Pictures

Not the most original of a title I admit, but I'm a bit tired...

So I spent a lot of this weekend working on pictures that I had taken over the past few months and I thought I would share a few that I really liked.

Speaking of photos, tomorrow is going to be a big day for me. I plan to join a photography club down here and also attend my first meeting tomorrow night (don't worry though, I will be taping my show to watch later =P). I'm a little nervous, but at the same time I'm looking forward to it. It's never been very easy for me to be in situations where I don't know anyone, but I keep reminding myself that this will be good for me. I'll let all of you know how it goes.

For now though, I hope you enjoy some of the pictures I've taken. Oh, and I hope all of you have had a good weekend!

Meet my brother's girlfriend, Miss Anne Thorn (the first). She and Dom have been dating since high school. She's a wonderful person and good for my brother, if I do say so myself. I took this picture of her while we were all in Minneapolis this summer. I like it b/c she just looks content and in her own thoughts.

I took this picture of my dad during the same weekend trip in Minneapolis, while we were out to eat. I bet a lot of you can relate when I say it's not always the easiest to take pictures of your parents. They never seem to want to get a picture (well, they want a picture, but they never want to be in the picture...haha). I just really like this picture of my dad b/c it reminds me of the good time we all had together that weekend.

One more from the weekend in Minneapolis for those of you who may not have seen a picture of the L-town Hogans altogether in awhile. This was taken on the campus of Dom's alma mater, University of Minnesota. You know, it's interesting. Finding this picture made me realize how infrequently we get a picture with all four of us. I'll have to work on that one (but it goes back to that thing about parents not wanting to be in pictures. Many of you can relate, yes?). Oh, credit goes to Anne Thorn for taking this picture - thanks Anne!

Ah, this one I took on one of the beautiful beaches along the Cape Cod coastline (I can't remember the name of the beach though). Adam and I went out east back in May to visit his youngest brother, Nick and his wonderful girlfriend, Laura. We spent one day driving up the Cape Cod coast and taking in all the beautiful scenery. As you can probably tell from the picture below, it was gorgeous that day.

Taken on the same beach as the picture above. It's one of my favorites - simple as that.

Speaking of Nick and Laura, here they are! Before dropping us off at the airport on our last day, the four of us spent the day in Boston. On the way to Beantown we decided to make a stop at one of the most historically significant cities in our country -- Plymouth! This picture was taken near Plymouth rock. A great picture of a great couple.

You know I couldn't not add in some pet pictures...haha. I love this picture of Truman and Baloo. I can't remember the situation, but I know when I took this there was something that caught both their attention. You can notice that Baloo looks on high alert, almost paranoid and Truman is more relaxed. That's definitely how it usually works when they are presented with something new or out of the norm (like company or another pet over).

This is Miss Bear at her happiest, running. She just loves to run. There's a park across the street from our apartment and I will take her over there and let her off the leash. She stays by my side, but then if I take off running, she will come running after me. If she goes off in another direction and I call her name, then this is what she does -- comes running to me with her tongue hanging out and all. She's very aerodynamic and sweet as sweet can be.

This beautiful girl is Julian, one of Luke and Kaela's precious darlings (Luke's words). Last weekend while Julian's mama and daddy were out of town, she stayed with us. This was taken the same day and at the same park as the picture above with Lucy. Julian wasn't as much about the running that day (it was pretty warm), but she sure was happy just to be outside. She's a crazy girl, but also incredibly sweet. She gives you this look that I can't quite explain, but when she does, you can't help, but smile.


This is another one of my favorites. It's of the second Mr. and Mrs. Kramer just as they turned to walk down the aisle officially as husband and wife. I just love the expressions on their faces. When I saw it, it made me wonder if it's an expression a lot of just married couples share -- one of excitement, relief (seeing everything go off without a hitch after months of planning), and pride (I think Zac looks pretty proud to be standing next to his wife). Another picture of a great couple.

Ok, this last picture I just had to post for my own ego...haha. I was so proud last week b/c it was the first time I made homemade apple pie (crust and all from scratch!). I wasn't so sure if I could pull it off - especially the crust bit. Anyhow, I was so excited at how it turned out that I thought, eh, I gotta show it to someone aside from the two of us who saw this baby in real life =P

That's all I have for tonight. Wishing all of you a good week ahead! I can't lie, I never look forward to Mondays, but I'll try to remain positive if you promise to do so, too. Deal? :o)

Until next time...

Adieu and Bonne nuit!

One of those weeks...

Hello all,

No, I haven't fallen off the planet. Sorry I haven't posted all week (because I'm sure you've checked everyday, right? ha). It's just been one of those weeks. It started out a hopeful week, but ended in a lot of disappointment. However, I will spare you from the details.

Anyway, I just thought I'd write a little note and let you know that I will post again this weekend. It's on my list of things to do and honestly, I look forward to it. This blog thing has actually been a lot of fun for me to do and I want to let all of you know that I really appreciate your support and encouragement.

I hope that all of you have had a good week, but if yours has been like mine, I guess we can at least be glad that the weekend is just around the corner.

Wishing all of you a fantastic Friday!

Oh, and did anyone else watch House on Monday night? :o)

And......

I'm back!

So I know I've been a little M.I.A. this past week and this is why.....

Anyone who has talked to me in the last month or so probably won't be too surprised.  In the last few years, there really haven't been too many shows that I just love.  I was probably one of the few people who never really got into Lost, Grey's Anatomy, American Idol, etc.  The only shows that I'd say I loved to watch were The Office and What Not to Wear.  Well, I now have a new love - House!

Adam and I came across an episode a few months ago and started watching it, at first not too seriously, but by the end we were getting into it.  Then we watched another episode (there was a marathon going that weekend - it must have been meant to be ... haha).  Not long after that, we both got hooked.  

