Last week I received a notification that Holly from June Cleaver Nirvana had linked to me within one of her blog posts.  So obviously I had to go over and check it out.  This is when I was introduced to her Potluck Mondays.  She shared a comical story about a lesson she learned the hard way which was one I could relate to myself.  The whole potluck post seemed fun to me and so I thought I’d join in today.

What’s Potluck Monday?, you ask.  Well to quote Holly herself:

I started throwing potlucks because I would have a bunch of short ideas that couldn’t form a complete post independently.  It has grown into just plain silliness which now amuses me.

I’m going to start my potluck off with my lesson learned which I was inspired to share from Holly’s lesson last week.

I am a mom who uses the dish washer.  I am an avid dish washer user to be exact.  I hate washing dishes by hand but also hate having dishes in my sink.  So everything, including that small measuring spoon you see in the image on the right, goes into the dish washer.  The bottom rack of my dish washer has the plastic silverware holder with various size slots.  One day I placed the measuring spoon within one of those slots and unfortunately not the slot that had the cover over it to secure the spoon inside.  The measuring spoon apparently fell out during the wash cycle and either A.) melted during the drying cycle or B.) got jammed up underneath there so tight my strength can’t remove it.  This happened months ago.  Is the measuring spoon still there?, you ask.

Why yes it is.  It is still in the same exact spot and these photos were taken today, just to be able to share with you all.

Does it stop me from using the dish washer? Absolutely not!  Do I continue to place small objects in the dish washer instead of washing them by hand? Of course!

Lesson Learned: I now make sure all objects are secure within the dish washer or placed inside the baskets with a top.  As far as the measuring spoon goes, well it doesn’t seem to move so I don’t really see a problem.  Do you?

Now for another fun edition thanks to Holly.

{basurasaurus rex} ~Dear Reader, I wish I could help you with information on this.  But truth be told I don’t know anything about dinosaurs.  A basurasaurus rex is a dinosaur, right?

{too old for pink hair} ~Dear Reader, I believe if you truly want pink hair, then you are never too old.

My niece Deianeira and daughter, T on bungee sling shot during Spring Break in Tennessee.

Gab loved swimming with the sting rays in the Bahamas while on the Disney Cruise. To see the rest of our photos from the vacation visit our Flickr set.

]]> http://mommadjane.com/wordless-wednesday-gab-swims-stingrays/feed 3 http://mommadjane.com/wordless-wednesday-learning-macro-setting http://mommadjane.com/wordless-wednesday-learning-macro-setting#comments Wed, 05 May 2010 15:03:39 +0000 MommaDJane http://mommadjane.com/?p=4633

In the past I tried using the Macro setting on my camera but never could get it to work just right. The other day I was discussing this with my friend Erica and she told me what I was doing wrong. I was using my zoom while using the Macro setting and therefore it wasn’t focusing correctly. This past weekend I tested it out and had a great time playing and believe my photos turned out quite nicely for a beginner if I must say so myself.

My mom’s family lives in Knoxville, Tennessee and we try to visit at least once a year.  Last week we spent our Spring Break traveling to the town and I thought it would make the perfect post to share things we did.  So if you ever visit Knoxville, here are ten things you must do while you are there.

