31/365

Well, I've made it a month which I think is a HUGE accomplishment (I never finish projects!). I know this is nothing like completing the 365 but I honestly didn't think I'd last this long.

This weeks themes are self-portraits and macros. I used to love having my picture taken. Seriously LOVED it. Modeled for a bridal/dress shop, had a photographer that used me for his samples, etc. but, 26 years & 50 pounds later, well, let's just say it's not on the top of my list of things I want to do. I wish I would get better about it because I know I cherish the photos I have of my grandparents. I don't care if they're chubby,if their hair was done that day or what they're wearing. I just like having something to hold onto memories of them and the ability to show my kids what they looked like. And I figure, possibly, my great grands might want to see what I looked like too.

So, here is my first one. And I am soooo trying to think of more creative ways to hide myself. *L*



And I was trying to get a macro of my eye. I really like my eyes ('cept for the little lines & bags starting to show up) and thought that would be a neat one for the other group. Well, tough to do by yourself. I did get one of my lashes though. And discovered I either need some good mascara or some of the medicine Brooke Shields is pushing lately. And I'm due for an eyebrow waxing too. *sigh*

ETA: tried the macro again & am happier with these results so I replaced the old photo.



You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul. ~George Bernard Shaw

30/365

Well, our snow day got a snow day. And it was totally unnecessary again. *L* The temps warmed up yesterday, all the ice melted & our winter weather possibility is gone for now. We are having a few flurries but they're not sticking.

Today is the last day of monochrome & red. Today's picture is one of my chooks w/ her red comb.



Next week's themes are macro & self-portrait. The macro one is gonna be easy as that is my love. Self-portrait, ehhh, not so much. I'm way more comfortable being on the back side of the camera. I can tell you, you will not see a new photo of me everyday. But perhaps, I'll be able to take photos that show who I am. And, if I can get one I'm happy with, there will be one of me.

The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it. ~Arnold H Glasgow

29/365

We've been under a winter weather warning for most of the day. At about 9:30 this morning, the freezing rain and sleet began. School was let out at 10:15. It looked like we were in for a doozy. But, apparently something shifted and our temps have increased & everything has melted.

A couple of weeks ago, we had another winter weather threat & we had a couple of non-snow days out of school. Tomorrow is supposed to be a make-up day for one of them but there are rumors that it's been cancelled. The news is not reporting it though & we haven't gotten a call from the school system so it's a wait & see, I guess.

I'm abandoning the theme today and am including a picture of an ice droplet.
Well, the leaves are kind of red so maybe this will be my "red" contribution.

28/365 Emotional

The news will do that to ya...

Overjoyed - A 16 year old Haitian girl was pulled out of the rubble of her university, alive!, after 15 days and is stable & even able to eat.

Hopeful - that much needed aid will reach all of the Haitian people soon.

Heartbroken - that bullying can't be stopped. It's worse now than it ever was with Facebook, MySpace & text messaging. I'm referring to this story. My heart breaks for this girl's family. I'm not sure what the solution is...keeping an eye on what kids do online & via texting would be a big step but something has to be done.

Sad - for Elizabeth Edwards. I didn't see the interview of the guy who's written the book "outing" her husband and she may not be a saint herself(no idea but I heard him bad-mouth her a bit in a teaser) but to have to live with someone who cannot tell the truth. at. all. has got to be unbearable. I told my husband during the campaign that he blinks too much. Now I know why.

Disgusted - that the Tiger Woods & John Edwards of the world cannot keep the snake in the cage. They have it all and apparently don't know how to count their blessings.

Amused - that a Kansas high school girl's basketball coach punked his punkers by sinking a half-court shot...blindfolded.

Shocked - to find out Barney kids actually do grow up. Did you see the girl w/ the whip on Idol last night? :o

Pensive - see photo below. He's not really that deep in thought. He's watching our doxie chase a kitten (in fun...the kitten chases back) and calculating the exact moment he should jump in and affect the biggest element of surprise.



