Happy Halloween 2011

Pumpkins

Gourds

Candies and Mini Pumpkins

Book Store Display

Have a fun night!

Cast Your Vote For Puppies vs. Babies

This post brought to you by Puppies vs. Babies. All opinions are 100% mine.

If someone puts a baby and a puppy in front of you asking for a vote, what would you do? Would you vote for a baby or would you vote for a puppy? It would be such a hard decision to make, and would depend on the cuteness, situation, and preference of the beholder.

There is a Puppies vs. Babies online contest current running until November 23rd, and you can cast your vote of choice. The winner will receive $5000. Now, as a mom, I definitely will vote for a baby since baby smells so good, cuddling, and very adorable. Baby always seems to soften my heart, and radiates love all the way around. I have not seen a baby that I don't like or want to hug.

The Puppies vs. Babies contest encourages you to take part in this ongoing debate, and settles once and for all to determine who is the cutest. I know many of you will go "goo goo gaga" seeing a puppy, so have your say by visiting the links in this post.

There is no secret who I would vote for, so in the comment section below this post, will you share with me which one gets a vote in your heart, a puppy or a baby, and why? Remember, one of these contestants will win $5000 to set them on the right path.

Pink Celosia

Pink Fuzzy

These are not my flowers I'm sorry to say, but I found these at a local store. They were a show stopper for anyone who fancied flowers or looking for some colors to brighten up the day.

Pink Celosia

They are called Celosia according to the tag, come in different variety of colors such as red, orange, white, cream, yellow, pink and maroon. They are annual flowers, and could grow up to 36 inches in height. Celosia prefers well-drained soil in full sun, and is very drought tolerant.

Mosaic of Pink Celosia

Celosia flowers are great to use as cutting flowers and long last also. They are perfect to use as dried flowers in a bouquet. Celosia is known to be easy to plant for indoor as well as outdoor, and relatively pest/disease free. Have a great weekend...

Joining Macro Friday, Pink Saturday, and Today Flowers!

Bizarre Halloween-Thursday Two Questions #59

Halloween is just around the corner, and everyone is tapping in for the fun event. Middle School holds Halloween Dance and charges a minimum of five dollars, which includes pizza and pop. Elementary schools have their own party or parade to celebrate.

It is a fun event for little kids as I remembered. Nowadays, it gets a bit more bizarre. The numbers of children trick or treat equal or even less than the numbers of older teenagers around my neck of the woods.

Last year, my friend and I watched truck loads of these kids got dropped off by the curve, and each of them carried two empty pillow cases. They didn't just trick or treat for themselves but trick or treat for "my little brother, sister, baby cousin, etc... at home!"

 Apparently, it has become the night to get as much free candies as one can, and it is sad to see that Halloween is being abused. Many adults confronted these big "trick or treat" kids, and bluntly told them that if the babies were too young to come out, then they were too young to eat the candy.

We even watched in dismay trick or treat "drive-by adults", where they stopped their car in front of houses, and came out to get candies. The numbers of residents participating in Halloween trick or treat, as the result, went down drastically to only two to three houses on a block.

Now this brings me to two questions for the week:

1) Shopping mall put a limit on age for trick or treat goers, so should there be a universal rule on where the cut off age be?

2) If you live in a neighborhood like mine, what would you do or say to these big kids that come to your door with two pillow cases?

Join others at Thursday Two Questions!

Canal View By Metro Beach

By the Canal

When was the summer over? I only made it to Metro Beach two times this year. One was in July when my sister visited from California, and one was last week by myself. I love looking at the houses by this canal, and this one stood out with its color.

Weeds By the Water

This was the part where the ski-doo and boat launched for those that came for a day visit. Along the shore was growing weed, and most wild flowers had left for the year.

Yellow Leaves By the Water

Right now the park is very quiet and less hustle. People who came to Metro Beach at this time are the ones that enjoy being out in nature, joggers, and photographers. I have seen a few photographers with their big fancy camera searching for a perfect spot to shoot.

