New stuff!!

I love new stuff....who doesn't?!  Anyway, I bought a set of honeycomb grids and haven't really had the time to experiment on them properly.  I need a very patient model.  My oldest son, Kane tried, but lost patience soon enough.  This is what he picked out of the bunch, not my thing, but hey, he's a teenager. 

 

I also bought myself some neat frames and labels.  The labels are great (2 are exactly the same) but I do love them.  The frames, not what I expected.  The box was different from the content....sorta like Forrest Gump and his box of chocolates saying..... life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get.

Do you like them?

Below is what I thought I was getting instead of those brown swirly frames.  

Big difference.

Disappearing act

So I decided to try out my disappearing act in photography tricks.  Something I've had in the back of my mind to try, but not had the time to do it.  So yesterday, I tried it for the first time.  A little boring.....but it's a start.  I need to fill the fame with more interest, but we have to learn to crawl before we can walk and run.

More Bali

I had more Bali photos in my last post, but they didn't upload for some wacky reason.

Because of all the motorbikes, people sell gasoline in convenient sizes on the side of the road.

Absolute Fuel.

Temple Monkey

Monkeys at temples are used to people and if you are still for long enough, they'll climb on you and steal stuff.

I didn't like the monkeys so much. 

This is how I love monkeys....doing their own thing minding their own business and not climbing on me.

Theif!

Tyler's flip flop

The monkeys are well trained.  They know if they want food, all they have to do is steal an item from a tourist including swiping the shoes off your feet.  When this happens, there are people with food and they give the monkey some food, the monkey drops the item and the person retrieves it for a fee.  The monkey's win, the locals win and the tourist is out of pocket a few dollars and completely entertained.

This is John.  He's on the right, driving.  The only person we knew in Bali.

John in our villa one night.

John is Dereck's best friend from way back in high school in Singapore.  He was so hospitable during our stay in Bali.  Our boys think he's way cool.  I don't mind because John's a good person.

Our last night, John had a dinner at his house and invited us.  There was good food cooked by John and Annie and some great entertainment provided by all those that played guitar and could sing.  I had a blast.

The party

D and I enjoying the food.

Tyler in the middle.

John and his guitar. 

Annie and Tyler laughing at something.

Bali

Bali.  What can I say about Bali?  My husband visited Bali 11 years ago and came back with tales of how gorgeous it was, bla, bla, bla.  Of course I wanted to go too, but back then our kids were little and traveling that far with a toddler and a 5 yr old wasn't my idea of a vacation, so I stayed State side till they grew up.  We flew into Japan, then to Singapore and spent a few days there before heading off to Bali.
We arrived in Bali as the sun was setting and by the time we were out of immigration and customs, it was dark and so my first experience was being driven in the dark.  The Balinese are crazy drivers, the popular mode of transportation is motorbike and they will fit as many people on one motorbike as possible.  I saw families of 5 on one bike.  Forget road rules, the divers make up new lanes and ignore lines in the road.  Anyway our villa was even more beautiful in person than what we saw on the Internet.  Check it out.

early one morning, Tyler is taking his own photos standing in the kitchen.

Front door

The pool and lounge chairs

Another view of the pool.  Bedrooms behind glass doors.

Even when it's raining, it's still gorgeous

The beaches were wonderful with lots of locals selling everything from ice cream, to drinks, food, sarongs, jewelry, magazines, CDs and more.

The beach closest to our villa.  Dereck and our boys walking to the beach in search of surf.

Blue Point.  A spectacular place.  It's like a ski resort, but on the cliffs of a tropical island. 

Padang Padang beach.

This is Padang Padang.  My favourite beach.  The shore is flat water for wimps like me and for small kids and the elderly.  The surf is way out for the surfer dudes..... I have 3 of them in my family.  My husband and our 2 boys.  We spent 2 days on this beach.  I could have spent every day here.

Padang Padang

Kane and Dereck after a surf session.

Dereck and I at the entrance to Tannah Lot temple.

Kane and Tyler with Tannah Lot behind them.

Tannah Lot

The boys at Ulu Watu Temple

Ulu Watu Temple

Fire in the sky

I really need to post my Bali photos before I do this, but this is so recent that I need to document it.
I have seen these awesome photos all over the internet, but nobody was saying how it was done.  Then yesterday morning I stumbled upon a website that offered free lessons on how to create such a photo.  I went out and bought my supplies and as soon as it was dark enough, I went out with my assistants (my sons) and attempted to shoot.  One son decided to go shower and the younger one decided he was going to help, but I forgot all about his pyrophobia that he was born with.  Raising a child that was always too scared to blow out candles or hold sparklers was..... well.....I don't know.... I felt sorry that he was so scared.  Anyway, it has improved in his teen years, but he's still fearful and he bailed on me as soon as he realized that fire was involved in my shot.  I was left with nobody but myself.  So here you go.  Me and a ring of fire.

