

Here we are as HS seniors in 1997, I think at some pre-graduation ceremony like awards or the one where the seniors get prayed over. (I can't remember exactly). Anyways, from left to right we have: Liz (redhead born on the same day as me), Mindy, Melinda, Joy (me), Tracy, and Penny. Fun times. :)

And here almost all of us are again, with husbands and children, eleven years later in 2008 at Liz's wedding. We're missing Mindy, who couldn't travel as her 3rd child was due any day, and Tracy, who had moved thousands of miles away and couldn't make it back for the wedding.

And here are just the girls. :) Please excuse my post-dancing flush and glow. I was having too good of a time swinging Penny's kids around the dance floor. ;)
We're hoping to get all of us together this summer in our hometown. We may need to rent a hall as we would have 11 adults and 13 kids (in age from 10/11 years old to 7 months). If my sister Amy should join us, that would make 13 adults and 14 kids.

Yeah, we're going to need some space and a jungle gym. ;D And perhaps a lot of wine.

Day 8: A place I've traveled to.

One of my favorite places to visit is Frederick Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Love, love, LOVE it. They have indoor and outdoor gardens, and sculptures throughout. The last time Ben and I went the Gardens were showcasing a glass artist who did all sorts of interesting statues. I had two favorites, the tall piece of rock candy below,

and these glass balloon things that were hanging from the rafters in the tropical gardens. Awesome. :)


The tropical gardens were also featuring a bromeliad collection when we were there last. I was in a flower photo mood that day, and I think I got some great shots. :)




This is a shot of the waterfall that somehow worked out. (at least to my eye)

They had added on an iris garden since my previous visit. I love irises. :)

This statue is just outside the indoor gardens, and is entitled "Mad Mom." :D
Here is another statue from the garden acreage. I don't know the name, but thought it looked pretty cool.

And this statue is of a bear and a fox (I think), and it sits at the entrance to the Lena Meijer Children's Garden. If you have kids and ever get a chance to go there, you will have so much fun. Shoot, adults have fun there, too!
They have a 5 senses garden, a fountain shaped like the Great Lakes, with elevation changes between the lakes and other details. They have little sailboats that children can float around. They have a boardwalk with statues and little educational notes, and a place where kids can dig for "fossils." It seems like they add more or different things every time I go there, and I love it all over again. We'll be making a trip this summer, and I hope we can take the Lala to the children's garden. :D Hopefully she has as much fun as I do!