My Little Slice of Life.

3 More Clock Layouts; 1 More To Go!!!

2011-07-14T17:53:00.007-05:00

I have finished 3 more layouts for our family clock!! I would have posted 2 of them sooner but Rick & I went on vaca!!!!

First up is of Jaclyn when she was little; I'm guessing 3-4 years old.This next one of Jaclyn was taken a few months ago for a school project; she just got her haircut short today!I really like the black & white photo with the black and white elements. Last up is of both girls when they were younger. That's Chein; he was half poodle, half chow and had a striped tongue. Chows have black tongues so being half chow he had a striped tongue!! lol!!

Two More Clock Layouts

2011-06-11T19:09:00.006-05:00

Here are 2 layouts of my daughter, Larisa. One when she was about 2 1/2. The other when she was 18.

I just have to do 2 of my daughter Jaclyn and 2 of both daughters together. Then I can put it together.

Halfway Done!

2011-06-07T09:38:00.004-05:00

Well I finished another scrapbook layout for my clock project. I've done 6 and I have six more to go. I got a bit side-tracked. Besides every day life I discovered the The Blog Train Blog Every other month about 100 design use the same color palate to design a mini-kit. Now I don't think there was exactly 100 designers because some dropped out and some hadn't posted any thing for this month's train that I could find. Still there were quite a few designers so you could easily have one heck of a mega kit.

Anyway that took awhile to visit, download, unzip, and sort all those scrapbooking supplies. Here is the lastest layout for the clock. I call this mini layouts because when I print them out the will only be 4x6.

New Digi Scrapbook Project

2011-05-30T18:41:00.017-05:00

I am working on a new digital scrapbook project. It's going to be a clock in our family room. I got inspired somewhere on the web but I can't remember where. It will have 12 mini scrapbook layouts that will be individually framed. The size of each layout will be 6"x4". Below are the layouts that I have finished so far. The papers, elements, masks are from freebies that I downloaded from my usual spots, Scrap Girls, Persnickety Prints, Shabbyprincess, Scrapbook Flair, Scrapbook-Bytes, Digital Scrapbook Place

Besides these 5 I need to do 6 more. One more of Rick and me together; 2 each of Larisa and Jaclyn and then 2 of the girls together. Each layout will represent a number on a clock dial. When I am completely finished and have it hung up I will take a photo and post the finished project. Stay tuned........

Differernt Color Guard Shirt Design

2011-05-11T09:02:00.002-05:00

Still playing wiith a color guard shirt design. This one I added a girl, spinning her flag. Still not sure. Jaclyn says she likes it but would like it if was the girl was wearing purple. Guess I'll play around with it some more.

Heavy Metal FX

2011-04-24T13:53:00.012-05:00

This is the start of Chapter 4 Metal and Chrome Effects. The first one is called Instant Chrome Effect. For this one you use channels. I haven't used channels very much but what I have done was fairly easy. You also use Lighting Effects. This gave me a little trouble but I rebooted my computer and got it to work. One thing that the instructions didn't state is that you have to start with a color background, NOT a transparency layer. It took me a bit to figure this one out as well.
The only difference for the second part is adding a brush metal effect to the background.Next up Arched Cutout Type. The book said it's popular in athletic logos. I chose the word colorguard because of my daughter, Jaclyn.

Last up for today.....Star Wars Bevel. I didn't have the font the author used but found a similar one at dafont.com

No FX Lessons But Some Digi Pages

2011-04-21T13:39:00.008-05:00

Haven't done any more Photoshop FX lessons but have done a couple of scrapbook pages. The first one is of me back in the day; way back, lol. The Retro papers and elements I got from Persnickety Prints. I bought the quilt template from Scrap Girls.

The stitching around the tree is an action that I bought at Scrapgirls, way fun!

The next one is of our dog. Unfortunately, I don't remember where I downloaded the elements.

Color Guard Shirt Design

2011-04-05T10:37:00.006-05:00

I haven't done any photoshop lessons in a while. I think I'm having withdrawls! LOL! I did work on a design for a color guard shirt for my daughter. What do you think? Feel free to leave me some feedback!

Finishing Cool Type Effects

2011-03-19T20:26:00.017-05:00

Today I finished Chapter 3 of Photoshop 6 Down & Dirty Tricks. These tricks are not really that hard but if you don't follow the directions carefully, you'll get frustrated very easily. This one I tried the other day but couldn't get it to work. I tried again today with no better luck. Then I started over with a new file with a white background instead of a transparent one. I don't know why this would make a difference but it did. It's a quick grunge text.I already knew how to put an image into type so didn't learn anything new with this one. I used a photo of some flowers I took at the Dallas Arboretum. I love taking photographs there.

Doing multiple inlines/outlines on type was another fairly easy effect.My youngest daughter is in winter guard at her school. During football season the color guard spin flags and rifles with the marching band. After football season the color guard moves indoors and is called winter guard. They have many competitions. I love how this next one looks but it was a tricky one. It has many steps that could throw you off if you're not paying attention. This is my first attempt of a cool light burst.You might not be able to tell what I did wrong. I'm not even sure. When I did the last step it didn't look like the one in the book. So I didn't do the last step. I tried to correct my mistake but soon decided it would be easier just to start over. So here is my second attempt. I somehow messed up when I was saving my selection. The directions didn't say to name it but I did on the first attempt. I didn't on the second attempt. Again I don't know why this would make a difference but it did Or if that was even what I did wrong.Finishing up the cool type effects chapter was carved in stone.Amore Per Sempre = Love Forever in Italian. My husband and I recently celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. I gave him a silver id bracelet with that engraved in it.

Chapter 4 is Metal and Chrome Effects! I don't know when I'll get it started but I can't wait.

More Cool Type Effects

2011-03-18T11:00:00.012-05:00

Continuing on with Chapter 3, this next lesson was putting type on a circle. It wasn't really that difficult. I did have trouble with the letter "I". For each letter you typed, you had to put a transformation box around that letter. Then using the shift key you moved the center target dragging it to the center of your circle. Then you could rotate your letter. The letter would then follow the shape of your circle. With the letter "I" I couldn't click on the center target. I guess it was because of the size. I tried resetting the tool, rebooting the computer, nothing worked. I finally had to resize the "I" so I could move the center target. Then before hitting the enter button I had to size it back down.
Beveled Outline Effect is next. This one was very easy!
This last one for today looks so cool and fun to do! it's called Backlit Beams of light. Can you tell I like digital scrapbooking? lol!
I think I might use this last one to design a shirt. My daughter is in Colorguard. I designed a shirt last year but it was kind of boring. This would have made it pop! If I do design a shirt I'll post it later.

More Down & Dirty Tricks!

2011-03-12T12:45:00.009-06:00

Ok so I finished up with Chapter 2 with this: This shadow effect adds a shadow to only the item where you want it or where it should be; i.e. the sign, but not on the sky. The picture I shot in Hawaii, the elephant I shot at the San Diego Zoo and the sign from the web (I had to add the pole). Then I started Chapter 3 Cool Type Effects. That's an accurate title for this chapter. The first effect is adding 3D depth to your text.
Second lesson in this chapter is a quick neon! Love the purple!
Third up I invented a tv station using the first intial of all our first names. This one was more involved but I managed to get it. This one involved combining gradients, strokes and shadows to your text.
The last lesson for today, but by no means the last for this chapter, is a gradient glow with a bevel.

More Photoshop FX

2011-03-04T12:52:00.005-06:00

Today I only had time to do 3 lessons. This first one was pretty easy but I thought was cool. It is called Inner Shadow Depth Effect.
The next one should have been very easy and for the most part it was. The part that wasn't was painting a straight line on the diagonal. This is not that difficult to do. You click where you want to start you line, move your cusor to where you want to stop your line. Hold the shift key and click your mouse again; easy. Nope! It kept trying to paint a straight up and down line. I tried resetting the tool, rebooting, resetting the tool again. After resetting the tool a few more times it finally worked!
The last lesson for today was a bit boring. However, I want to do every lesson in all 3 books I did it. This is called Creating Custom Layer Effects Drop Shadows.

