My first visit INSIDE the State Capitol

The Texas Capitol is a gorgeous building! Although I had visited the grounds of the Capitol when I lived in Austin back in the 1970's (the dark ages?) I had never been inside until I went with Killeen Retired Teachers' Assn to TRTA Rally Day - we were lobbying for a share of the state budget for the next two years since there has been in cost of living increase in our paychecks, but there has DEFINITELY been an increase in the cost of living!

I usually never stan on any "seal" in the floor of a building - out of respect for it! - but I made an exception for a short time on Rally Day to get this gorgeous photo of the inside of the rotunda at the Texas Capitol!

Our last point on the agenda for the day was a Press Conference on the South Steps of the Capitol building. I just had to take a photo of the building (along with lots of photos of the TRTA members and Legislators at the Press Conference - I took about 300 pictures that day!)

BUSY didn't describe it !

Since my last post here, I've done two scrapbook crop days (one in Georgetown and one in Copperas Cove), went with Killeen Retired Teachers to TRTA Rally Day at the State Capitol (took about 300 pictures there!), finished 7 pages for the KRTA History book, my cards for May TECH Squad meeting (you can see them on the other blog http://www.pokisprojects.blogspot.com/). and spent most of 3 days at Scott & White where my uncle (he's a double uncle, my dad's brother married to my mom's sister) had two surgeries this week - pins in a broken hip and a pacemaker put in!

On top of all that, I still had time to pack for VACATION - we leave on Saturday! Can't wait1 You can start checking for pictures on Monday!

poki

Busy, busy, busy

I've been really busy preparing to host the Heart of Texas Scrapbook Club Spring Fling on Saturday, so I really haven't been out taking many pictures. Maybe Sunday ...

Here's my first scrapblog ... "I Saw the Light"

Blake's Birthday Mini book

During March one of the projects I did for my TECH Squad (that's my free class I have once a month) was a miniature pizza box and album. The album pages are 3 x 3. I challenged them to take our almost "naked" project and embellish it, and then bring it back in April. Two of my customers took up the challenge and brought in some cute books! You can see them shortly on http://www.pokisprojects.blogspot.com/ (I still have to scan them before I can post them! smile)

I scanned mine first, and thought it was appropriate to post here because they are a HYBRID PROJECT. I created the tiny (2 1/2 x 2 1/2") photographs at scrapblog.com, printed them and then embellished with traditional elements on the paper box and book we made in class!

Here's the PIZZA BOX that the album lives in ... It measure 4 x 4 and is 1" deep, looks a lot like a PIZZA BOX, thus the name ...

The cover of the book - just like the cover of the box, but I added more embellishments to it

Page 1 & 2

Page 3 & 4 - I just love that little button that looks like "shades!" It had been in my collection for a LONG TIME! I'm glad I finally got to use it again!

Page 5 & 6 - Blake is quite the "PARTY BOY!" We all had a great time at his party, even though we almost blew away! (The wind was blowing about 40 mph on the last Saturday in February!)

Our 2008 vacation on the Outer Banks (Northern Shores)

We spent Day 2 of our 2008 Vacation exploring the Northern Shores of the Outer Banks. This year we plan to spend Week 2 exploring this area. Here are the scrapblog pages that I did for the 2008 vacation! Less than 3 weeks to go!

We only had about an hour before closing time when we arrived at the Wright Brothers National Museum last year. We climbed the sand dune to see the monument, and that's about all the time we had. This year we will be staying closeby for 3 days so that we can actually go to the museum this time! We also hope to catch some kite-flyers at Jockey's Ridge State Park nearby as well. And spend a day on Roanoke Island at the site of the "lost colony" - the first English settlement in the New World.

A Visit to Oma's Garden

These are scrapblog.com pages I created last Fall after a visit to Randa & Walter's nursery in Killeen (Walter is my uncle and godfather) - Can't wait to see Texas in bloom like this again!

