13.1 miles...

Okay, so it's not the most amazing picture we've ever taken. But, it represents one of our larger accomplishments recently (if ever I suppose). Mark and I completed 13.1 miles in the Yuengling Shamrock Half Marathon!

We made it across the finish line in 2 hour and 11 min by my watch (which didn't include the 4 min of bathroom breaks due to my poor planning!). Official race time was 2:15:??. Not bad for a giant and the shrimp with short legs that held him back:) We beat our personal goal of 2:30 so we're happy.

Spring has sprung...

I left for a few days and came back to these beautiful spring flowers. I love the crocus because it has the courage to be the first out of the snow to show it's color. We inherited a bunch when we bought the house and were suprised to see them come up that first spring.

I'm still not sure what type of tree this is. It has the shape of a dog wood and the leaves resemble the same but these flowers are not typical dog wood flowers. They're tiny clusters of yellow pom poms all over the tree. It's the first tree to flower in the spring time.

It's hard to get a good closeup of these and the wind was blowing to it made it even more challenging but a photographer has to be patient. Plus, i was on a conf call and had nothing else to do (yes, i'm out in the yard with the camera and my wireless head set listening in on a work call!)

The pink guys below are from a plant called winter daphne. It's supposed to bloom in early feb but for some reason our three decided that mid march would be a better time. Regardless, I'm glad they decided to join us. The blossoms smell like a cross between lemon, lilac, and plumeria. Such an exotic scent for our area.

I think spring is one of my most favorite times of year. You're just coming out of the winter and new life starts popping up all over in the garden. Each year, as our garden matures it's fun to see how the plants have doubled and expanded to cover more space than they did in the previous year. It's more than that though. The temps get more milder and the air gets fresher. All the trees start to recover and emerge from their hiding spots deep in the earth or in the branches. It reminds us that no matter how bleak things get, there's always a time for renewal and a time to recover. Spring has most definitley sprung here!

80 degrees and perfect...

I spent my weekend and the first part of this week at a trade show in, of all places, Miami! Hafta say, leaving the 40 degree wet chill of NoVa for the glorious sunshine of Miami had its draw.

Unfortunately, the most sun I saw was on Saturday when we spent a few hours by the pool dozing before dinner. The reminder of the daylight hours were spent schmoozing prospective customers and getting them to try out our product.

I did manage to get a few shots each night before the sun set (on our way to dinner) and figured I'd share (and make up my post for this week - so far I'm on a roll!)

This is the first time this season that those tootsies have seen the light of day. My poor pale feet are badly in need of some seasonal maintenance but were just happy to be out of heels and into the fresh sea air!

Those tire footsies walked me over to Mambo's Cafe right in front of this awesomely colored building. With all the sights around I'm sad I didn't have my trusty SLR - for this trip my little Canon PowerShot made due. Not bad me thinks... No much creative power but takes an adequate picture and is super tiny so it fits in my purse.

Walking to work...

I was in San Jose this past week due to work and thought I'd take a few shots on my walk to work (seeing that my normal walk is all of about 20 feet!).

My hotel was about 4 blocks from the office and let me walk by most of the main downtown area including the San Jose Improv. This venue launched many a popular comedian!