Today I experienced a few minutes of terror, and then thanking life for allowing me to experience those moments of desperation so I can be prepared.  It is recycle day today and I went to my garage to put out the bins.  Since most of my bins fill up quickly I always end up putting the rest of the recycled paper into paper bags.  I was ready to pick my last bag when I realized there is smoke coming out of it.  I stopped and felt my heart raising, looked but I couldn't see a fire.  Then I hear a crackling sound and I think of the smell of fire.  Now my heart is going 100 miles per hour and millions of thoughts running through my head. Then I remember we have a fire extinguisher.  I run to the closet with lots of shelves, I know the fire extinguisher is there, somewhere in there.  I look and look, and keep thinking of the bags burning.  I can't find the fire extinguisher, I look again and this time my desperation takes over and I don't know what to do for a second, then I think.... since I can't find the fire extinguisher I have to remove that bag from the garage. If I bring it out to the street it will burn but it won't burn the house down.  I run towards the garage thinking I could probably pull it with the broom stick if the fire is already to high.  As I run into the garage expecting flames all over and my heart just wanting to pop out of my chest, my nerves taking over me but ready to act.  I see nothing.... I walk into the garage and there is no smoke, no smell, no crackling.  I look at the bag and its intact.  My heart is still pounding hard but I'm feeling better now that there is no fire.  I move the bag and I see the smoke again.  Then.... I remembered.  There is a trash bag next to it, and the day before I had vacuumed all over the house.  I'm feeling silly now, there is the smoke, its just dust that is coming out of the trash bag as I move it with my foot.  But what about that crackling sound and the smell of fire, well that's what the brain does to you when you believe something that is not even there.  That shows you how powerful your mind could be. The crackling sound was probably the papers in the bag making noise when I moved it, and the smell, well that's my creative imagination I'll say.  I thank god and then continue putting the trash outside.  But as I'm doing that I'm now thinking... but what about if it was a real fire?  What would have happened if the fire was inside the house and it was something I couldn't just take outside like I would have done with the bag?  This is how life works, you are put in situations to make you think... to make you learn... to make you smarter.  I went back inside right to the closet again to look for the fire extinguisher.  There it was, right on the top shelf, hiding behind a bucket full of insignificant stuff.  I pick it up and place it on the corner of another shelf, this time lower, thinking that if my kids ever needed it they can reach it, and in a place where nothing was blocking it.  I could see it and in a moment of desperation, I know I was going to find it.  It was a scary experience although now I can laugh and tell my kids the story, but as I tell them I will remind them where the fire extinguisher is and show them how to use it, since I'm sure they have no idea.  They know about calling 911 in an emergency but what about while 911 gets to them?  I need them not  only know to make that important phone call but also how to survive.

I always believed that education starts at home and that is one of the reasons I want to share this website with other moms.  This site its actually a child care directory for the Massachusetts area but it contains an "educational sites" page that I think all moms should take advantage of.  I use these sites when I need to find projects for the kids I work with.  www.maccp.com Hope you like it!

It wasn't until a couple of weeks ago I finally decided to put up the AC. Why? you might ask. Simply because I love my windows open. Even my cats enjoy looking out at the squirrels and birds.  Its so nice to feel the breeze come into my home.  I miss that now but today I turned off the AC and just opened all the windows and doors, it was so beautiful out.  I also took my 3 cats for a nice stroll ( yes they have a stroller and they love it).

I am so happy summer its here.  We have had so much rain its ridiculous.  I took this photo one morning after I went for a run at a local park.  This is Dean Park in Shrewsbury Ma.

I cannot believe next week is the last week of school for the kids.  A couple of days ago my daughter went on a field trip and I was lucky to be part of it.  We had a lot of fun.  Aside from a weird monkey that was screaming like crazy and showing us not his best features, everything else was wonderful.  We even got to feed the goats, sheeps and pigs.

I just got back from spending an amazing week in Puerto Rico.  I loved it!!! I arrived with a full planned week.  I knew days were just going to fly by so I made sure I knew what I was doing in advance.  We got there at around 3pm and that same day we headed to the beach. The next few days we went horse back riding, diving (which I ended up not doing, I got scared, lol), hiking "El Yunque", visiting Old San Juan and the cool Pigeon Park, going to "El Parque Ceremonial Indigena" (a taino indian ceremonial park) and visiting various beaches.  When I got back the cold weather just slapped me on the face.... I'm back to reality.

Although I'm not a fan of snow I can't wait to see the beautiful white blanket covering the grounds of New England.  I am looking forward to going out to get  a few nature shots.  So today I went to get me a new scarf, gloves (the ones you can actually pull out your fingers) and hat.  Its all about keeping your self warm so you can focus more on the shots.  I'm also excited that January is getting closer.  I am traveling to my enchanted island and I can't wait to try my new Nikon D50 there too. I expect nothing less than a wonderful year approaching, I hope you see it that way too.

It is still very warm outside but I can feel the wind chill every morning as I go on my daily routine dropping off the kids at school.  I just can't believe how time flies. As autum approaches I am getting my camera ready and although I don't love those cold days that follow I guess I like the idea of photographing throughout the different seasons.

Ziarus is an amazing guy and awesome artist who happens to be my brother.  You can visit his website at www.ziarus.com to see some of his work.

Imagine yourself having breakfast outside, near the beach, feeling the wind on your face, and the warmth of the sun when suddenly you hear...Cluck, cluck,cluck!!!  Yes thats exactly what happened on our trip to Puerto Rico.  Not that I haven't seen chickens before, I actually grew up around chickens in my early childhood years. What made me laugh was the fact that they were next to me while I was having breakfast.   I took this photograph right after we finished our breakfast.  My son decided to feed the chickens pieces of bread and the chickens were more than happy to have them.  Whether is climbing a mountain, or petting a tiny caterpillar, a photograph helps you remember the event as if you were there once again. :)