More Down & Dirty Tricks for Photoshop

2011-03-03T12:13:00.011-06:00

I had a little time to day to do some photoshop lessons. The first one is from the first chapter, Basic Shadows. It is colorizing a drop shadow. The heart button came from Scrap Girls.

The next ones are from Chapter2; Shadow dancing. First up is called Perspective Front Shadow.
Ladyscrapalot is my my user name for the digital scrapbooking sites I visit. The second lesson is Perspective Cast Shadow. Again the image is from Scrap Girls
.
The last one, Shadows That Climb the Wall, was a little harder in that I couldn't find the right photo use.

Trying Blogging Again!

2011-02-18T18:18:00.029-06:00

Wow it's been a long time since I posted anything. I guess life and Facebook just pushed blogging off to the side. I'm going to give it another go but I'm not sure how long it will last. LOL!

In the past I took a Photoshop course online at LVS. Back then I even knew how to post a link here. Let me see if I can put a link to LVS Online . The class that I took was a "special effects" class. They haven't offered a second one that's compatible to the photoshop that I have. I really had fun with that course.

I have found some wonderful Photoshop books at our local discount bookstore, Half Price Books ! All 3 of them are written by Scott Kelby. They are called Photoshop 6 Down & Dirty Tricks, Photoshop 7 Down & Dirty Tricks and.... wait for it Photoshop CS Down & Dirty Tricks!

I had thought about doing one lesson a day but some of the lessons don't take very long to do and I know some days I won't have to time to do any. I've started with Photoshop 6 and at the beginning. Some of is really basic but I've already learned a few new things. That's always a good thing, right? The first chapter is on Basic Drop Shadows.

This first one is a DIY Manual Drop Shadow, meaning you aren't creating it by using a layer style. Oh I must point out that the items in the pictures are digital scrapbooking items a downloaded from Scrap Girls

The next one is drop shadow using a layer effect. I already knew how to do this one. What I learned was that you can move your cursor over to image window and click and drag the shadow to where you want it.

The next one is way cool- Reverse White Shadow.

Zoom Shadow

This next one I'm going to have to practice but I don't know if I would every use it. I can't paint straight!

Lastly is drawing a precise shadow. I added the shadow on top of the eggs. Probably not perfect but fun none the less!

Life Keeps Getting in the Way

2010-07-30T20:10:00.004-05:00

Whew Boy! I have been really bad a this blogging business. I guess I spend all my free time on Facebook or digi scrapppin'. I was going to post some of the pages I have done from our 2000 Disney trip but have only managed to post one. My Bad! LOL! So I will post another. I must state here again that I did not design the papers/elements on these pages but I did take the photos.

Life Got In The Way

2010-06-28T18:40:00.004-05:00

I was taking an online Photography Class and I just didn't have time to do all the lessons before the class ended. I have found that the great deal on my camera wasn't so great. I printed out all the lessons. I plan to start at the beginning and take more time with each lesson. I really want to get better. The only way to do that is how my mother used to tell me. Practice, Practice, Practice. God how I hated when she said that but she was right!

I have managed to start digisrappin' our first Disney trip from 2000. I will show the pages I have done over that last few weeks.

Basic Photography - Week 3

2010-06-04T14:59:00.018-05:00

This week we worked on aperture priority mode. Let's just say I need lots more practice. I adjuster the Diopter adjustment dial so I could use the viewfinder without wearing my glasses. But I still have trouble seeing if things are in sharp focus or not. I guess I could have used the LCD monitor but I don't like using that. Here are some photos that I took at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. I found the file data but I haven't had time to figure out how to attach it to the photo when you look at it.

This first photo was taken in macro mode. When I tried taking it out of macro mode the flower wasn't in focus in any of them that I took using different f/stops.

Shutter speed 1/320
F-Stop f/9
ISO 200
focal Length 57.0

These 2 I stood farther away and couldn't get the background to blur. I didn't use macro mode on either.

Shutter speed 1/390
F-stop f/9
ISO 100
focal length 57.0

Shutter speed 1/1000
F-stop f/5.0
ISO 100
focal length 57.0

This one I had a little better luck throwing the background a little out of focus.

shutter speed 1/850
F-stop f/5.6
ISO 100
Focal Length 12.0

This one was taken with macro mode.

shutter speed 1/350
F-Stop f/7.0
ISO 100
Focal Length 51.3

Basic Photography - Week 2

2010-05-28T21:21:00.013-05:00

Although I got a great deal on my camera, I am regretting purchasing. This week's assignment - manually focusing. Hoo boy what a disaster. First I tried continuous shooting with continuous focus. I also tried using my telephoto lens. I get a vignette with the telephoto lens that you don't really notice while shooting.

Ok, no big deal just playing around. So today I planned on getting out early before it get to hot. (92f) No such luck. I won't bore you with details except, when I looked in the viewfinder after adjusting the focus, it was in focus. However when I pushed the button I could see it go out of focus. To focus you have to push the exposure compensation button and the zoom controller at the same time. I don't know if I am supposed to keep holding the exposure compensation button when I push the shutter button. Here are the best of the worst.

This one I tried manual focus with macro.

Basic Photography - Week 1

2010-05-18T12:11:00.011-05:00

One of my favorite places to take photos is the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. Here are of my favorite shots.

Spring Time:

Fall Time:

My daughter wanted me to take some of her senior pictures there last year.

Here something a little mor recent but not at the Arboretum. The state flower for Texas is the Bluebonnet. Every year in the spring you will see families lining the highways to take family portraits sitting in the bluebonnets. I took my daughters in bluebonnets years ago but took some this year without them. Here's one.

New Layout

2010-05-11T15:11:00.003-05:00

I made a few changes to my blog because on Saturday May 15th I will be taking an online Photography Course through LVS Online. They offer way for students to upload and show their work but I have decided to do it through my blog since I don't posted very often anymore. I decided that my blog should be as basic as possible so as not to distract from the photos I have to submit but at the same time not be too boring.

I am very excited about taking this class and confidently learning how to turn off the auto button and go totally manual. Wish me luck!

Photohunt - Mother

2010-05-07T14:08:00.001-05:00

PhotoHunt - Black

2010-05-01T08:41:00.008-05:00

Black cats and black dog pretty basic. The cats belong to my nephew and his girlfriend. Sad to say I really don't know their names. They mostly called them mama cat and baby cat. Sometimes to me the mama cat should be called Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde Or I guess that should be Dr. Jekyll Mrs. Hyde. LOL!

Mama cat being all nice and sweet.

Both of them in a calm moment.

This is our first dog before we got married. He's name was Chien. He was half Poodle half Chow. He had a stripped tongue. I couldn't find the one where he was a little furball of a puppy. This was taken when our daughter was about 1 1/2 or so. She just turned 19 in March.

Photohunt - Addiction

2010-04-23T21:54:00.011-05:00

This week's theme was easy peasy for me. I just have to control my urge to post everything. My addiction is Digital Scrap booking. I never got into traditional scrap booking because it was too expensive. If you didn't have a dedicated table to do it, you would have to pull it out and put it away every time you wanted to scrap.

Then I slowly starting learning about Photoshop and then I discovered digital scrap booking!!!! I love it!!!! When you want to do it, you turn to your computer. when you want to stop you leave it. If you don't like how something looks, you can delete and try something else.

Most of the elements were designed by someone else. I'm sorry I haven't kept track of who they are to give them proper credit. I'm learning to do some of my own elements but it's easier to use someone else's. Here are a few of my favorites. The first ones are from mini albums I made for my daughters. The last one is from one of trips to Disney World. This one is for a larger album. I've tried very hard to edit what I show.

Photohunt - Cover

2010-04-17T07:43:00.009-05:00

I haven't played for a while but I'm trying to get back to it. Every spring here in North Texas we have lots of wildflowers blooming along the highways and byways. Mostly we have our state flower, the Texas Bluebonnet but we also have some other types.. They cover the sides of the roads. On the weekends, especially after church, you'll see people photographing their families. Unfortunately, I work weekends but I have photographed my daughters in the past. I went out this past week to try a go at it.

If you would like to see more flower covered roadsides from my adventure, check out this post.

