Weekend Pictures - Visit to Seward Park in Seattle

The other day, we were coming from a trip to the cinema and Atala suggested we slot in a quick visit to Seward Park in Seattle, one we hadn't been to before. I wasn't dressed, as per shoes, for hiking, but he promised it would be a short one. So off we went. The breeze was surprisingly strong off Lake Washington, the water you see in the pictures, and it blew my wig every which way.

A Day in the Sun at Richmond Beach

Time Out - My Memorial Day Weekend in Pictures

With Monday being a work-free day for Memorial Day, it was a proper TGIF and a long weekend for us and we used it to unwind.

- On Saturday, we went to a friend's for a small get-together with great food, drinks, and very interesting company.

Weekend Pictures - The Northwest Trek Wildlife Park

Hi everyone, hope your weekend has been going well? I am sharing some pictures today of a kind of Safari experience, right here in the USA. The NorthWest trek appealed to me because of the combination of a guided tour through a wildlife reserve and nature hiking.

Posing with the logo of the Park

The guided tour aspect involved riding a tram across the expanse where the wildlife roams freely, and we got to see bison, Roosevelt elk, moose, mountain goats and other native animals, up close in the wild.

After that, we trekked through the well marked trails in the park, a kind of self-guided zoo experience that included grizzly bears, wolves, mountain lions, beavers, wolverines and some birds like the owls and eagles in very natural looking exhibits. Enjoy.

Weekend Pictures - The Space Needle Seattle Center

I can still remember the first time I visited the Space Needle here in Seattle. It was first summer here in 2009 after arriving during a dreary and drizzly spring and I was so ready for some sunshine. And where best than at the iconic Space Needle that I had seen in movies like Sleepless in Seattle, among others.

Since then, I have visited the Needle several times, including eating at the restaurant, going out to the observatory, watching movies on the lawn, and using the cultural and recreational facilities around the center. And to think the Space Needle and some of those facilities are 50years old.

Weekend Pictures - Passing Through the Navajo Nation

As summer approaches with the hope of time off work and maybe a vacation, I was looking through the pictures from our road trip last year. Looking at them again, I'm glad we did the whole cross-country thing. Driving was definitely a pain sometimes, but the payoff was worth it. America is a very diverse country with a tapestry of many Peoples in its history.

It was interesting finding out about the Navajo Nation as we passed through Arizona and Utah, on our way to the Grand Canyon. We stopped at the Navajo Bridge which spans the Colorado River and which we could walk across. There was also a small museum, gift shop and restroom. Perfect for a stop-over during a grueling road trip. And a great photo opportunity too.

April First Jokes and Visit to the Snoqualmie Falls

OK, you guys got me. I didn't win any Mega Millions. I should have said, I wish I had won some mega millions jackpot. Imagine what I would do with that money! But hey, life continues. Happy April 1st everyone. I hope this month comes with many goodies for us all. :)

Anyway, some weeks ago, we took a drive to the Waterfalls that had been part of our Helicopter Tour. It was one thing to see it from 10,000ft in the air, but the pilot noted we could also see it up close and personal if we wanted as it was just off a regular road. So off we went one weekend. Enjoy...

Picture Weekend - Down the Chicago Memory Lane

These are pictures we took during a week's vacation to Chicago to visit some of Atala's friends, and generally just to chill. We booked to see a couple of musuems, do some touristy thingies, like bus tours and boat cruises and off we went. This was before I started this blog by the way.

Chicago is an amazing city and we had a great time, ended up also taking in the Jazz and Blues scene at a lounge close the Sheraton where we stayed. I especially loved the Millenium park and Buckingham Fountain. The Sky Deck on the Willis Tower was also awesome, as was Navy Pier. Enjoy some of the pictures, and the rest of your weekend.

Picture Weekend - For those who like my Braids

As you can see, I can never be a Fashion Blogger so be gentle with me. I already know there's no sense of style or color coordination. As for the postures, I'm shaking my head at myself this time. What of the Poncho and Sneakers combination? My only excuse is that I'm still looking for a stylist, lol. All credits for any nice shots go to the photographer, Atala. The setting is the Redmond Town Center sometime last year. Continue for more pictures, and do have a great weekend, mwah!

Picture Weekend - Christmas Eve at the Seattle Center

Like I said last week, we didn't really get snow in our area last Christmas. However, there are some ways to experience a white Christmas without real snow. On Christmas Eve, we decided to wander into town for a  movie and some sightseeing. I wanted to see the City Center xmas decorations at the Pacific Science Center, and Atala also wanted us to catch Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol at the IMAX Cinema there.

Weekend Pictures - US Space and Rocket Center, Alabama

Some of you might know that I have some family in Alabama, we visited them last a couple of years ago and last month we went down south again to catch up. My older nephew wanted to see the space center and we decided to take him and it was also an opportunity for us to see the place. We were planning to go to the Seattle Flight Museum after one of the decommissioned shuttles from NASA got there but that did not happen. So seeing the hefty machines in Huntsville was quite a treat.

