Weekly Photo Challenge: Childhood Memory

Once again I am behind.  Imagine that.  :)  As usual I have been super busy, with Pacen activities, Rawhide Wrestling things, holiday stuff, etc.  When will things slow down?  Probably when I'm 6 feet under, which I'm in no hurry to be, so bring on the hectic-ness.  (As I'm sure I've mentioned before, I like to make up my own words.  Deal with it.)  :)

Okay, so on with the show.  The theme for last week's photo challenge at A Step in the Journey was "a childhood memory".  It just so happens that when I was at my parent's over Thanksgiving break I was standing by the back door and I noticed something in the backyard.  Of course, this was before I remembered that we would be doing a childhood memory themed challenge in the coming weeks, and I am so glad that something told me to grab my camera and take a shot.  This picture definitely fits the "childhood memory" theme.

It's mine and my sister's old yellow wagon!  So many memories with this thing!  My Grandpa used to pull us around in it and when we got older we pulled each other and random toys around.  Obviously it is now used to pull around Pacen's trucks.  Haha!  I'm so glad it's still being used though.  It sure is a tough wagon!  :)

 I like this black and white version too.  There is just something serene about this picture.

Well, what are you waiting for.  Head on over to last week's photo challenge and show people some love!  :)

"What we remember from childhood we remember forever - permanent ghosts, stamped, inked, imprinted, eternally seen."  ~Cynthia Ozick

Weekly Photo Challenge: Something You Made

Whew! I finally get to sit down and take a deep breath and relax! It's been a busy few days.

On Saturday night I went to Deadwood, South Dakota with some friends to help my "soulmate", who is one of my best friends, celebrate her birthday, which is actually today. I got entirely way too drunk, which I slightly regretted the next day, but I had a blast! It was high time I went out and tied one on and danced my ass off with friends. (I tried on Halloween weekend, but I only accomplished the dancing my ass off part.)

Now I'm in St. Louis. The whole week. On a business trip. Those are two things I rarely get to say. 1.) I'm in St. Louis and 2.) I'm on a business trip. If I get the Manager's position at the NEA (I had my interview last Tuesday) then I'll get to say that second thing a lot more. :) That was another reason I needed to go on the Deadwood trip. The interview. I freaked out for days before the interview. I cried. A lot. Pathetic. I was a nervous wreck, but I went into that interview with my head high and they had no idea was a mess on the inside. I kept myself together. Whew!

Okay, I suppose I better get on with the reason for this post. Last week's photo challenge over at A Step in the Journey! The theme was "Something you made". I decided to photograph the bracelet I made last weekend. It was my first jewelry attempt. It is a wrap bracelet. I have been seeing them all over the place and I am in love! I have worn mine a lot this past week.

I got the tutorial here, at I Am Momma Hear Me Roar.

Here it is up close.  It was actually pretty easy to make once I got started and figured out how to control the length of the thread.

If you have a chance head on over to last week's photo challenge and check out all the awesome things people have made (and their cool photos)! 

"Art can't deny craft, but refuses to acknowledge it.  In the end they are still brothers." ~ Christian Barr

"Art vs. craft - eye candy vs. hand and eye candy with purpose." ~ Marlene Fitzgerald-Moore

Weekly Photo Challenge: Shoes

Last week the theme for the weekly photo challenge at A Step in the Journey was "shoes".  Since I'm a girl there is always the assumption that I am obsessed with shoes.  Well, fine.  It may be partially true, but I'm not crazily obsessed.  I do love me a cute pair of heels or some super comfy flats and I definitely love flip-flops, but I don't have an insane number of shoes piled in my closet or under my bed.

My littlest sister, on the other hand, owns way too many shoes.  Way too many sneakers, to be more precise.  She doesn't even run or play basketball.  She just loves sneakers.  One time when we were shopping she saw a pair of expensive white sneakers and was instantly in love with them.  I just looked at her and said, "Raine!  You already own four pairs of white sneakers!"  That didn't sway her.  Like always she came up with some reason why these were different.  To me they looked the same. 