Dogs are not our whole life but they make our lives whole.

27/365 Blue

A totally non-exciting day. Laundry, floors, dishes. Ick.
We did go to Texas Roadhouse for dinner though, so that was good.

I'm having such a tough time w/ the "red" theme. Haven't contributed to that group at all this week. But the monochrome is going hand in hand w/ one of my photography course assignments so I'm loving it. So today's contribution is my porch broom.



I pray to be like the ocean, with soft currents, maybe waves at times. More and more, I want the consistency rather than the highs and the lows. ~Drew Barrymore

26/365

DH and I had a sort of date day today! We tried out a Mexican place that has been around forever but we'd never been to. Really good food. We'll be back. I've been looking for a Carhartt barn jacket...on sale (I refuse to pay full price!), so we went a couple of places to look but no luck. I did get some bird seed for my feathered friends. A bit of a bribe to try to get them to let me photograph them. We shall see if it works.

The pine cone was a "gift" from my oldest. He & his girlfriend went horseback riding the other day and he found it...ours are nowhere near this big. *L* Reminded me of when he was a little boy. I have a box of rocks, dried flowers, a cicada hull, and no telling what other "treasures" he brought me as he found them.



Who leaves the pine-tree, leaves his friend, unnerves his strength, invites his end. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

25/365

Working on tax stuff today. I had been doing well but got burned out & took too long of a break, so back to the grindstone. Hopefully, my work will result in some GREEN (as in income tax refund). Fingers crossed.



Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which it's loveliness arises. ~Pedro Calderon de la Barca

24/365 In the garden

Ok, today starts new themes. One group's is "red". The other group's is monochrome.
I took one final garden pic & turned it into a monochrome. I didn't realize how much red I don't have around until the theme came up. Will have to search a bit.

23/365 Feather macro

I enjoyed my alone time last night & this morning. I did catch the Haiti telethon. Some amazing talent and I heard they think over $50 million was raised! And I :heart: George Clooney!

Played around w/ my macro so instead of a garden or bug shot, my photo for today is a water droplet on a feather from our parakeet. No particular reason for the water droplet except that I'm trying to emulate Kiwi_gal, one of my favorite macro artists.



And I really like today's quote. I follow & participate in several photography forums. I listen to it all, take a bit from each post I read but try not to make any one of them the "be all, end all" of photography. I'm striving to find my own style and shooting what makes me happy.

Listen to all, plucking a feather from every passing goose but, follow no one absolutely.

22/365 Okra

It's raining...again. DH took the 2 youngers camping so I get a girl's night tonight! The remote is allll mine! Will probably be watching the Hope for Haiti Now telethon.

Today's photo is a dried okra pod. I :heart: okra! It's my favorite vegetable. Well, except for a vine ripe tomato (between 2 slices of bread w/ mayo, salt & pepper...mmmmm!), or corn on the cob or...heck, I like 'em all. But okra is definitely one of the tops! And it's pretty when it's dried (well, maybe this one's not but they can be pretty interesting looking). This week's theme has me anxious for spring to come so we can plant a garden.

I've always liked the time before dawn because there's no one around to remind me who I'm supposed to be, so it's easier to remember who I am.

21/365 Rosemary, Lavender & Butterflies

You can click on 'em to see the full size photo...until I figure this widening thing out. *sigh*

We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty. ~Maya Angelou

20/365 Sundial

Today's been nice & sunny so far but rain is supposed to be moving in this evening. We don't need the rain. We're squishy as it is. *sigh*
No bug shot for today but I did get a good (I think?) shot of my sundial in my flower garden.




It bugs me that part of my photos get chopped off. I need to learn blogger so I can widen my page & get the whole photo on there. And get my sidebar thingie more on the side. Hmmmm.

Time stands still best in moments that look suspiciously like ordinary life.