Enjoy the pictures and have a great weekend. Mwah!

Birthday in pictures - A Surprise Helicopter Ride

Thank you all so much for the birthday wishes on my last post. I was blown away by those who actually called, and everyone that sent text messages or email, I appreciate you all.

To be honest, my head is still buzzing from the events of the past two days and I can't coordinate my thoughts. Below are the pictures from the surprise that Atala gave me on Tuesday - a helicopter ride! It was an amazing experience and one I'll treasure for a long time. Enjoy...

Some more pictures from Las Vegas

So, I was going through my Blackberry the other day and discovered so many pictures I had almost forgotten. During our road trip in the summer, my camera battery went off a few times and my BB had to do backup. Because I had like a gazillion pictures on the camera, I forgot these ones. They're not the best quality, and it seems I'm yet to figure out how to save the flipped ones, but hey...enjoy!

Arriving at our hotel

Picture Weekend - Revenge, my tiny Afro

I learned a new phrase last night, double infinity.

It's from the new ABC show, Revenge, which I watched on the Friday showing. We missed the premiere on Wednesday cos we went out but now the show has definitely found its place on my must-watch list. Growing up, I struggled with the revenge side of my scorpio, and it's a theme that still holds a fascination for me (see A Heart to Mend). Anyway, I went on wiki and found that the TV show is an adaptation of "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alex Dumas, and I'm a huge fan of that book. There's been a lot of changes obviously, but I'm already liking that the two main characters are strong females, terrifically acted by Emily VanCamp, and Madeleine Stowe, and I look forward to how the writers will pull it off.

On to my hair, I cut my it in late March and the second picture was taken in the second week of April. The first was taken just this Wednesday, and if I do say so myself, I think the hair is growing. As you can see, the front grows faster than the back, giving me a punk look, lol...

Picture weekend - Mountain Climbing

Hi people, hope your weekend has started well? Mine will be fairly laid back, we're going to see Contagion later today, and I'll probably try to do some writing. On the latter, my work in progress (A Fiery Love) has some mountain climbing scenes in it and I've been doing some research online to get the setting in order. But I also have to describe how the characters feel, you know, how they're out of breath, the feeling of satisfaction when they get to the top, that sort of thing.

Picture Weekend - SADE Tour in Seattle

How is everyone? Hope the weekend is going well? I'm still sticking with my plan of taking it easy today, but I think in addition to reading, I'll be doing some writing as well. Atala is going for a long bus hike and street discovery in another part of town and wants my company, but naa...it's good for couples to spend some time apart, or so I hear sha. :)

Picture Weekend - On the trails of the Grand Canyon

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend? Thanks for all the comments on my 400th post, answers to the questions will be up next week. Today, I'm going to break my rule of adding commentary to pictures today, after all, rules are meant to be broken, right? Like when you clearly see the Danger Sign and decide to go one step beyond it and then dangle off the edge of a cliff. Yeah, that's me. Please do not try this at home, LOL...

Picture Weekend - Book Reading at the Redmond Library

So I was booked to do a book reading and discussion at one of the Libraries in our area. They recently stocked both of my books, A Love Rekindled and A Heart to Mend and were impressed by the interest in them from the members. Anyway, it was a lovely outing and even though only five people in all turned out, I had fun discussing with them in a more intimate and personal way. I even made a new fan/friend, lol...

Picture Weekend - Bellevue Botanical Garden

I've missed having this feature on my blog for a while now. Blame the weather that made it not so appealing to be outdoors as much as one would like, and also means that pictures taken would not look good, due to poor lighting. When there's rain, I don't even want to bring out my camera! Anyway, these are taken with my Blackberry camera, so bear with the quality.

A lovely, welcoming garden in my city. We decided to go after seeing an article in the local paper about it. The weather still isn't that great, but hey, that's what jackets and hats are meant for, right?

It definitely does grow! Lots of different plants and flowers, thriving even in the cold weather. Kudos to the gardeners.

Picture Weekend - Which Cover?

Hello everyone, how's your week going?

I got some great news today and I'm almost shaking with excitement. My next book is almost ready! I'm using Createspace this time and they just sent me some mock-ups of my cover. There are two designs and I'm to chose one. Of course I want you guys to help me decide.

Yes, yes yes, the title has been changed from Ghost of the Past to A Love Rekindled. I was joking with my sisters over Christmas that my books will all start with 'A', and then I arrived at this one and loved it. For those who have read the excerpt, I hope you feel it suits Efe and Kevwe just as well?

OK, to the covers. So let's say you're in the bookstore, or browsing Amazon, which would you first pick or click on and which would you buy. The first or the second?

And please tell me why?