Lessons Learned

2010-04-14T12:49:00.013-05:00

Today I decided that I was finally going to check out the Ennis Bluebonnet Trails. This is something that I've wanted to do for a long time. The first lesson that I learned today was don't rely on online map directions. Well I already knew this but I was reminded of this lesson today. I also learned that shortcuts aren't always the fastest way! So what started out as a quick morning photo shoot turned into an all morning mini road trip.

While I did see some bluebonnets and managed to take some photos, it was difficult to pull over on a two-lane highway. There is more to the Bluebonnet trail than what I covered but I had already been gone longer than I had planned.

These first 3 were taken at the same spot. I managed to find a dirt road that I could safely pull over and not have to walk to far to take some photos.

After shooting at this spot I drove on and found this field of Indian Paintbrushes.

Closer to home I shot these photos. Which is the last lesson I learned today, you don't necessarily have to look any farther than your own backyard/neighborhood/community to find what you are looking for. Although I do like the first photos the best, if I looked a little more closer to home I might have found something just as good.

Tomorrow I have to pick up my oldest daughter from college. Perhaps I will leave early and see if I can take more photos of Texas' State flower - Bluebonnets.

Downtown Disney Marketplace

2010-03-15T13:34:00.003-05:00

Here is a layout of some photos I took around the Downtown Disney Marketplace from our trip in 2005.

Happy 24th!

2010-03-07T20:04:00.003-06:00

Monday March 8th is my 24th wedding anniversary. Here is the front of the card I made for my hubby!

Photohunt - Daily

2010-02-27T08:03:00.004-06:00

I get on the computer "daily". I am either researching information, banking, checking email or what I love to do the most; digital scrapbooking with photoshop!

If you would like to see some of my layouts, feel free to look at the next post.

More Disney Scrapbook Pages

2010-02-25T12:39:00.015-06:00

Here are some more layouts from our 2005 trip to Disney. I think they are pretty self explanatory. The journaling on the layouts with Meg from Hercules and Aladdin are quotes from their respective movies.

PhotoHunt - Cuddly

2010-02-20T09:57:00.003-06:00

I haven't played in like forever, but I do check in most weeks. When I saw the theme for this week I knew exactly the right photo. It's of our dog Cookie aka Princess Diva.

She wasn't happy that I turned on the light to take her picture.

Has Hell Frozen Over Or Is It Global Warming?!

2010-02-12T11:32:00.010-06:00

Well here is a record I never thought would be broken anytime soon. We have close to a foot of snow! Now to some of you that might not seem like that much of a big deal but we live just south of Dallas, TX!!!!! Here are some photos of this record breaking event. The first 2 are from last night.

The rest of from this morning. Rick had to rake of the snow off the metal roof of our patio because the weight of the snow was making the roof start to buckle.

I am sure you have heard of the postman's creed; Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. I think the same could be applied to our dog, Cookie, and her Frisbee!

New Disney Layout!

2010-02-03T14:46:00.002-06:00

Here is a new layout from our Disney trip in 2005. I think this is one of my faves.

Haven't Posted In A While - But I'm Still Here

2010-01-27T19:45:00.004-06:00

I haven't been blogging much lately. I have been blocked creatively with my digiscrapping. I should say that in my layouts I haven't made all the elements myself. I have downloaded through various sites. Unfortunately, I forgot to record where I found all the items. I've also had some health issues but that is for another post for another day.

Here is another layout from our Disney World trip in 2005. The wording is a quote from the movie Hercules as said by the character Megara. I'm undecided if I'm finished with this layout. I definitely lean to the less is more category.

New Digiscrappin' Layouts - Disney 2005

2010-01-12T16:15:00.008-06:00

I've done some new digital scrapbook layouts. This time I'm doing an 8x8 size. I've chosen to do our 2 trips to Disney. I started with our second trip that we took during spring break of 2005. Larisa was in 8th grade, Jaclyn in 4th. Rick had work in Orlando so we combine business with pleasure. Since this was our second trip and Rick had to work I don't have many photos to work with. I have more from our trip in 2000 but those aren't digital photos so I'll have to scan them into the computer. Here is what I have so far.

This Could Be Addictive!

2009-12-31T10:48:00.005-06:00

Ok I think I could easly become addicted to Corel Painter Essential. This first photo is one that is provided with the tutorials.
This second photo is my attempt to hand paint the above photo following the tutorial. I think it's not half bad for a non artist! It's AHmazing what you can do with this program. If you were someone who is artist you could probably do some amazing artwork.

My New Toy - Wacom Bamboo Fun Graphic Tablet

2009-12-30T15:20:00.007-06:00

For Christmas I got a new Wacom Bamboo Fun graphic tablet. I am going to have so much fun with it. It came with a software bundle that I really didn't need as I have and use Photoshop CS. I plan on sending it to my sister as she doesn't have the money to buy Photoshop. One of the programs is Photoshop Elements which I think she will like. I've heard that it is more user friendly. One of the other programs was Corel Painter Essentials. I loaded it on to my computer to see what it was like. Oh my goodness what a fun program. You can either paint freehand or you can paint your photos. I took 1 photo from our trip to Hawaii.
I tried 3 different auto painting effects on it. The first one I did was oil painting.

The next effect was wet in wet watercolor.
The last one that I tried that I liked was colored pencil.
I can't wait to come this with scrapbooking!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2009-12-25T08:15:00.003-06:00

Logos

2009-12-17T12:31:00.006-06:00

I've designed a couple of logos; not that I'm going to business anytime soon. One is for greeting cards and one is for scrapbooks.

I came up with the name Ladykli Designs(pronounce Ladyklee) because a long time ago a friend of ours would call us old man or old lady. Not as in we are old but as in "my old man isn't here right now." But I dropped the old part. The kli part is what my husband's frat buddies would call him, a nickname stemming from his last name.

For Kli Kards, I think is pretty self-explanatory.

For scrapbooking, I thought lady.... lady-in-waiting... royalty...king arthur...camelot; I like to scrapbook a lot soooooo Lady Scrapalot!!! I know kinda corny.

The border for both was a technic I learned in my photoshop special fx class. I used a photo of flowers and did sort of a reverse mask.

Photoshop Special FX Lesson 6

2009-12-10T12:49:00.017-06:00

Whew! I finally finished this week's exercises and my right wrist is really hurting. But it was worth it. I discovered the reason for the hurt is caused by excessive right clicking and using the scrolling wheel. There is a chance that there will a special FX 2. That would be so great! I've really learned alot in this class.
First we learned how to use a quick mask and add a decorative edge. I used a frosted glass effect.

Second we learned how to use a layer mask while controlling an effect. This is a black and white blended into color.
This one is using the paint daubs filter. It's kind of hard to see where the photo starts before you get into the filtered part. The photo was taken at the Dallas Arboretum.
This one I tried painting photo edges with a layer mask.
I did not take this photo but used it to blending a photo with a background paper that I downloaded before. Because I didn't like the dark edges of the dance photo, I did a quick mask vignette. However, since the paper was blended into the photo I didn't like the way it looked with the photo vignette so I made a copy of the paper and placed it as the bottom layer.
I used a photo of our dog Cookie and different background paper I downloaded for using a layer mask to create a vignette.
For lesson 6, part 4 I used a photo I took at The Dallas Arboretum and downloaded the font that was used in the lesson. Again, background paper downloaded. This was painting an edge with your photo. The font was downloaded from Dafont.
Vector mask + arboretum photo + pixelate/color halftone filter =
Finally we learned Out Of Frame or Out Of Bounds or simply OOB The first one I used a photo I took. The second was provided with the lesson and taught us perspective.

Photohunt - Curved

2009-12-04T09:21:00.011-06:00

When I saw the theme this week I immediately thought of a trip to Maui Rick and I took in 2001 for our 15th anniversary. There is a road called Hana Highway that is super-curvaceous 2 lane highway with 50+ one lane bridges! Unfortunately we didn't take any photos of the curvy road. We did take lots of photos during stops along the way however, most of those where taken with a film camera and I don't have the time right to scan them.

So while looking for a photo with something curved I came across something from a family vacation back 2005. Rick has a brother who lives in Texas who we visit from time to time. This particular trip we decided to take a trip to Hamilton Pool Nature Preserve

The Hamilton Pool Nature Preserve has hiking trails, picnicking trails, but the main attraction is the swimming hole with a 50-foot waterfall!
It's hard to see in this photo but you can climb underneath the overhang.

