If you look carefully....

If you look very carfully you will see a Mama Duck and her duckies--these aren't the same variety as we have on the creek trail but they're still unique.....  She's situated at the foot of  the big waterfalls--the falls she's sitting on empties into a creek that goes down into a garden.  It was absolutely beautiful.

Gilroy Gardens

This is one of the "Circus Trees" created by the gentleman who started Belfonte Gardens in Gilroy, CA.  It's called the "Table Tree" and is at the entrance into the park. 

Their are about six gardens--I don't have the guide map in front of me but each one is fabulous.  They have a wonderful maze you can actually get lost in and waterfalls that are breathtaking even if they're not hundreds of feet high--each of the 500+ stones were hand-place by the same guy who created the trees.

These Columbine were only one variety there and they were absolutely spectacular.

I forget this one's name--but isn't it spectacular?

Da Folks' last day here is tomorrow so we're whirl-winding through the weekend and heading out but I'll post more pictures as I have time and you have time to enjoy them....

Unfortunately no picture this morning but it was a beautiful walk and the extra two puppies made it interesting.  We saw extra duckies in the creek and a whole lot of tired drakes....  Makes me think they were on duckling duty last night though Da Folks suggest it was because they were out partying with the other drakes and were sleeping it off....

Time to leave to get the nails done so the rings look like they belong on these hands.....

Duckies Day 2

You'll have to trust me again on this one--there are the seven

little duckies in the center of the pic, against the far bank. 

They were adorable--just paddling along, sifting through the water for

whatever it is little duckies eat.... 

It was a glorious morning for walking though I did wear out Elliott.

Poor, poor Elliott....

Maggie's here....

 

Maggie was very upset that we didn't have a parade in honor of her arrival. 

She'll recover....

Eventually.....

DUCKIES!!!!!!!!

You can hardly see them because my iPhone doesn't have a zoom but just left of center is a Mama Duck and her new babies.  They were adorable!  She has about six or seven and they were just paddling away!  I'll try and take another pic tomorrow with my digital camera...

Nice day for a walk--wind was a bit chilly but no rain and we saw duckies!!!!

In the aftermath....

So--the party ended aroud ten.  Great googly moogly--how did that EVER become a "good idea"?  The kids did mostly clean up the garage.  In the interest of all things unknown and don't-wanna-know, almost the entire second pizza was thrown away.  I know it's hard to believe but the seven kids drank about 18 sodas.  I assume.  There may have been some not-empty cans that got taken care of at the end of the night.  I don't want to know.  I believe almost all the candy was eaten--shocking, right?  Fourteen Go-Gurts were gone (probably the least worrisome of all the food supplied), and there was half a bag of potato chips left that are also off-limits to any adult not wanting to catch cooties from a bunch of kids without soap....

Dev woke up around 8 this morning but Alex just started squirming about 8:30....  Poor little darlings--worn out from all the excitement of EVERYthing!

And now it's off to collect for the party expenses--my two personal cleaning maids....  They need supervised to make sure they do "mom-quality cleaning" but at least I can get some of my own done while they argue, fuss, fight, and procrastinate....  :D

Starting the Day off Walking

Elliott's ready--Da Boys weren't....  Overcast morning but a nice day to walk. 

Oodles of Noodles! Oh my!

Oh, my goodness!!!  I've found my new favorite "go to" lunch "on the go."  The only calories are in the serving of grilled chicken and the sauces which are spicy sesame and teriyaki--YUM-O!!!!

I found "calorie free noodles" on the internet and the package looks the same as the one the guy showed me at the restaurant:  http://www.miraclenoodle.com/angel-hair-pasta.html.  The noodles have a different consistency than regular pasta but they're yummy and the whole dish is uber fab.  So, after putting the recipe into my Lose It! ap, it comes up at 322 calories!!!  WOW! 

I'm happy.....

Noodle-y happy!

About the restaurant:  you pay before you grab the fresh veggies for your bowl.  You can choose to add on chicken, beef, or pork or, for a bit more, prawns.  You choose your noodles when you pay.  You then take your bowl down the counter and take whatcha want, as long as it fits in your bowl.  They had zucchini, carrots, celery, mushrooms, what was probably bok choy and another Asian veggie, tofu cubes, bean sprouts, garlic, onions, broccoli, and a bunch more that I didn't put on.  You go around the corner and you pick your sauce.  I'm not sure what all they had because as soon as I saw "spicey sesame" I was done.  :)  She suggested halving it with teriyaki sauce so I told her to make it so....  She started the chicken, added the veggies and literally--three or four minutes later it was boxed, bagged, and ready to drag home and scarf down. 

YUM!

And what have I done today?

I've spent two hours on my blog!  I did exercise already, however, and got Da Boys off to school so I suppose that counts for something? 

It's a gorgeous morning--57' and warm enough I need to open windows. 

Geez--I've gotta get hoppin' or the Easter Bunny will be here before I'm ready and with Da Boys home tomorrow I really get slowed down. 

Gonna start a turtle count somewhere--each morning when I go down the trail I count turtles--saw 6 this morning.  I'm starting to be able to tell the difference between them, which blows my mind....  Most I've seen in one walk was 9.  I like turtles.  :)

Gun-totin' Gramma!

In deference to the losses suffered by the families in Sandy Hook Elementary, Mom requested I remove the post of her.  Our hearts go out to the families affected by this senseless tragedy and pray that hope and peace replace the empty spots in so many hearts.

 

Elliott!!!

Name:  Our Little Buddy Elliott

Age:  6 1/2 years

Nickname:  Foodar

Enjoys:  Eating, fetching, eating, long walks, swims,

eating, napping on my own futon, eating

Biggest Talent:  Finding forgotten food ANYWHERE in the house

(Did I mention I like eating?)

Maiden Post

Hello, all!

Here is the first post on my new blog.  Wow!  I have a few things I want to focus on here and would love to hear any suggestions you may have. 

As I stated in my profile, I have a few passions that include scrapping, fashion, reading, ghosts (!), and HGTV.  I also have two boys and a Lab and they are excellent fodder for daily stories.  I have been watching my eating and working out A LOT since last August and am proud to say that I am down 18 pounds with 15 more to go.   With that said, I love sharing meals that make me happy without over doing my caloric intake and as of last Monday I started training for a 10k run (and I mean RUN! not walk briskly!) in October.  I should probably post about my Monday training--little gross, highly entertaining....

I am also in the process to be hired as a faculty member at the University of Phoenix--there are some good stories right there that might get a chuckle or two and I still have three classes to take and my first session to teach before I'm actually hired!  Great googly moogly!

So--thank you for stopping, please help me break the imagined bottle of champagne against Crabby Aby, my laptop, and let's begin, shall we?

Now.  How do I load pictures and all that other cool stuff that makes a blog interesting.....

:D  Have a relaxing Wednesday night and please drop me a line!

Melanie