a gulf fritillary butterfly

spotted this Gulf Fritillary butterfly sampling the nectar of a Lantana flower.

Also spotted today was an Astyanax Red-spotted purple butterfly, of which I was unable to capture a photo.

This summer was not very good for butterfly sightings. I didn't see a single Tiger Swallowtail or Monarch, and the butterflies I did find were few and far between.

paris hilton's eviction sale

paris hiltons eviction sale

There are some creative sign makers in the neighborhood... every once in awhile I catch sight of a yard sale sign that makes me smile.

I like the fact that this sign's creator actually took the time to fill the hearts in with sparkle nail polish.

some silly sims

Part of the fun of Sims 2 is in the mucking around with genetics.

This photo shows sims Frankie and Gentleman with their spawn, Manly. I created Frankie in Body Shop, using a custom skin tone. Gentleman was downloaded from the Sims 2 Exchange (Gentleman is based on a character from the "Hush" episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

Manly is an interesting child, featuring his mother's soft green skin and his father's white eyes. It will be interesting to see how he develops and his looks change as he ages.

incentive to finish work early

... as I am expecting the much anticipated Sims2. The game should arrive this afternoon, so I am quickly wrapping up all of my projects, and updating all of my websites. I plan to veg out in front of my pc all weekend!

Remnants of Hurricane Ivan left us without power (again) for most of the day & early evening, yesterday... Shortly after the power went out (around 4pm.), my sweetie and I braved the torrential rains to run out for a bag of ice. I still can't believe how much rain we got!

my industrious side

stayed busy all day... after doing all of my daily "stat-checking" (I'm addicted to stats), updating my Butterfly Shop, completing 3 client graphics, and creating 3 puzzles for my next book (Spring themed Pixel Paint by Number Logic Puzzles - coming early 2005)... I managed to create a "quick & easy" freebie cross-stitch pattern for my Cross Stitch page.

I really love days when I get a lot of things accomplished! Too bad that I only have 1,000 other things to do on my list.

some good deals

I always love to find good deals when I'm shopping for groceries. Publix prints a 1¢ "mystery" coupon in the Sunday paper each week. It really doesn't matter what the item is... anything in the store is a great deal for a penny! This week I got an 11.5oz package of Folgers coffee for 1¢. Yay! I also like to play different stores against each other and work the "double coupons" with the weekly sales. This week I snagged 2 cans of spaghetti-O's for 10¢ each, and 2 cans of Bush's best beans for 9¢ each. Finding great deals makes the mundane task of shopping into somewhat of a treasure hunt! I haven't quite reached the savings that I've seen others hit... but my best trips include a savings of 43% off my total bill for 28 items, and 41% off my total bill for 58 items.

an electricity free zone

Due to the residual effects of Hurricane Frances, many metro-Atlantans lost power today. Our power was out from 6am to just after noon, and was restored in enough time to keep the popsicles frozen. I'm just happy that the temperature stayed in the 70's today.

Labor (free) Holiday

been enjoying the long weekend and keeping an eye on Hurricane Frances. I'm hoping everyone in its' path fares well.

house news: there is another contender... we are weighing options. Both houses are located great for our needs, both are equal in size, number of rooms, and age. Neither house has hardwood floors, both have linoleum in kitchens and 70's tile in bathrooms.

house A: great finished basement - no noticeable moisture or cracks old, needs updating, but clean and liveable carpeting is all very clean not much cleaning or painting needed good sized yard, but somewhat sloped & not much sunny area in backyard, also not quite private from neighbors

house B: large unfinished basement (some cracks, but no noticeable moisture) old, needs updating, pretty dirty but liveable during fix up time much more work to do inside this house - flooring needs to be redone in nearly every room (carpeting is all very dirty, really old linoleum in kitchen and laundry), also removal of old wallpaper and repainting excellent yard!! best we've seen in our price range! very private & huge! asking price is $12,000 less than house A

I always have wanted to fix up a house (painting, etc..) but I'm not sure if we would be in over our heads or not with "house B". This is a tough desicion...