Maisy & Emma

I had a great time with Emma, and Maisy today!   Emma is almost two weeks old and Maisy is just over a year, and so full of fun!   To see the full post click here

Thanks for checking In!!!

Arizona Bike Week!

Yesterday Ted and I rode all over the Phoenix area, 257 miles to be exact!!  Which I know isn't a lot for Ted, but for me...it was an awesome ride, enough for a day....especially being on the back!!    We rode around in the morning to a few different areas, we had lunch at the Queen Creek Uncle Bears, which to those of you who have ventured to our home in AZ...you most likely have had the intriguing experience of being there.....For those of you who haven't, you are missing out!!   The whole restaurant is based on 'Bear', a lab cross, who went EVERYWHERE with his owner...   Unfortunately his owner found many places that would not accept dogs...even on the patio!   So he created his own, very successful restaurant....one where Bear could join him!  The staff is amazing, the walls are smothered in pictures of dogs...Bentley will soon be an added fixture, we just want the girls to be there when we go ;-)))


Leaving there, we winded through the amazing back desert of Arizona.   Picture the best road trip you have been on... then add the intimacy of a summer blossom, filled breeze, grazing your face and filling your nose, the heat of the sun, not only from above, but beating back off of the pavement only inches below....and one can't ignore the 'SMACK" of catching a giant bug on your lip ;-)   As Ted says...."I prefer a bee....they taste like the freshest drop of honey.....just remember to chew fast so they don't sting."

We came across a 4 hectare nut farm, unfortunately not in blossom....yet I still NEEDED a photo!  Straight, perfect lines of trees cutting through the desert, is a site to be seen!    

We rode down into bike week located in Cave Creek, at The Hideaway, a tiny little biker bar ( we met the owner featured in the photo...that you will see if you clicked on the link....just in case here it is again, with as many $1 bills as there is sqft for....sorry I could not take a photo, it is still a biker bar ;-))), a tattoo artist on site, for those who have an "on a whim" LOVE expression....that are forever engrained into the grooves of your skin....No Mom...I did not get another tattoo...don't worry!!!

The Hideaway was the attraction for over 2500 bikes, each and every day of the 5 day event!!!!   The pictures do not do it justice.   Now if you want to talk about 'people watching' I saw some of the best down there!!!   Imagine your grandma in leather chaps and a leather side strung halter top...I saw it!    Fish nets with bikini tops....saw that too......   My personal fav is the new bandana top which was sported by on women from 21 - 75  -  with nothing under it....talk about side view ;-)))

After we rode to Scottsdale, where Brett Michaels was putting on a concert hosted by Scottsdale Harley Davidson there we viewed another 1000 bikes.  There were bikes of every shape, colour, model, power....most, of course, were Harley's!   Some had very impressive paint jobs, some straight from the factory....all together, there must have been every bike Harley has ever created!   Very impressive choppers caught your eye, such as the one below that resembles Peter Fonda's bike, The Easy Rider.    Everywhere you rode there were groups of bikes, some small, some with up to 40 bikes weaving in perfect rhythm, it was awesome!

To top off our evening we had another amazing candle lit dinner at Olive and Ivy.   It was a great day!


Oh...and while riding through Fountain Hills - at least an hour from our home.....we ran into Jeff, Christina and the boys....what are the odds, among 3 million people!!!    Anyways Ted got the boys on the back, against mama Christina's true wishes!!!

Bon Fire in the AZ dessert

After our photo shoot and an amazing dinner prepared by Jeff and Christina, the boys built a rock surround and then the boys and Ted went on the search for branches.....little did Ted realize that we was walking amongst tiny cacti in flip flops....not to mention the possibility of snakes and scorpions !!!!

The boys then threw on the dry Christmas tree that had been waiting for this occasion!   Then out came the s'mores!!!  YUMMY    Not to mention it was Giovanni's first bon fire!

Giovanni's desert shoot!

Probably one of my favourite photo sessions to date...was in the Arizona desert with 5 month old Giovanni.   I'm so happy with the end result and of course his mom and dad are blown away!!

To see the full post click here, to get directed to Simplicity-Photography.

What is in an eye?

What is in an eye?

Love, compassion, wisdom....a reflection....

Playing with macro and photoshop!

Now thats Homestyle!!

Good Morning my love!  With a glass of fresh, homegrown, home-squeezed orange juice...if only you could all experience the sweetness of this refreshing glass.  We sat in the backyard, with the hot sun shining, birds chirping, geckos talking, and the smell of orange blossoms filling the air.  

Orange, Ginger Chicken!

Tonights dinner.....I cut up 3 fresh picked oranges, with a TBSP of rind from another.  I added 1 tsp of sesame oil, 1TBSP of fresh ground ginger, 2 TBSP's of fresh garlic, 1TBSP of light sodium reduced soya sauce, 2 TBSP of brown sugar and 1TBSP Sambel Oeleke ( I like it spicy ;-))    I marinated in a ZIPLOCK bag for 5 hours.....lets see how it looks after it comes off of the BBQ!!

Yum!   I will add to pics soon!!!!

THE BEST CHICKEN EVER!!!   TENDER JUICY WITH SO MUCH FLAVOUR AND SO LITTLE CALORIES AND FAT!

Our meal!   SO tasty!   

What am I 4?

.....???

That's right I'm a tiny baby orange!   Grab an orange and see how my star looks when I'm fully grown!

...Don't cheat - grab one now!!!

....  Pretty cool hey????

These are a few of our oranges....I'm planning to do a lot of juicing ;-)))

   The full range...from blossom to orange, to new growth!!   This time of year we get to see it all!!!

I had to!!!

If you have ever 'de-oranged' a tree you will understand why I had to cut down this much of it today!   After hours of picking oranges, and pruning dead branches,  I decided to just cut the higher branches, I couldn't reach ;-)   The tree looks great!

To all of those who think I cut a little too much....you have no idea how much more I wanted to cut!....Did you know an orange branch has the same ferocious thorns as a rose??   Imagine hanging out in a rose bush for 6 hours ;-))

This is what we wake up to!

Our amazing orange tree!   Beautiful Arizona sun and weather! 

This is what we wake up to!!

           Our Oranges!!!!!

This is maybe half?