Black and White Wednesday - Apples in A Row

Black and White Wednesday is run by Lisa over at
The Long Road to China.


This photo is for sale in my etsy shop!
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1. If you could go to any country for free, where would you go and why? Just one?! I'd have to say Germany. Out of all the countries that I want to go to, I think that is the one that I am least likely to visit, so going there for free would be great. Part of my dad's family came from Austria and Germany, and I'd love to do a WWII tour.

2. If you were a time traveler and could only go back in time or forward in time, which would you choose? That's easy. Back! First, I'd go to the 60's to spend a year there, then I'd go the 50's for another year, then I'd stop at the turn of the century for a few months before visiting some decades in the 1800's.

3. What was your first job? Babysitting, not even including all the times I watched my little brother or my cousins. I started babysitting for other families when I was 12. I babysat for various families and kids of all ages up until I was 21. My first taxed wages came from a large furniture company that I won't name because I don't want to give them any advertising. I started working for the furniture store when I was 17, but babysitting was still my main source of income until I graduated from college.

Bonus!
Why isn’t the number 11 pronounced onety one? I'm sure it has something to do with Latin or another language. But I feel like oneteen would be more likely, right?! Oneteen, twoteen, thirteen, fourteen, etc...

Black and White Wednesday - White Rose

Usually, for B&WW, I show off my photos from my travels around Connecticut. (I am working on a personal project of visiting and photographing every single state park in the Constitution State.) However, this past fall, as I mentioned a while back, my territory was extended around New England. I didn't spend as much time in CT as I have in the past, so I didn't get to visit many parks. I've run out of park photos to show you! Thus, I am now resorting to showing off my other b&w photos.

Here's one I shot and processed back in the spring, but never posted.





I haven't answered the questions for Whatcha Say Wednesday in a few weeks, so I figured I'd join in this week.



1. What is a family tradition you’ll pass on to your significant other/kids? There are so many depending on the time of the year or the holiday at hand. One tradition that I recently maintained, even though I don't live at my parents' house anymore, happens the day after Thanksgiving. My family is not too keen on shopping, so we don't bother with Black Friday sales. Instead, we spend the day warming up leftovers, watching holiday movies, and putting up Christmas decorations, namely, the tree. This year, Jon and I spent the morning putting up the tree in our condo. Then, when he went to work, I went to my parents' house and helped them start decorating.

2. How early do you start holiday shopping? It varies. I don't have a set date that I start by, as long as by Thanksgiving, I have an idea of what I am looking for. This year, I started mid-October, just because I found some items at a Hallmark store that had a 50% off sale going on.

3. Pick a song of the day! I cannot even explain how much I LOVE this song.




Bonus!
Where in the nursery rhyme does it say humpty dumpty is an egg?

I never realized... It doesn't actually say! This question got me thinking, so I looked it up. Apparently, back in the 1800's, it was meant as a riddle. Interesting!

Black and White Wednesday - Fishing Hole

Black and White Wednesday is run by Lisa over at
The Long Road to China.



This peaceful little lake can be found at Wharton Brook State Park in Wallingford, CT. This park is all about the fishing, picnicing, and camping. It was originally a rest stop for travelers who wanted to take a break from driving. There used to be a huge RV parking area, with gas lines so they could camp out for a few days. After the highway department made rest stops, they turned this area into a park to preserve the land.






Time for another edition of Whatcha Say Wednesday, which is run by Stash Mama! Head on over to her blog to grab the questions and link up.

1. What physical quality do you look for in a spouse or your spouse has! Blue eyes! I have to say, the past 3 guys I dated before my fiance all had blue eyes. Jon has the most gorgeous eyes I have ever seen.



2. What state in the US would you live in if you had to live there for the rest of your life? Honestly, almost any state. The only state that I would never live in is New Jersey. It smells. (Sorry to the Jersey girls out there. I don't have beef with you, just with your state.)

3. What do you do? (job title, SAHM, student, spill!) I work at a college, in the Admissions office. I love what I do! This is my fourth year working for this school, and I am finally working full-time. I truly appreciate having a decent paycheck and benefits. This job is perfect for me at this point in my life!

Bonus! Are eyebrows considered facial hair? Nah. Facial hair, to me, is whatever grows around your mouth and on your cheeks. Basically limited to beards and mustaches.
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BLOG UPDATES: I have some exciting announcements to make, some pretty pictures to post, and some fun stuff to offer to you, my loyal readers! Make sure you stick around, and tell your friends to come over, too, because the next couple of months look to be pretty exciting. Trust me, you don't want to miss any of this!

Black and White Wednesday - Judges Cave

Black and White Wednesday is run by Lisa over at
The Long Road to China.