Joining Watery Wednesday

Finish Up College Degree With a Student Loan

As a mother of a college student, I know too well the costs for tuition, boarding, books, and plain living expenses. Grant and scholarship help tremendously but can only go so far, and options are limited to work study or student loan.

The cost of college education can stretch beyond your imagination for anything that goes further than four years degree. Already in her third year, my daughter has to use the student loan calculator to figure out how much she would need to cover her expenses, and how much in total she has to pay back.

Besides holding a part time job, she also has to take out a small amount of student loan after searching for the best funding option with the lowest interest rate. With a student loan, she is worried less about keeping a full time job, and could concentrate more on study to finish up with her degree.

We have exhausted all the options that were available to us, and resorted to borrow money just as the end of last year. The expenses for future college students will only raise higher, so be prepared to look for the best student loan options. Education is the only way to have a better life in today economy.

Jacobina Carnea Flower

Pink Jacobina Carnea Flower

This gorgeous flower is called Jacobina Carnea, according to the stake on the ground! Really, I took a picture of the sign too. They are native of Brazil, and can be seen at the Belle Isle Conservatory in Detroit.

Side View of Jacobina Carnea

It is one of the most beautiful flower to see in the Conservatory, and usually in full bloomed sometime in September to October as far as I know. My camera recorded the date I was there, and it doesn't lie :-)

Mosaic of Jacobina Carnea

Jacobina Carnea is a tropical plant, and could grow up to 5 feet tall if not regularly prune. It loves full sunlight, little shade, and needs water regularly for maximum growth.

Joining Macro Friday, Pink Saturday, Today Flowers and Mosaic Monday!

Happy Birthday, Amanda!

Just a quick note to my friends and readers of Wandering Thought that today is Amanda's Birthday,  who you know as Self Sagacity and Blogger Broadcast. She hits, well... some numbers, but I'm not going to tell you the exact ones.

Amanda is my sister, and the youngest one in the family. She is very talented and driven! You can see the prove on her blogs. Stop by and wish her a great day, won't you?

HAVE A FANTASTIC BIRTHDAY, SIS!

Supplements and Vitamins-Thursday Two Questions #58

I don't know about you, but if you open my medicine cabinet you will find supplements and vitamins occupied one whole compartment of the space. Yes, I take Vitamin D, C, E, fish oil, flax seeds, folic acid, iron, turmeric, and many more. They are overwhelming sometimes, and I came to a stop.

I can feel that my body needed these supplements for I'm growing old. I don't like it but accept it! Therefore, I set out to look for the utmost important supplements and vitamins, and with lesser numbers of pills!

Vitamin D3 soft gel

Here is a short list below if you want to cut down on numbers of vitamins and supplements, or you can read an in-depth article here.

• Vitamin D 3, must be at least 2000 IU
• CoQ10 (Co-enzyne Q10)
•  Magnesium Citrate
• Omega 3, contain at least 6,000-9,000 IU to help with arthritis
• High Quality multi-vitamin, preferrably these brands Ultimate Daily Support or Forward Multi-Nutrient. Avoid TV advertised one-a-day muti-vitamins.

My questions for this week are:

1) Are you taking any supplements or vitamins and what are they?

2) Why are you taking supplements and vitamins, or do you think they help?

Join others at Thursday Two Questions!

Wild Aster Along the Fence

Aster With Red Heart

This wild aster grew along my fence and in abundant at this time of the year. While shooting the pictures, I didn't really see the morning dews on them until I uploaded the photos onto my computer, and this one was drenched in dew drops.

Aster With Yellow Heart

There were two different colors of the heart of these asters. One had yellow heart and the other had red heart, unless I'm wrong. Each one is beautiful in the early morning sunlight.

A Perfect Pair

How pretty are they standing next to each other like this? I thought I would stop taking their pictures, but each morning with a different sunlight, they just mesmerized me with their beauty.

Joining Watery Wednesday !