19/365 Ladybug Handstand

A few years ago, someone (not sure if it was our state's agricultural dept or if it was a regional thing) decided that it would be a good idea to unleash these ladybug looking beetles to curb the aphid infestation that affects our crops. What these people didn't think about was what these bugs would do in the winter. Apparently, they are not well suited to the cold so they migrate indoors. Yep, inside the house. Beginning in October or November, they start making their way in. So far, the best remedy I've found is a vacuum cleaner. Suck 'em up & let 'em go. Luckily, as winter goes on, there are not as many to deal with but you'll still find the odd one here & there. I found this one today on my door. I watched her for a bit, thinking I'd grab a photo for my 365 when she did this little acrobatic move.(Yes, she. Even though they're not technically ladybugs, they still resemble them enough that that's how I think of them). I know I totally missed focus but I still had to include it.



For the "in the garden" portion, I have a photo of my dead basil from the herb garden.



Even if you fall down face first, you've gone forward.

18/365

As I've mentioned, the two themes from the two groups I participate in are "bugs" and "in the garden". Today was a nice day for shooting so I went out to the garden (the very dead garden) to try to get pics of what's left. We fenced the garden off so our horse can eat the leftover vines/plants but I still have some "dead" okra I thought I'd snap. Well, the horse was determined I wouldn't. She always follows me around like I'm her mama and today was no different. So, my "in the garden photo" is Milkshake's eye because I couldn't back up enough to get her face (because she kept walking toward me). If you look really closely, you can see an upside down me in it. *L*

Rain

No new picture from me today. It's raining out and is generally just a blah day.
New themes for the week are "in the garden" and "bugs". Both are gonna be hard because a. my garden is dead and b. the bugs are all hiding. I'll have to get creative. Tomorrow. Today's will come from the archives.
The morning glory was from my garden this past summer. And the praying mantis was from my yard.

16/365 Sun & sadness

Today is the last day for both of these themes. I have another frozen waterfall (I like the way the sunlight hits it) and a sad one to post.


My husband had gone to the waterfalls w/ a friend a couple of days before he carried me. They met a guy on one of the hiking trails. He was an Iraqi war veteran. He lost his arm when his vehicle triggered a road-side bomb. He told them that he and his wife had been camping near one of the bluffs a couple of weeks ago (before we hit the sub-freezing temps) and his wife had died there during the night in her sleep. He was there to visit the place she'd died.

While hiking the trail, I nearly plowed over the "cross" the veteran had placed at the site (I was continually looking up at all of the icicles). I felt quite sad for the veteran...he's lost so much. I hope he's eventually able to find peace.

15/365 Frozen Waterfall

Another Nat'l Forest shot. I subbed today so didn't get out & make any photos but did edit some so...that'll have to do today.
This was from behind a frozen waterfall that was beginning to thaw. The right side of the photo is a wall of ice.

Sunflare 14/365

Yesterday, my husband & I went for a hike in a nearby National Forest. With all of the cold weather we've had, the waterfalls were frozen into walls of ice, frosty stalactites, and gigantic icicles. I had grandiose visions of what I wanted to capture but, unfortunately, it didn't happen. I did get a few I'm happy with though and I'll probably share those over the next couple of days. This is the sun!! I'm so happy it's here! *L*

13/365 Sunset

Switching to the "sun" theme. We had a really nice sunset today.



The sky is that beautiful old parchment in which the sun and the moon keep their diary. ~Alfred Kreymborg

Sad eyes...12/365

Deni is my baby girl. She helps balance out all of the testosterone in our house. :)
I think the camera intimidates her. When I put it up to my face, she turns away and looks a bit sad, I think. But she's soooo not a sad doxie. She's not a hyperactive, crazy one either. She's just a laid back, easy going, sweet little girl.



My little dog - a heartbeat at my feet. ~Edith Wharton

Moody Monday 11/365

School's back in. I'm trying to get caught up on laundry & all of the other things that came undone over our long weekend. Feeling kinda blue-sy though. No particular reason why...just blah feeling. I think if it's not going to snow, I need warm weather. *LOL* It is getting warmer & they say by the end of this week, we'll be up to the mid-50's so maybe that'll get me out of my funk.