Christmas Cards

2009-12-02T13:30:00.004-06:00

First, sorry if I offend anyone calling them "Christmas" Cards. But it's what I celebrate so that's what I call them. Not Holiday cards, not winter solstice cards, CHRISTMAS CARDS.

Since I've already finished this week's Photoshop Special FX lesson; same day as they posted actually; I've been working on our Christmas cards. I used the 3D cube that we learned and made them into 2 photo ornaments. I downloaded some Christmas background papers that I used a grunge brushes that I had also downloaded. The chains and bows are also brushes that I downloaded. I did not take all the photos myself but I like the way it came out.

I just have to design the inside, get more ink and get them in the mail. On a side note: It snowed a bit this morning. It didn't stick though. We may get more Thursday night, Friday morning.

I Hate It When......

2009-11-30T06:24:00.003-06:00

It's a little after 11:00 at night. I just started a new book, Sweet Revenge by Fern Michaels. Ok so it's an easy read, whatever. Anyway, I want to try to finish the chapter I'm on but realizes it's too many pages to the end. So I close the book and turn off the light and fall asleep.

I wake up around 3:20 (yes, a.m.)needing to use the rest room. After I crawl back into bed, it starts. Am I supposed to go to work at 10:00 or 10:30? I'm pretty sure it's 10:30. Should I go in at ten just to be safe? I really don't want to go early if I don't have to. Ok think. I know I get off at 6:30, so count the hours. 10:30 to 11:30.......6:30 that's 8 hours with an hour for lunch. Ok now 10 to 11.....6:30 that's 8 1/2 with lunch. Yesterday I worked 10:30 to 7:00 that's 10:30 to 11:30...7:00 8 1/2 with lunch. I'm pretty sure I go in at 10:30. Oh why didn't I double check before I left. I could go in early but I don't want to do that. Ok now stop it. I have to get up in a few hours.

How should I do our Christmas cards. I started last night with Larisa's pictures in a 3D cube. It was difficult to get the pictures to fit just right. I need to do Jaclyn's pictures but which ones? Her class picture for sure and some of her color guard. How many cubes should I do? Should I make the cubes look like presents and add bows. How about ornaments hanging? I did that with last year's card. Maybe I should make a scrapbook page. It's going to take a lot of ink to print the cards. I wonder if there is some place I could have them printed? Fedex office is kind of expensive and I don't know if they print greeting cards. I could look online somewhere but that might take to long. STOP!! I have to go to sleep.

I'd like to do a card of an indoor christmas scene. Maybe with our fire place and the tree. But then I'd have to move the tree over and take down all the photos on the mantel. I could do a multi-pane window using that grid custom shape and then make a fade in each square. That would look cool but whenever I take a photo of the tree with the lights it just doesn't look right. GO TO SLEEP!!!

Well maybe, if I used the tripod I could use a longer exposure. Oh who am I kidding. It looks good in my head but it won't come out right. Go to the bathroom for the upteenth time and go to bed!!!!!

This is so rediculous. I'll have to post about this on facebook. Probably my blog because it would be too long. Now let's see... I hate it when.....(start thinking everything all over again) *sigh* Just go to sleep.

Maybe I should go lay down on the couch, so I don't wake up Rick with my flipping and flopping. I have so much to do on my day off on Tuesday. Laundry, cleaning, working on our cards. (rehash above) Go to sleep damn it!! Fish tank making some gurgling noises and getting a little chilly, I'll pull on my hood to drown out the noise and warm up. HUH?! what the..? dang it a mosquito!! Sitting up I look at my watch and notice that I fell asleep for about 45-50 minutes. It is now about 5:50. Get up go to the bathroom, again. I guess I'll lay down back in bed. Rick is quietly snoring. I think about how tired I'm going to be later. Just go to sleep for a little while, please? OH screw it. Might as well get up and turn on the computer. Besides. I have a rumbly in my tumbly, what to eat.

Photoshop Special FX - Week 5

2009-11-28T18:45:00.006-06:00

This week by far is my favorite week of my photoshop special FX class. First up we learned ways to make grunge text. I must admit I love grunge background papers so I was excited about this. I used grunge brushes that I had downloaded previously and have used in my digiscrapping.

The next special effect was putting photos in a 3D cube. This was way cool! (well to me anyway!) We also learned a bit about the lighting filter. I have used this filter before but want to learn how to use it better.

We also learned how to put a pattern or image in sphere.

While I took the photos for the above projects, the photos for the last project were provide. The techniques for this one was interesting but I'm not sure where I would apply it.

There is only one week left and since I did all the lessons for this week today it will be a long week. However, I have a couple of ideas for our Christmas cards so I can work on that in the mean time!

Photoshop Special FX Lesson 4

2009-11-24T21:31:00.015-06:00

It's so fun to learn more about photoshop. This class is not a beginner class but I wouldn't say it was an advanced class. Just learner about things you know are but not sure what they can be used for. A lot of what we learned will be great to use for digiscrapping. The first 2 could be used for background paper. We've also learned a very easy way to make a seamless tile. I've research it before it found very difficult directions. It's not really all that difficult.

Next we learned about the cloud filter. You can do a lot with this filter. You can make parchment paper.

Cowhide and cowhide in text.

With the cloud filter you can also make a pinto horse hide which we put in a frame around a photo. This photo is of Jaclyn when she was about 2.
Then we learned about cropping using the rule of thirds. Here is my before.
And here is after using the rule of thirds and the custom shape tool.
The girl at the top of this photo is Jaclyn now at the age of 14, the same girl on the pony.
Lastly we learned how to do a quick soft focus effect. This is my oldest daughter Larisa. I took the photo this past spring.

Photo Hunt - Bird(s)

2009-11-20T21:53:00.010-06:00

With my work schedule I haven't been able to take many new photos for each photo hunt theme, this week included. I didn't think I had any "bird" photos in my archives. I surprised myself in finding 5. The first one is either from a vacation to Corpus Christi or Galveston, TX. It was many years ago and I can't remember when or which city. We were trying to do some fishing off the pier and the birds would swoop in and try to steal peoples bait, or pieces of fish that people had left behind.

The next bird was taken outside the window of our computer room one spring. I'm so bad at remembering dates or documenting when I take pictures.
This duck was photograph a couple of summers ago in Colorado; again I don't remember specifically where.
These last 2 photos were taken at the Dallas Arboretum last autumn. I was walking around taking photos of the floral and fauna and this little guy was in my path. I think they are my favorites.

Photoshop Special FX Week 3

2009-11-16T09:31:00.010-06:00

I had to work at 5 on Friday and Saturday so I was able to get this week's lessons finished. Only problem is now I have to wait a WHOLE week for the next set of lessons. *sigh* Unfortunately the instructor has the flu so she hasn't been able to critique our work from last week. The good thing about this class is I'm learning some new things but I know some of the stuff already. I don't fill totally clueless as what is going on.

This week we learned how to make our photos have a duotone effect.

We also learned a simple sepia effect. It looks similar to my duotone effect because of the coloring I used for my duotone, in this case a yellow tint. With duotone you can pick your color; while with sepia you use a brown tint to it.

Next we learned how to put an image into text. I already knew how to do this but I learned something new too! First up is image in text.

The next image in type is a done using a different technique. It's called glowing image text.

The last two examples are ones I did before taking this class.

Photo Hunt - Music

2009-11-13T10:26:00.005-06:00

The way we listen to music as certainly changed over the years. First we had albums; 78 or 33 1/3 rpms and 45's. My husband still has a crate full of 78s. He refuses to get rid of them. We carted them all the way from Michigan and every time we've moved here in Texas, which is about 6 times. I can't remember when he listened to them.

After came 8-track tapes and cassette tapes. I don't remember having 8-track but I do remember having cassette tapes. However I could not locate any of our cassette tapes. Next came along the Compact discs or CD's. We have tons of those, with a wide variety of music.

This photo is just a representation of the music. I chose these 3 albums because I thought their covers where interesting. Also, they were the easiest to reach! The cassette tape was the only one I could find. For the cds I just randomly picked some.