This is the Judges Cave, which can be found at West Rock Ridge State Park in New Haven, CT. This was one of my favorite non-beachy parks. It has a bit of hiking, and it has this little history lesson, but the main attraction is the view! You can see all the way across the city, across the harbor, to the Long Island Sound. Just gorgeous! And I went on a clear, sunny day, so I do have some beautiful pictures. Anyway, yea, Judges Cave. Here's the history behind that:

Here May fifteenth 1661 for some weeks thereafter Edward Whalley and his son-in-law William Goffe, members of the Parliament General, officers in the army of the Commonwealth and signers of the death warrant of King Charles First, found shelter and concealment from the officers of the Crown after the Restoration.

Opposition to tyrants is obedience to God. 1896

Time for another edition of Whatcha Say Wednesday, which is run by Stash Mama! Head on over to her blog to grab the questions and link up.

1. What is one of your all time favorite movies? Dirty Dancing! "Nobody puts Baby in a corner." Such a classic. Honestly, though, I didn't even watch this movie until I was in college. Boy, was I deprived! I had never even heard of it, and my roomies were all quoting it to each other. I felt a bit left out, so I made a point of watching it next time it was on tv. I watched it over and over so I could quote all the lines with my roomies. And I fell in love.



2. Where is your favorite place to go grocery shopping, or where do you go to get the best deals? I'll go pretty much anywhere, just not Wal-mart. I hate that store with a passion. I don't agree with their business policies, and I am a staunch support of mom & pop shops, which they have been putting out of business. When I lived on campus, I shopped at Target and Price Chopper. Living at home now, I shop almost exclusively at A&P because it's right down the road (literally). Hannaford is nice, but can be pricey sometimes. Within a few months, though, I'll switch to Shop-Rite or Stop-n-Shop.

3. Name a song or two that you know all the lyrics to! Oh, there are so many! With all the driving I do for work, I listen to my favorites cd's over and over, so I get to know the lyrics pretty well. The cd's that I am currently rotating are Hanson's Shout It Out, Jason Castro's debut album, and Flyleaf's Momento Mori. I also know all the songs from The Little Mermaid by heart.

Some thoughts... and Black & White Wednesday

I noticed I've lost a follower. That's sad. I guess I don't mind, I'm not going to curl up in a corner and cry. I just want to know why... and who! I follow everyone who follows me, so should I figure out who this is and unfollow her (or him)? Oh well, I guess my life is just not relevant to that blogger anymore.

I guess I paid too much attention to that little number of followers. I get very excited when it goes up, although it hasn't gone up in a few weeks. I'm not stupid, I know that people follow me on readers, which can't really be tracked on blogger dashboard. But it's good positive reinforcement! Who doesn't love some positive reinforcement?!?

Some new followers to make up for one lost one would make me feel a whole lot better. You should all go out and recommend me to your friends. :)

Anyway, has anyone noticed the new "Stats" section on blogger? It gives you your pageviews, your traffic sources (how people get to your blog), and your audience (where in the world your readers are from). Pretty nifty! The only thing that is disappointing is that it just started last month, so it hasn't tracked anything previous to July 2010. But it's nice to have those stats available right in blogger, so I don't have to use any outside programs.

I particularly enjoy reading about how people have found my blog. One of my prominent sources is my fiance's SIL's blog, The Zookeeper's Diary. Another one is The Long Road to China, because I do Lisa's Black and White Wednesday link-up every week.

Speaking of, how about a black and white photo right now? I have been focusing on my scenic photos of Connecticut that I have gathered throughout my travels for work. I'll be continuing that for a few more weeks, at least, so I hope you all are enjoying it.



This little babbling brook is at Wadsworth Falls State Park in Middletown, CT. I don't think I got to see the famed falls when I was at this park. If I did, I didn't take any pictures. I have a feeling the falls were not as prominent due to a lack of rain last fall. The stream was tiny and the swimming pond was barely a puddle. However, I did get to hike along some very peaceful trails. And I photographed the Giant Laurel, as seen below.



And now for some fun! Stash Mama is starting up a new meme called Whatcha Say Wednesday. Here are this week's questions, along with my answers:

1. What is your favorite Halloween Costume? Good one! I've had so many costumes: Sally from A Nightmare Before Christmas, Wednesday Addams, a blue M&M, a mouse, an angel, a pirate... I think my favorite is Sally. I have the real Disney costume, complete with leggings, sleeves, and a red wig.

2. What extracurricular activities were you apart of in High School/College? In high school, I did school cheerleading, all-star cheerleading, Pro-Life Club, Art Club, and dance. In college, I did school cheerleading, all-star cheerleading, and ISU (Italian Student Union). I was too busy working to do much else in college. I had 5 part-time jobs my senior year! Ugh, that's a story for another day.

3. How did you come across blogging? My fiance's SIL sent me a link for a blog she correctly guessed I would love. (It was i♥faces.) I wanted to enter some challenges, but I also wanted a place to showcase my photos, besides facebook, as well as getting back into my creative hobbies. Thus, Artistically Amy was born.