Playing around w/ macro today...that always helps when I'm feeling down. This is my grandmother's sewing machine. She gave it to me when Nathan was little so, maybe 14 years ago. She told me I could make the boys' winter coats. :O Bless her!

I love having it. She died about 7 years ago so it's one of my treasures. She was a quilter so she used it quite a bit to put her quilt tops together. And she made Barbie clothes for my dolls with it when I was little. I've used it for crafty things but I do NOT like making clothes. I've attempted several times but the sessions usually end up w/ me saying some not very nice words & threatening to throw my beloved sewing machine out the window. But, every now & then, I get a yearning to use it so I do some little project & that satisfies me for a while.

Take your needle, my child, and work at your pattern; it will come out a rose by and by. Life is like that - one stitch at a time taken patiently and the pattern will come out all right like the embroidery. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Movie Day - 10/365

It's Sunday and that means a new theme. One group I'm on has chosen crying/sadness and the other group has chosen sun. Neither sounds too easy. *L*

It's cold today. Upper 20's for the high temp. It's one of those days that you lay around and do nothing. The kids had movies they'd received as Christmas gifts so we made a movie day out of it. I'll have to admit, I spent a lot of time on the computer & didn't pay close attention to the movies but both seemed good & I will sit and watch them when I'm able to concentrate on them (after taxes!).



And afterwards, we took off to Logan's for supper. DH ordered his steak well-done. After a fiasco at another restaurant (both of our steaks came back med-rare & we'd both ordered med-well) he's vowed that well done is all he'll order. Well, this steak MOO'd when he cut into it! He called our server over and showed him, and he rushed to get another one cooked. They also kicked in a few cheesecakes too. Yea! So I guess this one could be "sad that the little buckets are empty". *L*

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! 9/365

I wish. We are getting nice, big, fluffy flurries today though. I went out to the mailbox and noticed that they are pretty ones and that they are landing on the cars and not evaporating so I seized my chance to attempt some snowflake macros. Lessons learned- use a tripod for macros (which I knew, I was just being lazy) because I am sooo not steady! The depth of field was so shallow, it was difficult getting an entire flake in focus so I should probably close my aperture down some. Here are a few that I think turned out ok. Yeah, I know there's always room for improvement. :)
There's more on my Flickr if you want to peek.











We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand ... and melting like a snowflake. Let us use it before it is too late.

ROLL TIDE ROLL!

I am so glad the U of A has bragging rights. I'm glad Nick Saban showed that he was worth that huge contract he got (enjoy your $400,000 bonus Nick). I am glad Texas' rookie QB got to play so much (big grin). Honestly, the game may have had a much different outcome had the starter QB not been injured. But Alabama did work hard & they deserve it.

Another un-snow day out for us. The concern today was the stuff that did fall & melted turned to icy patches in the teen degree weather. I feel for our superintendent. He delayed schools but was getting flack because all of the other schools in our area were closing. He finally made that call too. His announcement for today was "we will do as the other schools in our area are doing - no school Friday".

Well, it was really, really cold out & I didn't venture out in it. So no new photo today. However, I did work on a couple for my mom. I took pictures of each grandkid (except Carmon, my oldest) beside the Christmas tree. I had processed the one of my niece but, of course, she's wanting them all. So today, I worked on my nephews. His was a pain. Well, really, they all will be because mom's tree was next to an outward corner and it's right over their heads and I'm trying to edit it out. Just doesn't look right w/ it in. So anyway, 8/365 is my nephew's Christmas photo...I'm afraid his face is too glowy?



And here's the one of my niece...

And Winter Came!

Sort of.