The show had been on five seasons, but neither of us really knew much about it.  I think I had heard of it, but that was about it.  Well, once we got hooked, (it was a gradual process) I decided that before the season premiere, which is this coming Monday, I wanted to understand everything leading up to it.  Sooooo, you know what that means!  That's right, for the last few months, whenever Adam and I have had some down time, we've been watching "a'lotta" House.  This week while Adam was in class, I started in on Season 5 (the most recent season that Adam had already seen) and I was on a mission, a mission to finish up all the episodes.  Well, since this week I didn't have too much going on (and it's been so rainy and dreary outside), it was a perfect time!  It also just meant that I would be M.I.A. for a few days =P

Don't worry though dear bloggers and readers, I'm back now.  You can breath a sigh of relief *whew*.  

Before I go though, I have to admit that after a few days of minimal after-work productivity, I am definitely ready to be busy again.  I will also admit that it was kind of fun to just come home, relax, and get so into a good show (I guess I just kind of think there aren't a lot of them out there).  If you haven't seen House yet, I HIGHLY recommend it.  The characters are so well developed and the dialogue is funny, sarcastic, and smart.  I also like that every episode presents some sort of medical mystery they are trying to solve.

Well, I probably didn't have to recommend the show.  I think it's pretty obvious how much I like it.  I did just dedicate a post on the topic (which I hope hasn't caused any of you to reconsider your opinion of me ... hahaha).

So that's what I've been up to this week.  I hope all of you have had as good of a week, at work or after.

Happy Friday Eve everyone!

A Short Story

Hopefully my cousin Joli doesn't mind that I post this, but I just liked the sequence of theses photos; it kind of tells you what happened without me having to write anything.

I will leave you with this...

You know that picture of Adam swinging on the rope like Tarzan (see the below post)?  Well, let me just say it's not as easy as it looks.

Get Your Kicks, at Phillips, 66...

Ok, so I changed a few words to the song, but I'm keeping with my Bartlesville/Phillips 66 theme.

Well, we are back from Oklahoma! It was a good trip and so nice to be able to spend time with my dad, grandma, and a few cousins.   I must confess though, I didn't do a great job keeping my camera with me during the weekend so I didn't get as many pictures as I wanted (like I said, B-ville IS a happenin' place so I know you can totally understand how I may have gotten busy and forgotten to take my camera).

So one of the more fun things we got to do this weekend was head out to Woolaroc, which is the name of the ranch Frank Phillips used to own.  I remember when we were kids, my brother, two cousins from southern MO, and I would spend a week of the summer with our grandparents in Bartlesville; Woolaroc was always one of our favorite places to go.  I hadn't been there in so many years so this past weekend we decided to check it out again (I knew for sure that would seal the deal to get Adam to spend another weekend in Oklahoma sometime in the future =P).  It was a fun time and definitely brought back memories.  It's also always interesting to revisit somewhere you haven't been in a long time and compare it to what you remembered in your mind.  In my case, I think I had forgotten how big the ranch was and the layout. 

Anyhow, with all that said, I thought I'd share a few of the pictures I did take while we were out at Woolaroc...


   
My wonderful cousin, Joli and Tarzan, oops, I mean Adam...

The Horse Whisperer

Teepees!!!

Dad-o and me

   The Native American Museum

THE END!!!

Oklahoma is OK!

Anyone else remember that used to be the slogan on Oklahoma's license plate?  I do only because I used to (actually, still do) like giving my dad a hard time about it since he was born and raised in the state.

Soooo, tomorrow Adam and I are headed up to the great state of Oklahoma, Bartlesville to be exact, to visit my cousin, grandma, and dad (he will be in town for the weekend, too).  I always love seeing the fam and this time will be even more fun because it will be the first time Adam will have the chance to see all that B-ville has to offer.  You may be wondering: "What does Bartlesville have to offer?"  Well, really the question should be "What DOESN'T Bartlesville have to offer?".  First and foremost it is where the Big Cheese of the Hogan family resides (Grandma, of course).  It's also where Phillips 66 was headquarted for many many a'years.  My grandpa was actually a chemist for Phillips back in the day and in fact even holds a few patents.  It was his first and only job he had throughout his entire career.  Not too shabby, eh?  I don't know if that even happens anymore...

Speaking of jobs.  I'm very grateful to have one, but sometimes I admit by the end of the week, I get a little tired of looking at the computer (yeah yeah, I know that it's contradictory considering I'm on one right now).  You can all relate, yes?  

You stare at that computer screen 8 hours a day, 5 days a week and it gets old (ask Truman, he knows).

Then, comes Friday (cue angels singing:  "Ahhhhhhh"), which means it's weekend time, which in turn means that you don't have to go to work tomorrow!  Now what's even better than having two days off work?  That's right, having three!  For those of you who are also fortunate to have Labor Day off, I hope you enjoy your three day weekend!  

I say that tonight you go home, lay out on the couch, and get a little rest and relaxation before you dive into your weekend.

(At least I know that's T-Money's plan)

To everyone, I hope you have a good Labor Day weekend and for those of you traveling, have a safe trip!

Oh, and don't worry.  I'll be back next week to tell you of our adventures in Bartlesville (we may even have time to hit up the petroleum museum =P).

Ta ta, for now!

A Beautiful Day

Taking pictures of people is by far my most favorite thing. A few weeks ago I flew up to StL and spent the day at the botanical garden with my good friend, Martha, and her two girls, Madison and Hayley (they were the sweetest girls!). I had so much fun that day and thought that I'd share a few pictures I took of them.

By the way, if you're ever in StL and have the time, you should definitely check out the botanical garden; it's absolutely beautiful and there's so much to see.

Here are a few pictures from the day...