Pink Rhubarb Flower

Rhubarb Flower

 I'm in a hurry to get things done
Oh I rush and rush until life's no fun
All I've really gotta do is live and die
But I'm in a hurry and don't know why....
~Roger Murrah and Randy VanWarmer

Fuzzy Rhubarb Flower

Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit.  Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.  ~St Francis de Sales

Collage of Rhubarb Fuzzy Flowers

From those quotes above, you can guess that I'm in a hurry, right? Time just kind of skipped right over me this week. Nevertheless, I saw these fuzzy flowers in the back garden at my brother's house, and he told me the plant was rhubarb plant. They grew in abundance so he couldn't harvest them all. Therefore, the flowers took over!

Joining Pink Saturday, Today Flowers and Mosaic Monday!

Neighborhood-Thursday Two Questions #57

Our house is currently wedged between renters, and they are all single-lazy I might add- men. On my left side, the guy barely got out of the house to do any maintenance work so now we have huge weeds and tree growing too close to my driveway.

On my right side, the guy did some outside maintenance, but used bad words like nobody business if he ever was out. Often, he parked his car in the back of the house, blasted country music, drinking cases of beer, and cursing at the moon.

It is an interesting mixed of different people on our street since the economy hit. Homes are abandoned, and renters move in and out every few months. This is the only change that I have seen around here.

1) Have you noticed what's going on in your neighborhood?

2) Are your neighbors considerate, or friendly, or helpful?

Join others at Thursday Two Questions!

Autumn View of Gilbert Lake

Gilbert Lake

JoJo's soccer team traveled to Bloomfield Hills for a beautiful Sunday game, and we saw this Gilbert Lake on the way. Since it is a private lake, there was no place for us to pull over to enjoy the view.

An Autumn View Of The Lake

My oldest son was driving, and has an appreciation for what I do: blogging and taking pictures, so he came to almost a stop right on the road for me to snap a few photos. These were the result of my drive by shooting.

The Colors of Autumn At The Lake

Thai Thai, my oldest son, doesn't seem to bother with my behavior. In fact, he often encourages me to take pictures, or finds things to suggest to me to photograph. It is a wonderful feeling to have the support.

Hoya Flowers

Macro of Hoya Flowers

My sister, KoKo has this plant for years on her kitchen window sill, and one day I saw these beautiful blooms. They are very exotic looking, and grow face down in a circle-like as you can see in the above photo.

Star Shape Flowers

These flowers have five petals, shaped like a star, and have a pale pink color on them. You can grow these plant in either water, or dirt, and as long as it gets some sun, a few of the leaves will turn white.

Beautiful Hoya

My sister gave me a few branches, and I keep them in a vase of water! They seem to do well on the window sill, and have bloom many times for me already.

Have a great weekend!

Joining Pink Saturday, Today Flowers and Mosaic Monday!

The Best Online Photo Editor--Thursday Two Questions #56

Blog hopping brings on its own benefits, and that is learning from others. Whether you can learn a lot or a little, the information is quite amazing out there. I have mentioned last week on how to make money with your photos, so today I'll bring you a free online photo editor to play with.

Ok, let me just tell you that I've found the best online photo editor there is. It is called Pixlr.com, and here are some advantages:

• No need to download
• No sign up
• It works like the expensive Photoshop
• You can watch tutorial videos under the Help section
• Here is a list of short tutorial ictpublish videos
• Youtube channels are here

I learned how to use layer to create the picture below:

Yellow sunflowers on gray background

And then use filter to create kaleidoscope below, and both of these photos are on my RedGage's page:

Kaleidoscope of sunflowers

This pixlr editor is just awesome and has so many options, choices, and ways to improve your photos. So the questions for this week are:

1) What free photo software editor are you using and or recommending to others?

2) Do you like manipulating your photos or transforming them to photo art some time?

Join others at Thursday Two Questions!

Nature's Art Work

Decorated With Water Beads

In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.
~Aristotle~

Bursting in Water Drops

Nature is the art of God!

~Dante Alighieri~

Lit Up Like a Christmas Tree

To the dull mind nature is leaden; To the illumined mind the whole world burns and sparkles with light
~Ralph Waldo Emerson~