Not only has the way music is produced the equipment to listen to it has changed as well. We do not own a record player but here is a link to one if you have never seen one.

We've had Mega Boom Boxes and small Boom boxes. We've had Walkmans and other types of portable cd players. We've also had portable cassette players but I couldn't locate ours. We've also had portable media players and ipod shuffles.

Photoshop Special FX week 2

2009-11-10T14:37:00.014-06:00

I'm still working on week 2's lessons but I am loving what I've learned. First up is the Plastic Wrap Filter. Here is the before taken in Colorado a few summers ago:

And here is after added a plastic wrap filter and fiddle with it:I'am not too crazy about the after. I may tweak it some more and see if I can make more to my liking.

The next one is called Soft Sepia Porcelain. The photo was provide to us. Here is the after:I will probably need to rework this one using one of my own photos.

The next one is called Faking Holga Images. Holga is a cheap and cheaply made camera. It is made completely out of plastic and uses 120mm film. The camera has light leaks making the images soft and usually has a vignetting around the edge. The picture I used for this is of a bed and breakfast we stayed at in Colorado. Here is the before.
and here is the after fake Holga image:
Lastly is called the trace contour. Here is the before taken at the Dallas Arboretum:

And the after, isn't it cool?
I still have more for this week. I'm off the next 2 days so I'm sure I finish tomorrow.

Photo Hunt - Military

2009-11-06T08:42:00.004-06:00

To see more military click here.

Photoshop Special FX

2009-11-05T10:31:00.005-06:00

I am taking an online class at LVS Online. It is the same site that I took web coding. The class I'm taking this time is Photoshop Special FX. So far this class is not as stressful. I guess it's because I am familiar with photoshop.

For the first lesson we worked on layer styles. This is not something new for me. In fact a few weeks ago I learned on to download new styles and add them to photoshop. However, I with the first lesson I learned how to make my own styles and save them. I also learned other ways to apply any styles. I don't know how many styles I will make up on my own but it's fun nonetheless.

Because the first assignment is on a black background and so is my blog click on this link to see my results. The layer style was to make a neon glow. The second part of the lesson was to make your own style.

Since the next lessons won't be posted until Saturday, I played around some more. This one reminded me of Twizzler Candy. However when I tried to apply it to text it didn't look like Twizzler Candy anymore. So I made a few tweaks to make something that looks like granite or quartz. Even with diffent fonts this style looks different.

Anyway, I'm having fun!!!

Again?!? Are You Kidding Me?

2009-11-03T09:05:00.006-06:00

Where we live all the mailboxes are on the same side of the road. Some, like ours, are just your basic, plain, ol' mailbox. Others are bigger, or have a lock on them. The majority of them are enclosed in a brick structure, like a mini house. Oh sure they look nice if they are in front of your house and match your brick. They mailbox is white brick while the brick on our house is red. I don't think they serve any purpose other than to match your house. The people across the street have this type of mailbox.

There is a big drainage ditch in our yard right behind where the mailboxes are located. Last spring we received a ton of rain. I'm guessing these two things were the cause of their mailbox to tip over. They never came over to tell us they were aware of what happened, that they were having someone fix it or even say they are sorry. Even though it wasn't their fault, the polite thing to do is acknowledge something happened and apologize for any damage to your property. It was several days before they had anyone come out and of course the grass died where it had landed. Because of the weight of the bricks, it made a dent in the ground when it tipped over. Over the summer while mowing our lawn I could see cracks in the bricks and the structure shifting on it's foundation. I would pray each time that it wouldn't tip over onto me while I was mowing.

This fall we've been having a lot of rain. Sure enough it happened again!! Only this time it broke into more pieces. I sure hope they don't build another brick enclosure but I'm sure they will, just as sure as I am that it will fall over again. It's on our side of they road but they have to put their mailbox there.

Photo Hunt Bags

2009-10-31T08:03:00.012-05:00

As soon as I saw the theme for this week I knew exactly what I wanted to post. As some of you may know I like to do digital scrapbooking. I have done 2 mini albums for both of my daughters. I am also working a mini album for a Christmas present. I have also done some pages that will fit this theme.

I'm sure most of you have seen cloth bags at your local market similar to this one.
I found this idea in a digital scrapbooking magazine; that unfortunately is no longer being published.
I have made 3 of these bags. Here is a close up of the designs.
I took the actual photos feature on each bag. The first two I took at the Dallas Arboretum. The sunset was taken at Joe Pool Lake in the Cedar Hill State Park.

The other bag I want to share is what I call my mom purse. I really need to update it. I ordered the purse kit online. However, they too are no longer being made. The website said because the are petroleum based it go too costly to manufacture them. The background paper has the word mother in different languages printed on it.

Cookie Digi Page

2009-10-27T14:11:00.006-05:00

I did a quick mini scrapbook page of Cookie. I must really try a larger size layout. I guess the larger size overwhelms me. I like doing the smaller size; less to fill up!

I like working with grunge brushes. I also found some new layer styles to download. The Photoshop Special FX class I signed up for starts this Saturday. I'm so excited. I will try to post examples of what I learned if I'm able.

I'm off tomorrow so I think I will do some digiscraping/projects. I am working on a mini scrap album for a christmas present but can't post it right now. I'm also working on a few other things and will try to post photos of those projects.

Photo Hunt - Tied

2009-10-23T08:31:00.019-05:00

H-m-m-m what is it you say? Well a few years ago this was kind of popular. You use soft, fuzzy, warm, flannel fabric. Cut fringes all the way around 2 pieces of fabric and tie the fringes together to make things. This happens to be:

As you can see you are not limited to the size of pillow you can make; nor are you limited to pillows. You can also make blankets which take a bit longer depending on the size. This is the first one I made.

I love the fall colors in it. Living in near Dallas, we don't exactly get autumn color in nature. We have to find it elsewhere. Before moving to Texas 26 years ago, Rick and I lived in Michigan. I grew up in East Lansing, home of Michigan State University. Rick grew up in Detroit but, when he was in high school his family moved to Ann Arbor; home of University of Michigan. He went to MSU where I met him while we worked at the same restaurant. Anyway, last year I made him this blanket.

Jaclyn made this one over the summer at colorguard camp. Although her school colors are blue and white, they are the panthers; hence the paw print. Hers is smaller than the others so that it doesn't take up to much room in her gear bag.

We have a few other blankets. Larisa has a pink one but it's in her dorm room. Jaclyn has a bigger one with frogs. She also has a big pillow like Larisa's pink one above. If you are interested in making one of these easy blankets, click here for instructions/pictures. These instructions are for a baby blanket so for a bigger blanket you would need more fabric. I used 2 yards for the large blankets.

PhotoHunt - Free Week

2009-10-16T21:58:00.006-05:00

Yesterday I worked 10:30 to 7:00, went to watch my youngest daughter perform in color guard. Today I have to take same daughter up to the high school so she can leave with the band for a contest in Louisiana and be at work by 9:30. So I didn't really have time to post anything new for this week's hunt. So here is a link for what I had already posted earlier this week. Kind of a cop out I know but hey what can I say.

Photoshop

2009-10-13T08:17:00.011-05:00

I am a member of Dorothy's Photoshop Board. She is having a fall/Halloween contest. There are 2 categories. One is pure photo that fits the theme. The other is any photoshop work related to the theme. You are limited to 2 entries per category. For pure photo I entered these.

For the photoshop category, I used these 3 photos:

And ended up with this final photo to submit. It is best to click the photos to enlarge them.

Photohunt - Sports

2009-10-10T07:40:00.008-05:00

From dictionary.com comes this about the word sports. "an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess" and "diversion; recreation; pleasant pastime"

When most people think of the word sports they tend to thin of football, baseball, soccer, etc. I have two daughters and 1 indeed participated in soccer for several years.
But she also participated in a different type of recreation, horseback riding.
Now she is into color guard
My oldest daughter was into to dance. Nothing says athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess like being a ballerina.

disclaimer: I must state that I did NOT take all of these photos. I did do all the layouts.

More Color Guard

2009-10-05T12:51:00.008-05:00

Here are a few more photos of Jaclyn performing with Color Guard.