Even though I don't own tons of shoes I still had a hard time trying to decide which shoes to photograph for the challenge.  I have a couple of favorite pairs of heels and a favorite pair of pretty wore out flats.  I finally decided to photograph the pair of shoes that have carried me many miles.  Literally.  They are my running shoes that I purchased last spring.  They got me through a summer of training, a few small races, and my first half-marathon. 

Here they are in action!  :)  When I was taking this picture Pacen walked in, looked at the camera, looked at me on the treadmill, and asked what I was doing.  The whole time he had the "you-are-crazy-mom" look on his face.  :)

Head on over to A Step in the Journey and check out all the shoe photography!!

"I don't know who invented the high heel, but all men owe him a lot." ~ Marilyn Monroe

Weekly Photo Challenge: Sunset

Last Thursday marked a new photo challenge over at A Step in the Journey.  Sunset!  Well, I haven't been able to capture a sunset this week due the fact that the sun is setting so much earlier this time of year  and I've been busy in the evenings.  I'm not done with things until after it has already set.  :(  I would try tonight, but there won't be a visible sunset here because we are having a snow storm.  Ugh!  I did capture a very lovely sunrise this morning though...right before the storm rolled in!  :)

Okay, so I'm going to use a picture I took a few weeks ago when I was driving home from an appointment.  Unfortunately I didn't have time to pull over and take a decent picture so it's a reflection of the sunset in my driver side mirror.  Yes, yes, I know - I should not be driving and taking photos at the same time.  Very dangerous.  *blushing and avoiding eye contact*  :) But the sunset was gorgeous! 

I'd also like to share a picture I took a few years ago in The Bahamas.  I'm not wanting to use it as my challenge photo, but it's one of my favorite sunset pictures.  There's nothing like the sun setting on the Ocean!

And just for the fun of it here is a picture of the sunrise I took this morning.

There are some really great sunset pictures over at A Step in the Journey!  Go check them out!

"If I had a horse, I'd ride off in the sunset, where dreams, and shadows lie. To a life, where pain and sorrow dont exist, and to where hopes, and dreams become reality." ~ Unknown

Weekly Photo Challenge: Silhouette

Last week's weekly photo challenge over at A Step in the Journey was "silhouette".  I've always liked silhouette photography, but I've never really experimented with it much. 

A few years ago I was sitting on the dock on my dad's pond when Pacen and my boyfriend at the time, were walking past on the hill above.  The sun was at a perfect angle for a silhouette shot so I yelled, "Stop right there boys!"  They stopped and looked at me with expressions that said, "We are busy!  What do you want?".  (Okay, I'm pretty much positive Pacen voiced this annoyance out loud.)  I explained my reason for stopping them and then their expressions changed to, "Ugh!  Not more pictures!"  (He probably voiced this one out loud too!)  Well, the mission they were on was a hunting one.  I don't know what they were hunting for, but they had a couple BB guns with them so I told them to move the guns so I could get them in the shot.  That changed their attitudes and they posed in a proud manner with the barrels of the guns angled so they were noticeable.  I snapped the shot and it has been one of my favorites ever since.  That was the first and last time I really experimented with silhouette photography. 

I am so glad silhouette was one of the challenges on the challenge list!  It was nice to experiment with it again, and to make it even better I was house sitting for a co-worker this weekend who lives in the country so it was the perfect setting for this challenge.  I also got lucky on Saturday evening, as the skies were nice and clear!  Here are some shots I got:

I wanted to get a windmill shot, but the closes one I could find was too far from the road so the picture turned out rather blurry and grainy.  :(  Just in case you were wondering how the shot turned out I took a few years ago, here it is (I did it in black and white):

 

Want to see lots more silhouette photography?  Head on over to A Step in the Journey and check out last week's photo challenge! 

