Twenty Ten is here

Hey everyone! I'm officially back on the blogging track! For a while I couldn't sign in for technical reasons, but it's all resolved. So Mark's friend (and also my friend) Joe came down for about a week to spend New Year's Eve in Miami with us. Here are some pictures of our adventures.

On January 1, Mark's professor had invited us over for a pig roast. He lives about 40 minutes south of downtown, and he has a farm, goats, chickens, etc. The place was beautiful and I took lots of pictures! This is the street by his house.

This is Mark eating some pig (or some of the other delicious food they had). I loved the country-style house that his professor has, and the amount of greenery in the yard was so beautiful. I think Mark was tired of me taking pictures of him...

This is a friendly horse outside of the professor's house that came up to say hello. Joe wasn't quite sure the proper way to greet him. He was wet, and we called him the Melted Trotting Horse.

Joe is a musician and plays with the country group Bomshel. He's a great bass player, and while he was here he and Mark made some music. This is them at work.

This picture is for Aunt Becky! It's my favorite lighthouse at Bill Baggs State Park on Key Biscayne. I'm laying down on the edge of the wall to take this picture looking straight up.

So, you guys have probably guessed that panoramic shots are my new favorite. Here is a panoramic from the top of the lighthouse. It was pretty hard to match up since the earth is round! But I like it anyway.

Maggie climbed in this window while she was in Miami. So this shot is for her! :)

This is at the top of the lighthouse, looking up to where the light is.

Here are the rocks I love from the top of the lighthouse. If only we could dive down and swim without dying!!

Two-shot panoramic from the keeper's quarters. Couldn't stop taking those...

It was a little cold when we went, but the sky and the lighting were beautiful. Hope you all enjoyed the pictures!

Shecky's Reporter!

My friends and I have attended the Shecky's Girls Night Out even in Miami. They do it twice a year, and they bring vendors from all over that make their own jewelry, handbags, makeup, clothing, etc. and feature them in one location. There are also drinks, food, goodie bags, and some entertainment. It's a really fun time! This year the event is on Thursday, November 19, and the company picked ME to be their "trend reporter".

Here is a picture of me and my friends from last year's event. I'm excited to go, report, AND get paid for it! It will probably be a while before the report is published on their website, but as soon as it is, I'll let you know.

Love you guys.
jb

homemade household cleaners

Hello everyone! I wanted to share my newest article for 1-800-Recycling, which I had a lot of fun doing. I made my own window cleaner from safe (and cheap!) ingredients. Read about it here: http://1800recycling.com/2009/10/simple-safe-household-cleaners/

Sadly, my HelloMiami job has ended. It was a great 11 months, but now I've got to find a new gig. They cannot pay their writers anymore. So PLEASE click on my new stuff at 1-800-RECYCLING so I can keep this gig, which I really really like!!!!!

Couch Cover/Rainbow

Mom bought me this great couch cover and sent it down with Maggie. I just put it on today. It's pretty and comfy! I should have taken a before picture of the couch, but it's the material of the pillows. I bought it on Craigslist for $40, so yeah, it wasn't so pretty before.

The rainbow is from yesterday. It was pretty misty in the morning, and from our balcony it just looked like we were in a cloud. When it cleared, this beautiful rainbow was left! It's directly over Interstate 95 downtown. Awesome!

I'm working hard today on writing, laundry and cleaning. Soon I will be making chili, which I'm very excited about! Even though it isn't cold here, I'm still looking forward to some yummy chili.

If anyone wants to see my 1-800-Recycling articles, you can view them here:

http://1800recycling.com/author/jessica-bates/

That's my author page, and as I write new articles they will be edited and then put up there. They will also be featured on the homepage. I've written 5 so far, and as of now there are only 2 up. Look in a few days for more! I wrote a really fun piece on making my own household cleaner and trying it out.

Love!

Gator Park with Mag

On last Sunday when Maggie was here, we drove west to the Everglades to go to Gator Park. We took an airboat ride through the swampland and got to see some gators pretty close to us! I was on the end of the airboat, and I was careful to keep my hands and feet inside the boat! But I did lean out when I wanted to take pics. If anyone ever comes to Miami to visit, I'll definitely be taking you to Gator Park! After the airboat ride, there was a crazy wildlife show, where the guy showed us how to wrestle a gator -- and he used a LARGE live gator to demonstrate! It was pretty exciting/terrifying.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! I miss Maggie already :(

But we had a great time! Love, Jess

Maggie's photo shoot at Bill Baggs State Park!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blog Action Day

Hey guys. Today is Blog Action Day (to raise awareness on climate change) and my new gig, 1800Recycling.com is participating. My very first published article for them appeared TODAY! Please check it out if you have a minute or two!! You can see it here:

Visit Miami Before it's Under Water - and it will also be featured on the 1800 Recycling homepage for a bit. Also, if you click on my name, there's a bio and picture! Yay, exciting!

In other news, Maggie is on a plane to Fort Lauderdale. She just texted me from Tampa (she had to stop there on her way), so I'll be heading to pick her up pretty soon! I will add some picks while she's here. She'll be here for whole week!

Love, J :)