PhotoHunt Words

2009-10-03T07:46:00.005-05:00

I didn't think I was going to play this week; wasn't feeling very motivated. Then last night it hit me. My youngest daughter, who is in the 9th grade, is in color guard at her high school. With my work schedule I have only been able to see her once. Last night was their homecoming game. I was scheduled to get off at 7:00. Kick off was at 7:30.

After a quick change of clothes, I drove over to the field, which is only about 5 minutes away from where I work. Snap! I wasn't expecting the line of cars! I managed to park in the overflow parking. I walked quickly to the stadium. Although, I wasn't worried about missing part of the game, I still had to buy a ticket. Snap! another long line! It moved rather quickly. It was almost my turn. Snap! They ran out of tickets! They quickly found more. Then snap again!!! They ran out of change. One of the ticket ladies came out and started asking if anyone had exact change. Finally I got my ticket.

At first I wasn't into the game. I was only interested in the band. I found a spot to stand; too crowded to find a seat. I decided to test the camera settings. I'm not good with night shots. That's when it hit me:

I won't bore with the game details. Needless to say we lost by one point at the last possible second. Since it was our homecoming week and they had to announce the homecoming court, our band didn't get to perform until after the game. Here is a couple of photos of my daughter, Jaclyn.

Sorry this is so "wordy"! If you are interested the post right below is about homecoming mums. Thanks for visiting.

Mum Is The Word!

2009-09-28T13:08:00.010-05:00

Autumn! When I think of autumn or fall; whichever term you choose, I think of cool, crip air. I also love how mother nature has her yearly make-over and changes her colorings.Other people tend to think sports; soccer, baseball (well, world series anyways), and least we forgot football.

Not so much with the NFL but, with school football season comes homecoming. The first homecoming was held in 1911 at the University of Missouri. The atheltic dircetor was worried people wouldn't came to the "BIG" game due to the change of location. The director challenged the alumnus to return home for a great celebration with parades, parties, and the big game!

Here in the South, especially Texas, football is BIG!!! Homecoming is too, and with it comes Homecoming Mums. And just like everything else in Texas, bigger is better!

Homecoming mums can be very expensive. However, in our family, along with our budget, we tend to be on the modest side. The first mum I made was for Larisa. Every year at her dance recital I usually presented her with flowers. One year I decided to presented her with a dance mum. It is of course - pink. Hanging from it are some of her dance portraits.

Not wanting Jaclyn to feel left out, I made her a soccer mum. It is the color of her team; light blue with white.

Then Jaclyn wanted one for her middle school. I don't remember what grade she was in when this was made; I'd guess 6th.

Jaclyn is now a freshman in high school and wants another one only this time she will be making it with her BFF! Homecoming is this Friday so we shall see.

Photohunt - Twisted

2009-09-25T22:37:00.009-05:00

I suppose I could have tried to find a telephone cord to photograph. Seems to me those always get twisted. Only problem is, we don't have any phones with cords; well the kind that would get twisted. We just have a cordless phone and a phone whose cord is just straight.

So then I had to think what to use. Browsing through the archieves yet again - as it seems like I can't get the current creative juices flowing - I came upon these. Back in 2005 we went to Disney World. Being how I'm prone to motion sickness, I have to observe a lot from the side lines.

'round and 'round she goes........

Where she stops, nobody knows!

I get dizzy just remembering! LOL! Ok so maybe not exactly what you'd think of for twisted but it's the first thing I thought of. So, yeah! Thanks for stopping by!

Photo Hunt - Upside Down

2009-09-19T06:53:00.003-05:00

Well this is the closest thing I have to an upside down photo. Our princess diva, Cookie!

An Update on Adam

2009-09-17T13:21:00.003-05:00

Received an email from my friend on her son Adam.

"Thank you to everyone for your thoughts, prayers, and well wishes. They truly helped. The doctor was expecting a worse case scenario with Adam where he would have to replace some of Adam’s hearing bones with titanium prosthesis in order to try and restore his hearing.

Once his surgeon was able to get inside Adam’s ear to see what was wrong, it ended up being much better than he had anticipated. Only one of his bones seemed to be misaligned. The surgeon reshaped the bone and put it back in place. The surgery was expected to last 3 hours (best case) and then another 2-3 hours for recovery. The surgery actually lasted only 11/2 hours! Rich and I were shocked when we saw the doctor walk out. We were anticipating him telling us that is was worse than feared. Imagine our surprise when he told us he was through!

We will not know for 6-8 weeks whether the surgery was successful in getting his hearing back. He will have a follow-up in three weeks and then again a month after that for a full hearing evaluation. If the surgery was successful, his hearing should be slowly returning over the course of the next couple of months.

Adam is doing very well; he is still a bit dazed today – mostly from the painkiller medication he is on. He recovered from the surgery extremely well – was not even nauseous. When he saw us right after he awoke, the first thing he said was “Where is my DS?”

Thanks again for keeping Adam, our family, and especially the surgeon in your prayers"

Photo Hunt - Electric

2009-09-11T22:22:00.007-05:00

At first I thought about taking a photo of all the computer cords and cables that we seem to have plugged into the wall. But then after perusing the archives I came upon these. My parents retired to a golfing retirement community in Florida, even though my mom never golfed and my dad was unable to. Go figure. Anyway they did have an electric golf cart to get around. These were taken over 5 years ago. My father passed away this summer. I'm glad we have these memories.

After view some of the others I remembered I had these from New York City. I can't believe I forgot about them!

Prayers For Adam

2009-09-10T08:53:00.002-05:00

I know I don't have many visitors to my blog and I'm ok with that. If you happen to wander by please read this email from my friend and offer your prayers for her son. Thank you.

just wanted to ask you to say a few prayers for Adam. I don’t believe many of you are aware that he was hit in the head with a golf club this past March. He suffered a major concussion, a fractured skull, and initially facial paralysis. We are very blessed that his paralysis has disappeared, but he was left with severe hearing loss in his left ear. Some of the loss is permanent, but after months of follow-ups and tests, the doctor at children’s hospital feels confident that he will be able to gain almost ½ of his hearing back with surgery.

He will be going into the hospital on Tuesday (9/15) for the surgery. If it is successful, it is the hope of the surgeon that Adam will have only a slight hearing loss, right now he is diagnosed with a profound hearing loss. He should be home that evening, but will be out of school the rest of the week. He will have to refrain from sports, recess and gym for 8 weeks. I think this will be the hardest, have you ever tried to keep a 9 year old boy inactive for 2 months?

And while you are at it, thank the good Lord for all your blessing. Thank you and may the peace and love of God be with you and yours.

Photographic Dictionary: "U" Is For.....

2009-09-08T16:23:00.016-05:00

Unique. I'm nearing the end of the alphabet.

This past June, we had family visiting for Larisa's graduation. Rick had to work most of the time when some of his family was visiting. It was up to me to entertain them. We, meaning, Rick's mother, his two brothers, Steve and Paul, Paul's wife, Liesa, and their son Noah. Of course Jaclyn, Larisa and myself where there as well. Anyway, we decided to take the light rail to downtown Dallas to have lunch at Landry's. After lunch we walked about a little bit. We walked by the Grassy Knoll, The Sixth Floor Museum, The JFK Memorial.

Now I understand that Art is subjective and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And truth be told, I don't know much about designing memorials. The JFK Memorial just doesn't impress me, but hey, that's just me. Decide for yourself.

As "unique" as this memorial may be, it is not the photo I chose for my Photographic Dictionary. I chose the following three. As we were walking along, we came across this sculpture of a map of Downtown Dallas.

Photo Hunt - Orange

2009-09-04T19:23:00.010-05:00

At first when I saw the theme for this week I drew a blank. One thing that popped in to my head was a song we used to use when I taught pre-k. There were different songs to teach my students how to spell their color words. This one is for Orange, sung to the tune of Ten Little Indians:

O-r-a-n-g-e, o-r-a-n-g-e, o-r-a-n-g-e,
orange is what that spells.
Jack-o-lantern's are always orange,
carrots are always orange,
oranges are always orange
o-r-a-n-g-e

Well, anyway, I digress. My first entry for orange is, well, I'm not sure exactly what they are. Next to where I work is an equipment rental place. So it is a photo of some equipment you could rent.