We've been hearing about the snowfall we were to receive today for a week. The kids came home from school yesterday saying we were to be delayed for 2 hours with a "wait and see" intention. The snow, if it came, was supposed to be in our area at about 8 a.m. (when the buses are out). So, we got up early to wait for the snow. We finally got the call at about 8 that school was indeed out for the day but the snow...well, Mother Nature was stingy with it. We had large, fluffy flakes that melted within seconds of hitting the ground. We finally began to get a little accumulation later in the day but we were hoping for enough to play in.

I've been determined to get a macro of a snowflake since hearing the word "snow" so, I went out to catch a few flakes & give it a try. Apparently, the temp wasn't right, the humidity wasn't right & all the stars were not aligned or something because instead of the nice 6-point, starry looking crystals you see in pictures, we got shards of glass. I was quite disappointed but, what do you do? Oh well. The weatherman is saying this will be a wet winter & possibly colder than normal so maybe there is more snowfall in my future. So 7/365 is a storyboard w/ a few "snow" pics from this go'round. Featured are my Nandina with it's lovely red berries, my rosemary (kinda looks like little trees, huh?) and one of my glass shard snowflakes.


Need some wintery music while waiting out the winter? And Winter Came by Enya is a good pick (hence, the title of my storyboard). It does have a couple of Christmas carols but for the most part, it's just a lovely collection of winter-themed melodies.

"And we had gathered snowflakes; Remember the soft light of starlight on snow." ~Roma Ryan, Last Time by Moonlight - And Winter Came

6/365

Theme: Resolution
I mentioned today's res. yesterday. I want to get a website up & running. I was hoping to get it started during the Christmas holiday but, it didn't happen. Now, I'm consumed w/ tax stuff so it's not happening now either. Hopefully, before spring though!

I've worked for the past 6 years as a substitute teacher & an instructional aide at my youngest son's elementary school. During the fall of 08, there were rumors of cut backs. My husband had been encouraging me for the past couple of years to at least attempt an online business and the rumors were the final push I needed. I did get to finish up the 08-09 school year but my funding was cut and I wasn't asked back this past fall.

I've been selling on ebay seriously since Sept. 08. I'd been worried about sales after the economy got so bad last year but we've been so blessed. In fact, about 6 months ago, I reached Power Seller status and the business is continuing to grow. Sometimes I get overwhelmed. I have no business experience so it's been, and continues to be, such a learning process but I'm proud of what we've accomplished thus far. To begin with, the website will just link back to my items at ebay. I have a lot of studying to do to figure out how to get a shopping cart set up as well as figuring out the best way(s) to process payments.

So, I'm cheating a bit today. No photo but I'm posting the logo I've created. To be seen at the top of a website near you...in the near future!:)

I will not crash & burn!

It's cold outside. My house is too dark inside to make a decent photo. I will have to get creative over the next month or so to make it w/ my 365. This one was a run outside, snap, run back in. I didn't even care if focus was good or not. This was it. *L*

I have an internet retail biz. Ok, it's ebay for now (Top Seller/Powerseller! Woot!) but am hoping to get a website up SOON and diversify a bit.<--there's a res. for tomorrow, eh?

We went to a wholesale place yesterday to get some stock & they have another business across the road that is mostly home decor stuff. I LOVE going to this place! Awesome candles, unique "stuff", just a very cool shop. It's been awhile since I'd been there & they've gotten in an awesome selection of picture frames. I could've cleaned 'em out if I'd had the $$ to do so. I did get a few and one of my resolutions is to fill them up. With awesome photos. That I made! Which goes hand in hand w/ my get better at photography resolution that is totally consuming me at the moment. So while the photo is not an exciting one, it totally represents one of my biggest goals this year.

Two quotes for today:

"People think that all cameramen do is point the camera at things, but it's a heck of a lot more complicated than that!" ~Larry from Groundhog Day

Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter. ~Ansel Adams

4/365

I had another fitness shot in mind for today. We have a go-kart track but the kids haven't used it in a few years. 12 laps = 1 mile. I plan to use it for a walking track when the weather gets warmer. Yep, I admit, I'm a wimp when it comes to cold weather. I snapped a photo but it wasn't quite what I pictured in my mind. Went out to try again & noticed the sun was setting...no light to get the shot I'd envisioned. But there was a nice sunset so I stopped to enjoy it. And there's my resolution for today....take the time to stop & enjoy sunsets.