"To me, photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place... I've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them." ~ Elliott Erwitt

Weekly Photo Challenge: Bokeh

Last week's photo challenge over at A Step in the Journey was "Bokeh".  "What the heck is bokeh?", you ask.  Well, the easy to explain answer is:  it is the blur in a photo.  Many times the background is blurred and sometimes most of the picture is blurred with just a small portion in focus.  There is a great post about bokeh over at The Pioneer Woman.  She has MANY great photography tips and tutorials!  I love experimenting with bokeh.  Here are a few bokeh pictures I have taken in the past couple months:

Some wildflowers in Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park

Horny Toad

My "niece"!  (Not much bokeh in this, but there is a little.)

Go on over to the bokeh photo challenge and check out all the photos!  There are some great ones!!

"You don't take a photograph, you make it. " ~ Ansel Adams

Weekly Photo Challenge: Orange

I missed the last photo challenge over at A Step in the Journey, which was "hands".  I never got around to taking a picture of anyone's or anything's hands.  Things were pretty hectic during the week and I ran my first 1/2 marathon on the 2nd!  Yup!  13.1 miles!  It was a beautiful day in The Black Hills, but a little warm for a long run.  I ended up running it in 1:57:14!  I came in 8th in my division out of 68 and 120th overall out of 537 finishers.  I was pretty happy with that time, especially considering it was my first 1/2.  The last 2 miles felt absolutely awful, but I finished...and I only walked for about 30 seconds during the last 1/2 mile (and while I was drinking at the aid stations).  It felt so great to cross that finish line!  Quinn was waiting at the finish line and she gave me a big hug and cried...making me cry too.  :)

Anyway, this week I am participating in the weekly photo challenge over at A Step in the Journey.  The theme is "orange".  Perfect for this month!  So, on with the show...

Pumpkins at the grocery store.

Halloween sprinkles!

And last, but not least...

My favorite orange cheeks!!  :)

What are you waiting for?  Head on over to a Step in the Journey and check out all the orange pictures!!

"Orange is red brought nearer to humanity by yellow." ~ Wassily Kandinsky

Here is a quote I know my sister, Raine, would love - "Orange is the happiest color." ~  Frank Sinatra (I love the author!) :)

Weekly Photo Challenge: A Mess

The weekly photo challenge last week over at A Step in the Journey was "a mess".  I really haven't been looking forward to this challenge.  I have so many messes right now and it's just plain embarrassing.  I  rearranged my living room a while back and I haven't yet put everything away 'cause I want to change the whole look...pictures and all.  I didn't want to show you that mess cause it's embarrassing that I actually live in it day in and day out.  My kitchen is also slightly messy.  The counter and butcher block tend to be "catch-alls".  I was too embarrassed to show that mess also.  My basement is, you guessed it, a mess.  Not the guest room or bathroom, but the main room, which is pretty small.  It's a mess 'cause the laundry was piled up in front of the washer and dryer and I was working on a project down there on the deep freeze due to the fact that both my kitchen and dining room tables are rather cluttered at the moment.  *Blush*  Once again I was too embarrassed to show that mess. 

I finally decided to take a picture of the mess I have put off cleaning up for around five years.  It's a mess that gets a little worse each year.  It's...(dramatic pause)...the garage. *gasp!*  When I moved into this house five years ago I put some things in the garage and told myself I'd get to them soon.  Well, that didn't happen and every year more things got piled in there.  To top it off we have accumulated numerous bikes, holiday decor, etc.  Here it is...the awful garage disaster:

Oh my!  So many things just thrown in.  There actually is a work table/counter under all that crap to the left.  Yes, there is a hole in the back wall.  My neighbor backed into it one time.  Haven't been able to get it fixed yet. 

Well, I decided this past weekend it was time to clean this mess.  I drug a lot of stuff out of the garage and piled it in the driveway.  I threw a bunch of crap away (2 pickup loads), swept like crazy, and organized.  Here is what my driveway looked like during the clean up:

This isn't nearly as bad as it ended up looking. 