Autumn is my favorite season. Unfortunately, now that we live in Texas, we don't get much in the way of autumn color. I grew up in East Lansing, MI home of Michigan State University. This next photo was shot on campus some time in the early 80's.

Oh how I miss the autumn colors.

This last entry is my favorite. Back in 2000 we took a family vacation that many have taken. A trip to Walt Disney World. No explanation is needed.

Wounded Knee - One Week Later

2009-09-02T14:10:00.006-05:00

Ok! Ok! So it's not about the Wounded Knee Massacre from 1890 but cut me some slack! Doesn't that sound more exciting than tripping on a sidewalk you can't see? It's been one week since my fall from grace; well maybe not from grace but from vertical position.

I guess I smacked the concrete harder than I thought. My right knee mostly looks like it got scrapped up a bit but today I can finally touch it without cringing.

Although, they look a little better today, my elbows show how hard I must have played smack down with the sidewalk. It's kind of hard to tell in these photos but, they were looking mighty ugly for elbows. They are still a tad tender but much improved.

Photo Hunt - Surprise! and then some

2009-08-28T17:47:00.014-05:00

I haven't played in a long time. 2 years ago when my daughter Jaclyn was in 7th grade she went to Six Flags with her band class. While she and her friend were walking around she found a large stuffed Bugs Bunny just laying on the ground. What a great surprise!With my work schedule I haven't been able to play for a long time. Below are photos I would have posted for past photo hunts. Don't feel like you have to look. I just wanted to posted them anyway.
RIPPLES:
This is straight out of the camera. The clouds kind of look like ripples to me.

ARTIFICIAL:
I've never been one to have pedis or manis. I went with artificial nails for my wedding day. I actually lost one but one of our groomsmen found it! I know, I cheated. I didn't exactly take this picture. But since I didn't use it for the actual artificial photohunt.....

LOW:
For our 10th wedding anniversary hubby and I went on a Caribbean cruise. Here are a couple of underwater photos. Can't get much lower than that! These are taken with a disposable underwater cameras back in 1996.

ENTERTAINMENT:
Our border collie, Cookie, loves to entertain herself playing with the water hose. It's also entertaining to watch!

UTENSILS:
This is one of my favorite utensils.

It was given to me by one of my dearest friends, Jean. I sure makes life a lot easier if you a wine connoisseur

Well that's it. I'm all caught up. If you made it this far, I thank you kindly for checking my late photo hunt entries. I hope to stay more current. Happy Photo Hunting.

I Fell Down and Went Boom!

2009-08-27T09:29:00.012-05:00

Yesterday was supposed to be an exciting day. I was helping Larisa move into her dorm room.

Larisa packed the car the night before to save time in the morning. We get dressed have a bit to eat and jump in the car to leave. I notice the gas gauge is reading empty. I had spoke to Jaclyn on the phone the day before. She had something about Rick putting gas in the car. I had assumed they were at the gas station filling up the car. Since the gauge was showing nothing I didn't think I could make to the gas station. I prayed that there was some in one of the gas cans we use to fill the lawn mower. Glory be, there was! The trick was to find a funnel and get the gas in the tank without spilling too much.

We finally hit the road, stopping long enough to fill up. Traffic wasn't to bad, just the tail end of rush hour. Larisa's roommate arrived only a few minutes before us. We thought we had a decent parking spot, turns out it wasn't so great but could have been worse.

So we figure out where to go and start to get in line to check in only to realize that Larisa left her student ID in the car. After retrieving said ID, she gets in line with her roomie while I have a seat on a comfy chair near the check in desk. As I'm observing the procedure I'm thinking they should have planned this better. I overheard talk about how they good hurry this up. They finally produce clipboards so the students can fill out the paperwork needed to receive their keys. Finally we are getting somewhere. In the meantime Larisa's roommate's mom finds out how to obtain a large bin to pack with their belongings to cart up to the 21st floor to the girls dorm room.

So we, or rather the girls, wait in another line to wait for an available bin. Only the student with their ID can obtain a bin. There was also open carts but I was hope they wouldn't get one of those. FINALLY it was their turn. Instead of each of them getting one they decide to have Larisa load her stuff and then put Alyssa's stuff on top.

Larisa and I quickly realize there isn't even going to be enough room to fit all of Larisa's stuff. I push the bin and she pulls her suitcase and backpack both with wheels. As we finally make it back to the building, with a bit of help from a fellow student, I go to take off my clipon shades only to discover that one of the screws holding the lens is about to fall out.

We manage to get in the l-o-n-g line to get on the elevator. There's 2 for the even numbered floors and 2 for the odd number floors. Unfortunately, one of the odd number elevator was out of order. Can you guess which line we had to wait in. (hint 21) In the meantime Larisa is trying to get in touch with Alyssa to let her know about what is going on and that perhaps she should get back in line for a bin. She has no luck getting through on her cell phone. Since we knew where they had parked and waiting, Larisa decides to run out at talk to them.

While she is doing that I am trying to fix my glasses, move the bin, suitcase, and backpack and make sure nothing falls off the top of the bin. I eventually lose the screw so now I can't see so well. Finally, the broken elevator is fixed, and it's our turn. We make it up to the 21st floor, and find her room. Inside is Alyssa and her boyfriend. We quickly unload the bin and give to them to use.

Back when we had been waiting (forever)in line for the elevator they annouce a free lunch buffet. Just before they made that announcement, I was telling Larisa we should take a break, get some lunch and cool off. Since I couldn't see well, I'm nearsighted, Larisa had to kind of guide me around. I told her she didn't have to hold my hand or arm. We had a nice lunch the consisted of a pasta salad, a fruit salad and sandwhiches with your choice of bread, meats, cheeses, condiments, desserts and drinks.

After lunch we go back out to the car to get the stuff that wouldn't fit in the bin. We were able to carry most of everything that was left. Not being able to see all that well and carry a crate full of stuff, I didn't see the crack in the sidewalk and took a spill.

We managed to get up to the room.

Since Larisa didn't get much sleep the night before and after a very hectic morning, it didn't take long for Larisa to wear down. We managed to get their beds made.

And some of their stuff unpacked.

Then came the tears. Larisa at first was trying to hide them. We cried, hugged, talked and managed to say goodbye. Only with a promise from me to call when I got down to the car, ("So I know you didn't fall again") and when I got home. I had to drive with one eye close. I was never so happy to see Eyemasters. I thought about having Larisa drive me around town to see if we could find a glasses store but I decided since she wasn't feeling well and we didn't have a clue where to go, I would just drive home.

Larisa called me around 10:30ish and said "guess what we are doing?" I'm thinking they had decided to go to the block party after all. Nope, they were outside because of a fire drill!

Photographic Dictionary: "T" is for ....

2009-08-24T08:59:00.014-05:00

Wow I haven't posted in almost a month. My "b"! With working and the girls off from school I just haven't been motivated. But Jaclyn started high school today and Larisa is off to college to I thought I would try to get back to blogging. Not that I have that many followers!

Anyway, today I bring the next installment of The photographicdictionary and my entry for "T" is

Tragedy.

Back in March I posted about so called progress in our area; bulldozers knocking down trees for new development. Well, they are at it again, only a bit farther down the road. Sorry the photos aren't better but there was no place to pull off and I had to hurry in case of traffic.

It's just so sad. I can just imagine what the lifetime residents feel about this "progress". The area that I blogged about early hasn't changed, which really doesn't surprise me. Another area to the north of us that is new since we've moved in has a lot of empty homes. I discovered this doing the senses back in March and April. No wonder we have so much road kill.

Digital Scrapbooking

2009-07-28T21:47:00.007-05:00

Haven't posted in awhile, sorry haven't had much to say. I have done some digital scrap booking. I didn't do all of this recently but, well here ya go.

How Am I Suppose To Be Feeling?

2009-07-19T13:11:00.007-05:00

On Thursday, July 16th, my father passed away. He had just celebrated his 83rd birthday 4 days earlier on the 12th. I am, of course, sad but, I feel like I should be more sad. I realize people grieve in different ways.

When I went to my friend's, father-in-law's funeral, a man I never even met, I cried a lot. At a friend of Rick's father's funeral, who I briefly met, I cried a little. Oh I have cried some, but I feel it's not enough.