1. Ripley’s Aquarium – We love visiting aquariums.  The one in Gatlinburg is about 45 minutes from Knoxville.  There is an area where the kids can pet Sting Rays and Horseshoe Crabs.  There is an area that you walk through that is an aquarium tunnel filled with various fishes and sharks that seem to be swimming around you.  It’s pretty neat.  I was able to take photos of the sharks from underneath them which is a view you don’t normally see.  This was Noah’s favorite part of the trip.
2. Pigeon Forge – When driving from Knoxville to Gatlinburg up into the Smoky Mountains you drive through Pigeon Forge.  There are a million things to do in Pigeon Forge, it’s basically a tourist attraction filled town.  The little kids love riding rides at various amusement centers.  When driving down one long strip you pass Go Kart tracks (which the big kids loved), kiddie rides, laser tag and even arcades.  If the weather is nice you can stop and do fun things outdoors or you can find amusement inside if it’s raining.
3. Bungee Sling Shot or Bungee Jumping - Several places in Pigeon Forge offer bungee jumping, bungee swinging and even a bungee sling shot that my oldest and her cousin did.  It was pretty crazy but they thought it was exciting.
4. Indoor Water Parks -  There are two indoor water parks in the Smoky Mountains.  We stayed two nights at the Wild Bear Falls Westgate Resort in a gorgeous cabin.  It was a very nice one bedroom with full size living room that included a pull out couch, full size kitchen where we were able to fixed dinner one night and a hot tub that was indoors.  The rate was reasonable as well.  The kids loved the water park, especially the lazy river and big water slides.  Even though it rained one day of our trip they got to enjoy swimming indoors.  The other indoor water park that we heard was nice is called The Wilderness at the Smokies.
5. Shops in Gatlinburg -  In the town of Gatlinburg you can pay to park your car and just walk.  There are hundreds of shops to visit.  Candy making stores, purse and jewelry shops, country shops, dog themed stores and even souvenir shops with magnets covering the walls.  They have the standard tourist shops and even custom shops you can’t find anywhere else.  I especially like the shops where you can watch them making the candy in the store or sample all the different dips and spices that are made by the owners.
6. Border of TN & North Carolina -  The border of Tennessee and North Carolina is not far from Gatlinburg at all.  So if you are someone who just loves visiting more than one state or if you are like me with the goal of visiting all 50 states, then this is a must stop.  You might get a kick out of standing on the border and being able to tell your friends you were in two places at once.  You can even take a photo with the border sign to prove it.
7. Smoky Mountains – Driving through the Smoky Mountains is just beautiful.  I recently shared a gorgeous sunset we enjoyed on our trip.  We always stop to take photos, especially near the natural springs.  If you go when the weather is nice there are several areas you can go for a bike ride or hike on trails.  There are also very nice places to have a picnic.
8. Ski Lift – In Gatlinburg there is a ski lift that you can pay to ride up a mountain, have your photo taken and ride back down.  Our family enjoyed it because during the day you can see the whole town on the way back down and while you are at the top you have a very beautiful view.  Being up high on the mountain gives you a nice way to see everything.  You can also ride the sky lift at night when the town of Gatlinburg is lit up bright, this can even be romantic.
9. Dollywood – The famous Country Music star Dolly Parton has her own theme park.  Dollywood has rides, shows, shops and all.  This amusement park is filled with fun for the whole family.
10. Dixie Stampede – This dinner attraction is fun for the whole family.  The Dixie Stampede is a place where you get seated to watch a live show that includes horses, so of course Gab loves it.  You are served a four course meal, drinks and excitement.  You are seated in sections that are categorized in different teams.  So if you are in the red area then you are on the red team.  During the show the teams compete and everyone is waving their flags to cheer on their teams.  It’s actually a lot of fun.

We always take a ton of photos on each of our trips.  I share my photos on Flickr so if you’d like to see our Spring Break trip to Tennessee through photos feel free to browse there.  We also captured many videos that I plan to share soon in up coming posts.  If you ever visit Knoxville, Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg then don’t forget to tell me all about it.  I’d love to hear your thoughts.

{Dwan, Liz, Erica and Donna}

Photo taken at Mom 2 Summit which was an amazing conference.  We laughed and considered ourselves the Chevy Bliss ladies because as you know Liz, Erica and myself drove the Chevy Equinox to Blissdom in February that was provided by GM of Texas thanks to Donna.  Donna wasn’t able to attend the Blissdom conference but we did all meet up together at Mom 2 Summit.  I just love these ladies!

So much for a wordless post, huh?  Oh well, I occasionally break the rules.

Brandy is hosting Monday Moments on her blog for the next four weeks.  On each Monday you are suppose to share a moment you spent relaxing.  Anything as simple as drinking coffee, reading a book or participating in your favorite pass time activity.  She will also be drawing some lucky participants for cool Starbucks gifts including gift cards!  Woo-hoo.

So for my Monday Moments that I am sharing this week are from last week’s Spring Break vacation.  The first photo is Noah running around and playing at the indoor water park that we spent two nights at in Gatlinburg, TN.  He had so much fun and our favorite was going around on the lazy river.  Everyone loved that.  It was relaxing just watching him play carefree.

The second photo is of me up in the mountains.  We took a drive from Gatlinburg, TN up to the border of North Carolina.  My niece, Deianeira, wanted to be able to say she had visited even another state on our trip so crossing the border was important to her.  Plus it was fun and beautiful.  The weather was so cold up in the mountains that we saw snow.  The running water was gorgeous and I loved taking photos with the kids.  This one T took of me sitting on the rocks.

Once we reached the border of Tennessee and North Carolina the sun was starting to set.  We stopped for the kids to take photos next to the state line sign and I took some quick shots of this beautiful sunset.  It was so peaceful and relaxing to see up on the top of the mountain.

These are my most recent relaxing moments.  It was nice to have the kids out of school for a week so we were able to visit family, however it’s also nice to get back on track this week.

Don’t forget to go join Brandy’s Monday Moments, thanks to Starbucks.

To view all of our Texas snow day photos visit our Flickr set.  We got 12.5 inches of snow total!  I still can’t believe it.

Last night we ordered Chinese food and this is one of the fortune cookies that came with the order.  Two cookies in one package.  Does this symbolize double luck?  Double good fortune?  Or a bad sign since someone already messed up with our cookie?