My family and I were on a cruise celebrating my oldest son’s wedding. There we are in one of the photos below.

One of our stops was Samana, Dominican Republic. We all piled into the tender for a short, fun boat ride to the DR.

Once we landed, we immediately looked for and hired a tour guide to shoe us as much as they could in three hours.                                                                                                                                                 We found ourselves walking in a hot yet beautiful tropical rainforest, heading deep within the mountains of the Samana Mountain Range,                                                                                                 the falls are surrounded by lush green tropical rainforest, and small cocoa plantations. I never really thought about it nor had any idea cocoa                                                                                      grew on trees which is one of the many reasons why I feel so blessed with the love and means to be able to travel and experience life outside                                                                                             my front door that currently has a very cold winter wind blasting past it. 

I love my video jobs! I hope you enjoy these few colorful images and feel free to share or connect with on with your baby shower posts.

This Christmas, 2011, in support of Franklin Park Zoo, I purchased a Family membership allowing my adult children to bring their children throughout the year and/or their friends. The added bonus for me as a photographer/videographer is that the membership is also a partial business expense- A win-win-win trifecta.

I’m looking forward to visiting The National Zoo – DC this April school vaction.

Enjoy a glimpse of these amazing animals in this colorful Franklin Park Zoo Animal Photo Collage.

Boston, is very very slowly catching up by including the large public, round restrooms. I’ve spotted one in Dudley Station Roxbury and one in Government Center. The first time I saw one  was in San Francisco 2009. I haven’t tried them but it’s nice to know they are available to use.  Which brings me to why a food/eating establishment on such a main downtown Boston street as Tremont St. would tape such an unwelcoming sign in their window?  Does it mean no one can use the restroom or just folks that walk in off the street?  As a customer service provider myself, I would have worded the sign differently.

“Sorry, we do not have public restrooms, however the closest one is directly across the street at the Visitor Center.” 

This would service two adjectives, one it helps the possible customer locate a restroom and two they may even return as a paying customer because they were helped with their immediate need. 

Yes, it was hot but growing up, I spent my summers in DC so it was really just fine for me. Water, hat, sunscreen and good, comfortable walking shoes are strongly suggested.

A. Celeste Sheffey HD Videographer, PhotoGraphic Artist

One weekend we  only had a frozen package of bacon. I checked the Quick and Easy cooking guide and I was happy to see   bacon was listed.  I decided to line the bottom of the oven with foil,  placed the 4 inch rack onto of the foil, cut open the pack of frozen bacon placing it on top of the rack and set the timer for three minutes. Three minutes of cooking time was just enough to be able to separate strips. I placed several back on the rack, placing the remainder aside until I could add them to cook in the next batch. As you can see in the photo, the bacon fat drips away from the bacon to the foil.

The added bonus is everyone gets their bacon cooked the way they prefer. Mine is always last as I like it crispy! It may help to record your cooking times on a notepad to refer to and share with family members.

Enjoy and don’t be afraid to experiment. I find my comfort zone is to start with a short timer and add additional time as the food cooks.

Luckily I have a friend with has a small jewelry business who has enjoyed restringing and adding new loop clasps to all of the necklaces I’ve given her. Below is a beautiful green necklace I wore and which broke once I took it off at home for which I’m thankful as I have all the beads. I’ll have my friend add a few gold pieces to update the look.

I’m being more proactive with the red necklace. I’m giving it to my friend to restring, before it breaks and will have her add a few gold beads to it as well.

Wearing my Mom’s jewelry, my Grandmother Pauline’s and my Aunt Katie’s pieces helps to keep them close. They are also heirlooms I can pass onto my children and their offspring.

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Here are some photos of my deliciously moist Thanksgiving Turkey. The only thing I had to do was remove the foil the last twenty minutes to be sure the leg portions were throughly cooked.  It was a simple matter to then cover the breast parts with the foil and finished the leg portions without the foil. Unlike a microwave, I really like being able to use foil in this oven. I also like that the turkey was sitting up on a rack with the juices settling on the bottom pan away from the turkey. The rack cleans easily in my dishwasher.

If you don’t have a dishwater, remove the bottom black pan, place the rack upside down into the black pan with soapy water while you eat and it cleans right off.

Cooking is fun again!