Here we are again. Another week has gone by.

How did you do this week?

Posted by danielle at 09:15 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

This morning, I finally gave in to the urge to weigh myself. You see, ever since the scale refused to budge after months of exercising, I'd convinced myself that I'd better just not weigh myself anymore, because it was simply too disheartening.

But guess what?!

I've lost 10 pounds! Yes! You heard me right. Ten whole pounds.

I guess exercising really is starting to pay off. It makes me grin with excitement.

This also means that I am back to my pre-writing-my-thesis weight. Which makes me wonder if I'd fit back into my old jeans again. But that is one thing I'm really afraid to check. Because, it would be too disheartening if they were too tight to zip shut or button. I had recently noticed that my newer jeans of the unheard of size seemed to be a little bit more loose than I'd remembered. But you know how jeans fit kind of tight when they just come out of the dryer and then as the week goes on, they get really loose? So, I was afraid that the whole loose jeans thing was just a mark of my slothfullness of wearing them too much. But maybe, just maybe the loose jeans combined with the new (well old really) number on the scale might be telling me that I really have lost some inches after all.

This gives me new motivation for exercising. You know, cause now I feel like it is paying off.

10 pounds! I still can't quite get over it.

Posted by danielle at 06:20 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack

On Saturday, Amber came up with the bright idea of going to the Como Park Conservatory to walk around and photograph flowers.

It was an impressive set of greenhouses.

There were a lot of green plants, and fewer flowering plants than we expected, but we still enjoyed it.

This was a water feature (pond) with St. Francis of Assisi beside it.

The very last greenhouse we went into had the majority of the flowers. The minute we walked in, I could smell the flowers very strongly. I couldn't quite place the scent until I saw all of the lilies. And then I realized it was the lilies that were filling the air with their perfume.

In the coming weeks, I'll be showing you more flower photos from that trip - including the lilies.

But for now, I wanted to share with you one of the photos that unexpectedly turned out better than the rest.

I really like the contrast with the stones.

Hope this finds you doing well and ready to enjoy your weekend. :-)

Posted by danielle at 09:06 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Well, last week was pretty good for all of us. How did you do this week?

Posted by danielle at 09:11 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

This is one of the close-up shots of a zinnia that is blooming currently in a pot on my porch. I brought it inside for the photos. Isn't that nice about a container garden? You can move them anywhere. Even inside - temporarily, of course.

I didn't know that they were zinnias until Poopie and Squirl pointed it out on my last flower post. You see, I had received these seed balls labeled "Seedz of Hope" from a dear friend who shipped them to me special. This particular packet was a fundraiser for breast cancer research and all of the seeds in the clay ball were supposed to be for pink flowers. Pink flowers of unknown types - at least to me. But sure enough, the zinnias bloomed different shades of pink. The other day when I was looking at my more zoomed out photos of the zinnias (the ones I posted) I realized that the centers of the flowers were quite interesting looking.

I didn't know they'd be even more interesting as I photographed them.

I love how in this one, the yellow parts are star-shaped stalks stretching up so high. And there are curly double candy canes too that show up from this bugs-eye view.

In large.

I know the three shots are rather similar. But each one is just different enough, that I thought it was worth putting them all three on here. Hope you don't mind indulging me on this one.

Enjoy your weekend!

Posted by danielle at 07:59 PM | Comments (10) | TrackBack

Another week has come and gone. How did you do this week?

Texas Seestor, did you go for some swims?

Amber, did you do aerobics?

Squirl, did you meet your pedometer goals every day by going for some walks?

Posted by danielle at 07:34 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack

If you read my 'post-poned' note, you'll know that when I looked at these photos, I decided that I wanted some additional close-ups. I had hoped to take those photos today. However, I'm not feeling all that well. So, I thought it might be best to just go ahead and post these, and then I can take the close-ups at my leisure and post them next Friday.

See you later.

Posted by danielle at 04:18 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack

Flowers for Friday is temporarily post-poned until I can get some additional photos. I have one or two that I want to post, but looking at the flowers, I realized that I want some additional shots with my Kenko extension tubes and Vivitar lens to go with them. Hopefully, I will get those shots tomorrow and can post late Saturday.

See you soon!

Posted by danielle at 07:44 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

I'm a day or two late on this, but I'd still like to know how everyone did last week.

Posted by danielle at 09:01 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack

This flower is portulaca, also known as a moss rose. Every summer when I plant annuals, I get some moss roses. They are one of the few flowers that can tolerate a lot of heat and not much water. So back in MA, I planted them by the mailbox where they were exposed to heat from the driveway and the road.

Here in MN, I've planted them in pots and put them on the deck where I can see them daily.

They can be a variety of colors, such as red, hot pink, peachy orange, orangey yellow, yellow, and white. Well, I guess technically white isn't a color, but you get the idea. Part of what I like about them is how a variety of colors can bloom in the same pot. In these examples, the plants happened to be blooming mostly the same color, which was kind of unique and photo worthy, but that isn't necessarily typical.

Not many people have heard of moss roses, but we had them when I was growing up, and they were always one of my favorite flowers. I think I liked them for their color, their small size, and their ruffly-ness. As an adult, I still love them for all of those things, but in addition I love their drought tolerance. I'm really terrible at remembering to water plants. I wouldn't say that I have a brown thumb, but sometimes it comes close. Maybe tan.

What are some of the flowers you always plant? Do you have any standards?

Posted by danielle at 08:47 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack