Who doesn't love Kodah

Well... while his daddy is out to sea I want to make sure he can see the silly and serious sides of him.

What was that?

 Did you say daddy??

 This is his model look

 I love my garden

 My favorite position in the yard

 BIRD!

 Smile!

 I am going to crush you!

 And smash you!

 Mmmmmm good



What's goin' on in the garden

SO the garden is doing well and we have a nice new wall supporting it. BUT our plants got aphids! Little green buggers that like to eat my leaves and take over...
Well I was not going to let that happen. I went to the garden store and asked for suggestions. She said that we could use pesticides and it might cause some damage to possible fruit production, so I said no way to chemicals. I went with LADYBUGS!

They were recommended by friends and I figured if it worked for them it would work for me so I followed the instructions on releasing them... and here's what my rose bush looked like...

I released them on all the plants the lemons, the orange and the avacado tree.



Well I went back the next day and....

I would definately recommend them to anyone with a bug problem. Now I just need my roses to bloom :-)

The Fish Tank!

Well we started it back up here on the west coast before Ry left for sea. They are just starting so here are our new friends for the tank!

The plants and fish have been active and growing. Our favorites are pictured below

Electric Blue Ram

 German Ram

 He gets two pics because he's my favorite... even though he acts like a jerk sometimes

 Red Tiger Lotus (didn't have leaves till after Ry left)

 Chain Sword

The Flower Fields

So today I went on an outting to Carlsbad, CA where The Flower Fields are. So there are about 50 acres of the Giant Tecolote Ranunculus flowers planted here every year. It basically sends a huge rainbow of color through the fields and are beautiful to photograph in. Today they were offering a macro photography class so I chose to go. When I think of a class, I think of them giving different instructions on how to shoot, different displays of how to get the "perfect picture," Q & A and things of that nature. Well, this "class" was more of a you need to have one of these three lenses... oh and you NEED a ring flash... and you NEED this... and that.  Oh yea and you shouldn't shoot in auto AND you should use a tripod. THAT WAS IT. 10 min. See those tents? That's where it was and most people couldn't hear him because they used a boom box for the mic system.

So I said OK and went to the north 40 to shoot away from the well over 2,000 people that showed up. They had beautiful flowers, I will post a few of my favorites, and the rest I will put in a slide show at the bottom.

So after shooting I went and looked around at everything else going on at the flower show. It was hillarioius to people watch. I couldn't help but snap a guy modeling in the open area with a giant red mohawk

Overall this place is great for kids. They have a maze out of sweet pea flowers and tons of activities and vendors for all. But I would recommend going on a weekday. The flower fields are only open till the beginning of May so go enjoy the beauty while it lasts!



What's for Dinner

So I am trying all kinds of recipes that I want to use when Ry gets back to see if they work out well. The first dinner I made is called Crispy Shrimp Pasta . If you follow the link, it will take you to a much more detailed description of what she made. I just took a snap shot of what I made because it was AWESOME and DELICIOUS!!! 

Skyline San Diego

So becoming serious about my photography requires me to step out of my comfort zone, and explore the area by myself when I really don't know many people here. A few nights ago, I decided that I wanted to work on my night photography skills. I went to a park that basically consisted of a bench and decided I would learn how to get the right night photo. Well, after 40+ pictures here's what I got

Well I was looking at the skyline, and I had never been over to the far left with the red/white/blue lights that were on the USS Midway. Well, while I was out and about I decided to go take some shots of that.

 When I got there I realized that the famous kiss statue was there and I had to capture it all under the cover of night... it was so beautiful

 I think I am well on my way to working with my photography. On sunday I am going to go some place else by myself to work on macro photography. I am also taking others photos and posting them on my photography blog for them and their families. Feel free to check it out Amanda Brandeburg Creations

THE LIST

Ok so I finally sat down and decided what I want to get accomplished while Ry is out to sea... here it is

THE LIST:

• Finish the raised garden wall
• Make the grass actually look like grass (not a weed pile)
• GET A JOB (and be happy with whatever it is)
• Get more serious about my photography
• Teach Kodah 3 new tricks
• Make health & fitness my priority
• Get involved in volunteering
• Make Kodah more "dog friendly"
• Meet up with old friends from college that live out here
• Keep this updated so family and friends know what's going on in our lives

I think that should keep me busy for a while, and hopefully I can add more when I think of things. I am always up for suggestions!

Go Reds!!

So the Cincinnati Reds came to play the Padres... and I wanted to go so bad! All but one game was a night game, so I decided that if I couldn't find anyone to go with, I would feel safer going to a game by myself in the afternoon. Well all the people I knew in San Diego were all busy with prior obligations so I thought I was stuck. I called my buddy Shelley on a whim that she might want to call out sick, and drive from Vegas to here and see our Reds! It just so happened that she was off of work. She packed up the car and headed out here. It was a great day with Shel, and I can't wait to go to Vegas soon for her baby shower!!!

 Go Redlegs!!

 Pregger Shel

 Shel's "boyfriend" at bat

Pre-Deployment Activities: Fishing

Well there were a few things that Ry wanted to do before he headed out to the ship. Go fishing was a major thing. We ended up taking a fishing charter first to see how people out here fish. Then we ventured out on our boat and tried for some halibut in the bay and on the kelp beds. While fishing out here the way to get live bait is to go to the bait barge. We picked up a fun friend at the barge. There were dolphin everywhere when we went out to the kelp beds. The sea life out here is amazing!

Pre-Deployment Activities: Mt. Laguna

Ry wanted to go to the mountains before he went to sea, and we had some perfect timing with there being a hard rain here in the city. Plus the chilly weather, we were certain that there would be some snow up in the mountains. It was also Kodah's 3rd birthday, so we took him with, and he had the best time running around up in the 29 degree weather.

Happy Pup!

 Family Picture

 One of my favorites :-)

 Action shot

 My boys

 It was beautiful up there