Finally, after 6-7 hours, almost being gassed out by Pacen who was spraying spiders and bees with bug spray, 6-10 squished spiders (of all kinds), some mild screaming and jumping around (spiders), lots of sneezing, a bit of raising my voice at Pacen and his buddy who were constantly in my way, and two trips to the fire pit where I work, I was finished!  Finished and SUPER pleased with myself.  I still have a box of things that I need to get rid of, but I want to see if the local theater company wants it for props and costumes.  I also want to figure out something to do with all the bikes.  They still make the garage crowded.  But I'm happy I have my work counter and I can easily fit my car in there this winter.  Yay!!!  Here is my clean garge:

I feel so relieved to have that mess cleaned up.  Now to tackle the messes in my house.  I did manage to get part of the living room and kitchen cleaned up. 

 "Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing." ~Phyllis Diller

I am thankful for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.... I am thankful for the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby." ~ Nancie J. Carmody

Weekly Photo Challenge: Black and White

Last week's weekly photo challenge over at A Step in the Journey was Black and White.   A while back I took a black and white picture of a sailboat that was sailing on Grand Lake in Colorado.  I love sailboats and I hope to one day have one.  Technically I do own one, but it's very small and it's behind my ex's garage.  Anyway, I thought seeing a sailboat on a mountain lake was beautiful.  Taking it in black and white made it more romantic.

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8435214680851197717

Head on over to last week's weekly photo challenge to check out everyone's pictures!   

 "Life is like a good black and white photograph, there's black, there's white, and lots of shades in between" ~ Carl Heiner

Weekly Photo Challenge: What I Wore

Last Thursday's photo challenge over at A Step in the Journey was "What I Wore".  My clothing taste is very eclectic.  I try to dress up when I'm at work, which usually consists of black slacks and a nice shirt, pencil skirt and a nice shirt, or a dress.  In the past couple of years I have fallen in love with high heels and although I don't yet own many pairs, I am usually able to pair some I have with what I'm wearing to work.  In the evenings after work I am usually sporting running shorts, a t-shirt, and my Saucony running shoes.  Now, on the weekends you will typically find me in jeans or shorts, a fitted t-shirt with some kind of saying or design on it, and flip-flops.   Deep down I am a total boho/hippie/laid-back type of chick, so my weekend clothes are my favorite.

Fridays at the office are "casual" days so I typically wear my weekend get-up.  Here is what I wore last Friday:

 Powell's Book t-shirt (I bought at Powell's last year on my "Self-Discovery Trip"), comfy capri's that I'm sure are from Target (have had them for YEARS), and flip-flops.  IGNORE the bra hanging on the bed.  I was so focused on working on my photography skills and trying to get a good self-portrait that I didn't even notice it.

When I got home from work I decided to get even more comfortable so I changed one little thing about my outfit:

I added a funky skirt that I bought in Daytona Beach a couple years ago.  It's actually a swim-suit cover, but I folded the shirred top in half and wore it as a skirt. 

Today I am wearing my typical work attire.  Here's a shot:

A shirt I bought a few years ago from Maurice's, some black dress capri pants I bought at Maurice's, and some dressy flip-flops (they have a hard sole and a very slight heel) that I bought at Target. 

To make it even more fun I wore this:

 

Funky blue sparkle nail polish!!!  Last week they were bright canary yellow!  I think they match my personality...bright and sparkly!  Haha!!

"Women usually love what they buy, yet hate two-thirds of what is in their closets." ~ Mignon McLaughlin

Weekly Photo Challenge: Low Angle

I am so far behind in the photography challenge! A new challenge starts tomorrow and I am just now posting last weeks challenge. Eeesh.

Last week's challenge over at A Step In The Journey was to shoot from a low angle. Here a a few shots I took while I was in the Rocky Mountain National Park a couple weeks ago.

 

I want to climb up there!

"Often while traveling with a camera we arrive just as the sun slips over the horizon of a moment, too late to expose film, only time enough to expose our hearts." ~ Minor White