The water thing...I think I got 24 oz. down yesterday. I see why you'll lose weight if you drink half your pounds in ounces. You are so full & so sick that you don't feel like eating. 16 oz. down today & the thoughts of more make me want to hurl. I think I'll get some of that Crystal Light stuff to mix with. Maybe that'll help. On the positive side though...1 Dr. Pepper this morning! That's it!

When I admire the wonder of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in worship of the Creator. ~Gandhi

Goodbye Dr. Pepper

As part of my get less chunky resolution, I've decided to drink more water & less Dr. Pepper (or Dr. Wham, Pepsi's alternative that I buy when it's less expensive (frugal!) than Dr. P). I'm not going to go cold turkey because I know that I'll just burn out quicker & give up the water altogether. But I'm thinking some nice alternative...maybe start out with one a day and get to the point that I only have 1 or 2 a week. I once read that if you drink half of your poundage in ounces of water daily, you'll lose weight so, that's my water drinking goal. 80 ounces a day (I rounded up from 77). I should mention, I don't particularly like to drink water so this is going to be hard. And we're not even going to talk about my little bladder.

Water is the only drink for a wise man. ~Henry David Thoreau

It's broken, right?

My hubby, youngest son & I went shopping yesterday. I've been wanting a new bathroom scale for a while now. Our old one with the spinny dial thing was very inaccurate, adding or subtracting 10 or 15 pounds at will. I got the least expensive digital one Wal-Mart had because I'm frugal (fancy word for cheap!). I got home, popped the battery in & oh. my. heck. Surely, we'd gotten a broken one. I almost died! I knew the britches were a little tighter than they used to be but darn! Ok, I'll admit, I've been heaving my fat gut up over the waistband and letting it hang over. I thought that was just the way mid-rise jeans fit! *sigh* I've never been this heavy. In my life. Even during the ninth month of any of my 3 pregnancies. Gimme back my take-the-pounds-away spinny dial scale, please!

Even though I say it every year, I resolve to lose weight this year!! I mean it! And to make myself do it...I soooo cannot believe I'm doing this...my 2/365 photo is of my scale. And yes, that's me on it. Hopefully, this will give me the incentive I need to keep my sticktoitiveness.

An interesting side note-- apparently, the LED lights in a scale are constantly refreshing, so quickly that the human eye can't see. The first photo I made showed I weighed 1__.2. I thought "see? it is broken" even though I could clearly see the 154.2 in real life. The second photo showed 54. The photo you see is a composite of those two photos. Like my fuzzy slippers?

I'm not overweight. I'm just nine inches too short.

Happy New Year!

Can't believe it's 2010! I'm looking forward to what this new year will bring....I think. With an 18 yr old & a 22 yr. old, I may be in for surprises I'm not quite ready for. <-yes she totally ended that sentence w/ a preposition!

I'm hoping to complete a Project 365/Photo of the Day/whatever you wanna call it this year. We'll see how it goes. I'm famous for attempting things like this & never finishing. I'm starting out with a brand new blog. I had another blog. I think I posted 6 whole times on it. I can't remember the password to get into the control panel for it. Therefore, brand new blog.

My old blog was with Wordpress. Blogger looks quite a bit different and I'm a little lost so you may see some things out of place as I get settled. If you trip over the refrigerator in the bathroom, just be patient with me. It'll sort itself out in time, I'm sure.

Okay, first photo of the year. Cleverly titled 1/365.

I'm participating in a group that will have a weekly theme which I may or may not follow. The theme for this week is "resolutions". One of my resolutions is to complete this project. This photo represents the self-confidence that abounds within me at this time! Will she do it? Only time will tell.

Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right!