Here's the man of the year - the snowman Erica and Brian built yesterday. He'll be sticking around to see the start of the New Year.
To all who read my ramblings - I wish you a wonderful New Year!
The kids built a big snowman this evening and banned me from taking pictures. So I took pictures of the cat instead.
She didn't stay outside very long. Unlike Hannah, Rascal ventures out into the cold every now and then.
Woke up this morning to single digit temperatures! But, as a result of the sudden cold temperatures, a beautiful, glistening frost covered everything left outside. Driving to work was like driving through a crystalline world.
I tried to capture some of that on the road - can you see the mist rising from the water in the retention ditches? 
I should have stopped by the large pond off my normal exit to work. But I took another exit today due to road conditions. Next time, I will stop!
Wow, and today marks the 365th day of my daily photos. I don't think I'll stop just yet - I need to finish out the year at least!
One of the nice things about going away for the holidays - you come home to a big collection of greeting cards from faraway friends. What fun we had opening all of them and seeing how much our friends have changed since last year.
[And you'll have to pardon that family all decked out in Michigan State Green - sometimes our friends are too crazy!]
[Yeah, we love you Dave and Dawn!!]
We traveled back to Illinois this morning, transitioning from the warm, sunny, green Florida landscape to falling snow. All in three hours.
We welcomed the snow, as we had a second wave of Christmas gifts waiting for us at home. 
A white Christmas after all!
I spotted this guy on the lamp post towards the end of my morning run. The light overlooks a swampy stream (maybe they even call it a slough here, too) that runs under the road bridge, a block away from my parents' house.
About 5 minutes later, another one flew to the opposite side of the street. Scouting the waters below for a little bit of breakfast, I bet!
Other things we did today - My mother and I took Brian to see "Alvin and the Chipmunks - The Squeakquel". Cute and not too annoying. Then dinner out at the Bonefish Grill. We head back to the snowy midwest tomorrow.
We enjoyed our non-traditional Christmas celebration. No traditional tree, but a ficus tree, with presents underneath:
No snow, and we even spent some time in the pool:
But it's the people who make Christmas special - especially family.
Hey, you even get a picture of me and my mom (taken by Erica).
Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!
We departed the cruise ship this morning, rented a car and drove 4 hours to my parent's winter home near Fort Myers. The kids went swimming right away (even in the unheated pool).
My mother cooked up her usual feast of shrimp, noodles, beef and broccoli (as if we really needed any more food!).
After dinner, we played a game of "Truth or Dare". The kids downloaded this game to the iTouch / iPhone, and it is relatively tame, and some of the dares are downright silly. Case in point - Scott's dare was to wear an item given by each player.
Hence the jewelry, glasses and other items. Sometimes going with "Truth" is just easier.
Our final full day on the cruise - a beautiful, warm and sunny [yes!] day.
We started our day learning how to make the towel creations our room steward has been leaving in our room in the evenings:
We even bought the instruction book, and Brian has been making all sorts of creatures ever since.
But we all took a break from the towel rolling to spend some time in the sun and ride the water slides (and that water was cold!)
And a game of Bingo (didn't win, but it was fun)
Overall, a nice way to end the cruise.
In Freeport, we went horse riding through the pine forest, the lush botanical forest and then on to the beach and even in the ocean. I didn't take my camera due to the potential exposure to salt water, subsequently, no pictures. I just enjoyed the ride and scenery.
After horse riding and lunch, we had just a short amount of time to explore Lucaya beach. The cool temperatures meant the beaches were sparsely occupied, but we enjoyed the clear azure water and white sand beach.
A sunny yet crisp (only 50degF!) day, we boarded the Carnival Sensation in the afternoon, marveled at the huge atrium in the middle of the ship and went in search of our cabin. Our first thoughts - where are we all going to sleep in this tiny cabin?? I was skeptical. But Scott assured us it would be OK, so we left to explore the rest of the ship. [after all, you don't spend any time in your cabin on a cruise]
Mini Golf on the top deck:
Grandma was hoping for a hole in one:
We set sail as the sun set:
After dinner, we found our cabin with the beds let down and the kids declared - "This is so cozy - we love our room!". 
Tomorrow - Freeport, Bahamas!
We were fortunate not to be flying towards the big snowy mess in the Northeast. Instead, we headed South to Florida, the start of our warm Christmas vacation.
Our first stop - the Indianapolis airport, where Erica texted her friends and Brian made new friends waiting for our [slightly] delayed flight to Orlando.
We arrived in Cape Canaveral in time for dinner and a dip in the outdoor pool. Hey, it's heated so the kids didn't mind.
Our suite included a whirlpool tub, so the kids enjoyed a huge bubble bath after tiring of the pool. I don't think they understand that a little bath gel goes a long way!
Tomorrow, we'll be transported to Port Canaveral where we'll board our cruise ship headed for the Bahamas!
My 3rd trip to the Post office this week, to drop off the last of the Christmas packages. What's left - cleaning, packing and getting into a warmer frame of mind as we get set to embark out on our Holiday trip!
The week before we leave for a holiday vacation is invariably chock full of "stuff". Tuesday night, Scott and I attended our church staff party. Last night, Erica had a late horse riding lesson. I've been wrapping presents, finishing Christmas cards and preparing for Grandma's arrival tonight.
And I had an early morning at work today, which meant that I got to see the sun rise.
A bit of serenity in my busy day!
Another favorite Christmas tree ornament, purchased from Martha Stewart's collection back in the 90's when I had time to aspire to her home and garden ideals [Nowadays, I don't care as much].
I attended a four hour workplace meeting today that was held in our product warehouse. We've held these long, participatory-type meetings here before, the last one in February. When our facilitator queried the crowd about what they remembered from the February meeting, the main response was "Candy Bars" [they gave them away during the meeting].
Today's meeting will be remembered for how cold it was in the warehouse. Seriously, it was that cold. It took me the rest of the day to warm up from sitting in that concrete floored, metal building.
I was asked to take pictures of the presenters and the breakout sessions, so I had my camera during the meeting. It and the coffee did not keep me warm while the managers took turns talking.
Gloves, jackets, even hats were worn by the employees trying to stay warm.
See, I wasn't the only one who was cold.
We may attend a follow up meeting in February, hopefully during a warm spell. Otherwise, I'm going to wear long underwear, and bring hand and feet warmers! Maybe even a Snuggie!
One of Brian's favorite things to do in the winter when there's no snow around. Play with the next best thing - the ice! And since pond ice is readily available, it gets chosen quite frequently.
First, break up the thick ice in the pond with a hammer. The attempt to move the sheet of ice from the pond.
Sometimes the ice is almost as big as Brian!
But he always manages to break the big pieces into little ones on the patio.
Just another day of icy fun!
Fridays at work tend to be pretty low key, especially around the holidays.
I came across this cute little Christmas tree in the Project Engineers' office. I liked how the afternoon sun hit the ornaments, so I did what any other person at work does - I grabbed my camera and took a picture.
Wow, it's a cold one here today - it was only 9 degF this morning, with a wild chill of -10. I placed the pond de-icer out yesterday, but it doesn't appear to be working, as the ice is forming quickly, especially at the pond's waterfall.
I am often asked questions and comments about my photography - what location, what camera, what settings, etc. The camera question aside (i...
A chemical engineer working in IT, Wife to Scott, Mom to two great kids + two cats, one horse and numerous fish. Photographer, marathoner, musician, yogi and gourmet cook. I don't think there is time for more, but I'm sure I missed something!
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