Family portraits

This was a picture that Mike took of my family on Thanksgiving 2008 - I created the layout using freebie elements I collected (can't find my notes right now - will look for them, and add credits!) I printed the page as 8 x 8 and framed it for everyone for Christmas (except me - I gave mine away to my Aunt Edie and Uncle Chuck when they visited in January!)

This is a portrait I took of Mike's family at the wedding in Denver, on November 15, 2008. He got this layout framed for Christmas.

A vist to Cameron Park Zoo

Mike and poki took a trip up to Waco on March 22, to visit the Cameron Park Zoo - got lots of great shots, but I love how the focus on this tiger "removed" the fence that was in between us!

The cat was just being lazy on a Sunday afternoon.

More pix from the Butterfly Haus on Saturday

I had some time to edit tonight, and found a few more photos I really like from our trip to the Hill country last Saturday.

Frog 1 & Frog 2 had a great conversation, and a short ride with another "frog" in the Haus (that is the German spelling not a misspelling! - Fredericksburg is a GERMAN TOWN through and through!)

We definitely love our lantana in Texas - so do the butterflies! (My purple lantana is getting fuller everyday - will have to take a picture soon to post!)

This Monarch had me "chasing" him for about 20 minutes - and I never got a GREAT picture of him - he was flying around in the Meadow at Wildseed Farms, but seemed to really love these purple verbenas near the trail!

There were so many different species of Swallowtails in the Haus - they are so beautiful!

My Nikon P80 is currently registering 941 pictures taken since Christmas - I'm going to "celebrate" with #1000! I will post it!

poki

Had a great trip to Fredericksburg on Saturday ...

but I never got here to post any of the photos that I took ... here are the butterfly pictures that I have edited so far. I'll do more after TECH Squad meets on Wednesday!

This Pipevine Swallowtail was busy fluttering in the shasta daisies, but I was able to catch him for a second.

Another Pipevine Swallowtail - this one stayed on this fuschia plant for a long time, even though the Butterfly Haus was full of tourists.

I got lucky with this Zebra Longwing - the original has so much detail in the butterfly. That orange glow in the background was a ROCK!

BUNCO Birthday Party

Today was the BUNCO girls birthday party for 3 birthdays in March & April - Arlene (3/8), Barbara (4/8) and poki (4/2). We had a great time down at the Dead Fish Grill at Belton Dam (used to be Frank's Club). Here is a scrapbook I created at scrapblog.com with the pictures that I took during the party! I hope you enjoy it!

Just a hint at why we are going back to Ocracoke

This is the scrapblog scrapbook I made of our trip to Ocracoke Island last year - a couple pages are from Hatteras Island (but the challenge to climb Cape Hatteras also is playing a major role in our choice of the OBX)

This is the tallest BRICK lighthouse, Cape Hatteras Light, ever constructed in the US - 204 feet at the lookout platform. It has 268 steps inside, which I am determined to MASTER this year (in case you didn't know it - I am AFRAID of heights!) We have at least 4 days to visit and possibly climb the light - one day during the first week while Pat & Dick Kirkingburg are with us (Mike's sister and brother in law), and 3 more days the second week, while staying at the Lighthouse View in Buxton. (the name of the hotel is a stretch - you can't really see the tower, but you can see the light at night!)

The beaches on Ocracoke are absolutely fabulous and DESERTED this early in the season. I have no desire to swim in the ocean, but I love to walk in the edge of the water on a clean, sandy beach - looking for shells, following the birds, just enjoying the sand, water and salty air! I can't wait to see this beach again - and neither can Melvin, the moose. He insists that he will be traveling with us as well!

Although the Ocracoke Lighthouse is not the most impressive one in the OBX, it is the oldest in continuous service!

We didn't get to sail on the Schooner Windfall last year - the weather didn't cooperate! This year we have 7 nights to try for a SUNSET SAIL - it's just too classic "Red sails in the sunset!"

Can't wait for dinner at Howard's Pub - and to be driven home on the electric golf cart! Mike is also packing a Texas license plate as well as a Colorado one to attach to the wall in the Pub - they have a collection!