Now, I wouldn't advise anyone to do this without protective clothing.  I was frustrated that I was left alone to do this and forgot to change my clothing. Don't be as stupid as me.  Wear jeans, sneakers and a hoody.  Please put the hood on.  It will keep the sparks from burning your hair off your head.
So tonight, I tried it again, this time with the help of my oldest son and a friend of his.  Friend dressed in proper clothing but older son knew everything and said he was just fine in shorts and flip flops...... yeah...... he felt a few sparks, so he quit.  Not to mention, the mosquitoes that were out in full force!  Wow!!  However, I did a really stupid thing.  I hadn't touched my camera since the night before and it was left on self timer and I forgot and so none of my earlier photos from tonight came out.  I had one last ball of steel wool and one last chance to get the shot right (I turned off the self timer).   I was chatting to a friend on What's App and told her I was going to do this....so Kristine....this shot is for you.

It's been a while.....

At this point, I feel a bit ridiculous because I'm blogging to...... hmmm....nobody.  I'm not good at keeping up with the blog.

So back in March, we were about to leave for Barbados as we usually do and my husband discovered that I hadn't done my job.  Tyler's passport had expired since February and we wanted to leave the very next day, but instead, I had to run around and get passport sorted out.  Download and fill out the forms, take him out of school early for passport photos and drive down to Miami only to find the place had closed 20 minutes earlier.  Grr!  As it turned out, he needed both parents to fill out the forms and sign etc.  So we spent the weekend at home and on the Monday, left for Barbados for a grand total of 4 days.  Better than nothing.

Kane checking out Long Beach.

Tyler getting kiting lessons from Dereck.

My handsome boys chillin' at Parlour.

One can find love anywhere.....

Our guest house seen through our new pool waterfall.  Sigh!  I love it here.

This is Nula, the farting dog.  She's really very sweet.

Moving along...... Barbados was great fun as usual.  Thanks to my wonderful husband for working so hard and being able to take us to wonderful places.

In May, my brother decides to harass me to fly down to St. Lucia to take photos of the latest renovations to his hotel.  Please do check it out.  Wonderful place to stay.  www.tikaye.com
I was quite fortunate going at that time as my cousin was also visiting.  I hadn't seen her since she was 13 and now she's 30 something...... so it was fabulous to reconnect with her.

Ti Kaye lounge and dining area.

My cousin, Lorca.
I had a blast with Lorca.  She's definitely 10 cents short of a dollar and I love her for it!

End of May meant end of yet another school year.  Boys were out and idle and looking for things to do.  They both celebrated birthdays turning 17 and 14 and in July, my husband took us to Bali.  Bali is a place I've always wanted to visit and finally my opportunity arrived.  Getting there was tiring, but we made it with a brief stop in Singapore for 2 days.  Photos to follow.  It's late and I need some sleep.  Good night!

The woman who wouldn't take no for an answer and other stuff

I can't believe I found the time to blog twice a day when Dereck was in the hospital and now it's an effort to post twice a month!  Amazing.
Two weeks ago, Dereck had to be checked out by Dr. Philips so he could go back to work.  His first flight assigned to him was Africa!  Anyway, not sure what happened, but his flight got canceled.  It's still a bit too fresh for Dereck to return to Africa.  He got a prescription for 2 different medications to take while in Africa, so he's prepared.
It was wonderful to see Dr. Philips again.  She's the woman who wouldn't take no for an answer and because of her fierceness, she saved Dereck's life.  She's a petite woman of Egyptian descent who moved to Florida just 6 weeks prior to Dereck's hospitalization, so she was new to the hospital and she stood her ground.  I will never forget her for as long as I live.
I also must mention Marian, our case worker making sure that Dereck got the things he needed in the hospital and she took care of all the bills.  She is also a wonderful woman who I also won't forget.  She took the stress of the bills away from us.

L to R:  Tyler, me, Dr. Philips and Dereck

So today is the first day of February.........A lot happened in January.  I traveled to St. Lucia to visit friends and family and I took a friend with me.  The weather didn't exactly cooperate with us, but we still had a lot of fun.  Below are some photos from my trip.

Sherry sitting on the window wall outside Nick's bedroom window.  What a view!

Five Dollar Beach

On a gloomy Sunday, we found sunshine in the company of friends and family.

Me and my brothers.  It was good to see them both. We had a great time together.

After this trip, I celebrated a birthday with my girlfriends up here in Florida.  We went to dinner at a fabulous restaurant called Kontiki.  A Thai/Japanese fusion boutique restaurant that's very popular and tables hard to get during the high season.

Me and all the girls at Kontiki.  Check out the massive dessert platter on the table.

A big deal that I took part in during January is that I signed up in the Susan G. Komen race for the cure.  I joined a group called Miles With Michelle.  The event was last weekend in downtown West Palm Beach.  We had a great day, I ran 5K and slept like a baby that night.  Seeing as I ran, I didn't take my camera and I don't have many photos.  Had to beg for these.  It felt so good to do this and I think I will do it again next year.

Met up in Starbucks before the run/walk.  Michelle is the lady in the front row to the left with the big smile.

On our way to the start.

So January was a great month!  Here's to a happy and healthy February!
Many blessings till next time......