I think, in part, I feel guilty because I didn't see him all that much over the years. I moved to Texas at the end of 1983 and my parents eventually moved to Florida. I know I can not dwell on the shoulda, woulda, coulda's. Life is what it is.

Another part is my lack of faith. It is something I have struggled with all my life. When I was growing up we never went to church. I'm not blaming my parents; it's just something they chose not to do. After Rick and I got married and had Larisa I decided I would be come catholic. When she was old enough we would enroll her in Faith Formation classes. I didn't want her to feel the lost feeling I had/have.

We have since lost the connection with the Catholic Church. Larisa has found a church that she loves. Her faith in the Lord amazes me. It is so strong. We have attended her church a few times. It is very different than the Catholic Church. Rick really likes it. I like it too but in a way it overwhelms me. It is a smallish congregation and I tend to be on the quiet side. Since I doubt my faith, I feel like a phony. So many people have such strong convictions. I want to have that but I don't know how.

Anyway, "Pops", rest in peace, I love you!!!!!

Photohunt - Rock

2009-07-18T09:00:00.007-05:00

I interpreted this week's theme in two different ways. The first being the most obvious:

This is one of the rocks that borders the bushes up against the front of the house. Do you see the fossil imprint? It's to the right of the hole.

My second rock is not so obvious:

My family IS my rock. They help me get through life!

After visiting some of the other photohunters I remembered a few other photos of rocks I had. Both were taken a few summers ago when we went to Colorado!

8th Day In A Row Of 100+ Weather!

2009-07-15T20:14:00.011-05:00

Well we do live in Texas. We have a total of 16 100+ so far, which is the summer average. I don't think we'll have to worry about breaking the record of 69 days of 100 from 1980. Today it reached 103 with heat index of 105.

Being a pet owner one has to provide your dog/cat a way to cool off. In the past we bought Cookie a kiddie pool but she didn't want to have anything to do with it. But now all you have to ask her is if she wants to be squirted and she runs right to the hose. It's important to wait for the water to cool off before the squirting can begin. It's amazing how hot it can get when the water is first turned on.

I took this pics using the continuous shooting mode on my camera.

Photohunt - Garbage

2009-07-11T12:29:00.005-05:00

I didn't think I was going to be able to play this week. My daughter accidentally deleted my artistic (?) take on garbage. Imagine my surprise when I came home from work yesterday to find this:

It turns out there was a reason for this madness; free food at Chick-fil-a!

Mine's the one with the udders! LOL!

photohunt pink

2009-07-04T06:53:00.008-05:00

I could have gone crazy with pink as Larisa loves pink! I limited it too 3. The first is a suitcase I decoupaged for her. The second is a mini scrapbook page I did digital. and the last one is a quilt my sister made using the same photo. I'm off to work now. I'll visit everyone later.

From My Little Slice of Life.

June 15th 1978

2009-07-03T11:21:00.011-05:00

In an earlier post, I showed my senior picture along with my oldest daughter, Larisa's senior picture. At that time I said I would show pictures of things from that time. Well I haven't found too much yet. I did find a website dmarie.com where you can type in a date and you will get a list of things that happened on that day in history. I typed in 07/15/1978, the day I graduated from High School. Here are some interesting tidbits:

Milk: $1.44/gal
Eggs: $1.31/doz
Car: $6,379
Gas: $0.65/gal
House: $62,500
Stamp: $0.15/ea
Avg Income: $20,091/yr
Min Wage: $2.65/hr
DOW Avg: 805

Some of the top shows were:

Charlie's Angels Three's Company CHiPs Taxi WKRP in Cincinnati
Soap Alice Dallas Mork & Mindy Laverne & Shirley

I find it a bit ironic that Charlie's Angels was a top show that year. Farrah Fawcett, who was a star of that show, died just recently. Also, the show Dallas a big hit and now I live in Metro Dallas.

I guess because I was 18, I really don't remember these "hottest toys"

2-XL Battlestar Galactica Toys Suckerman
Capsela Mattel Electronics Soccer Darci Doll
Easy-Bake Mini-Wave Hungry Hungry Hippos Merlin

The last interesting tidbit that I'm going to share is under the heading of top books. There was only one listed and that was The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson. At the time I had never heard of it. However when Larisa was in going into the 5th grade it was a required book for her to read before school. It was a bit traumatic because one of the main character dies. She also had to read a book about the civil war through the eyes of a 13 year old girl. Two very emotional reads if you ask me, especially to a young girl who wasn't used to such types of reads. Jaclyn had to read it as well. I do think the movie handle the accidentally death well.

I know that I said that was the last tidbit but I decided I would add the tops songs for 1978! Can you say disco?

Boogie Oogie Oogie by A Taste of Honey Shadow Dancing by Andy Gibb
Kiss You All Over by Exile MacArthur Park by Donna Summer
Night Fever by Bee Gees Thicker Than Water by Andy Gibb
Le Freak by Chic Stayin' Alive by Bee Gees
Baby Come Back by Player Three Times a Lady by Commodores

Motivate Your Passion

2009-06-30T14:20:00.014-05:00

Dictionary.com list the following meanings for the word passionate:
adjective 1. having, compelled by, or ruled by intense emotion or strong feeling; fervid: a passionate advocate of socialism.
2. easily aroused to or influenced by sexual desire; ardently sensual.
3. expressing, showing, or marked by intense or strong feeling; emotional: passionate language.
4. intense or vehement, as emotions or feelings: passionate grief.
5. easily moved to anger; quick-tempered; irascible.

And here are a few quotes about passion:

I had learnt to seek intensity…more of life, a concentrated sense of life.
Nina Berberova, O Magazine, September 2003

I believe that one of life's greatest risks is never daring to risk.
Oprah Winfrey, O Magazine, September 2003

Dictionary.com
also list the following for the word motive:
–noun 1. something that causes a person to act in a certain way, do a certain thing, etc.; incentive.
2. the goal or object of a person's actions: Her motive was revenge.
3. (in art, literature, and music) a motif.

Why I am I posting about these words? I love photography. I like taking pictures and I like looking at other's photographs. Sometimes I get SO inspired when I look at them. Some people are so amazingly talented. I want to improve my photographic skills. But alas, in comes the motivate/motivation. I seem to be lacking that at the moment.

My mom used to tell me practice makes perfect. I used to HATE when she'd say that. However, she was right. I need to find someplace or something to shoot. I'm just not motivated enough, I guess, to think of a place to go. I've been to the arbortum a couple of times but, now I need to find a different spot.

I am also considering taking an online course at lvsonline.com. It's where I took webcoding. But I can't seem to justify spending the money right now. Maybe in the fall.

So... What are YOU passionate about?

PhotoHunt - Flags

2009-06-26T20:27:00.003-05:00

I'm sure most of you have heard of flag men for road construction. This sign has been up for weeks but I haven't seen any flag men lately. I wonder if they forgot to take their sign with them. LOL

Camera Critters

2009-06-21T16:50:00.003-05:00

Our dog, Cookie, is a Border Collie. Whenever we use our riding lawn mower, she runs around it, trying to herd it! Here is a little collage of her running around me.

PhotoHunt - Creamy

2009-06-20T08:42:00.003-05:00

When I first saw this on the list I thought, What am I going to do? I couldn't think of what I could shoot that was "creamy". The one day this week I was having breakfast and I said DUH!

Wordless Wednesday #1

2009-06-17T10:03:00.004-05:00

Photohunt - lock

2009-06-13T08:34:00.004-05:00

Well I was all set to post photos for "block" but when I went to double check today's I realized my mistake. So I scrambled around and found these to useable photos. Both of them were taken before digital!

This first one was probably taken sometime in the summer of 1991. For many years my husbands extended family (he's one of 9 and has lots of cousins)would rent a bunch of cabins for a week. Then families could come as the could. We would go swimming, go carting, shuffleboard souviner shop etc. One year the was the ride at the go carts where you have your feet "locked" into the big straps. You held on to a bar above your head. Then you were spun around. It's hard to explain. I can't remember which relative this is.

This next photo was taken sometime in the mid to late 70's. I was probably 13-14 years old. I had long "locks" of hair. I wish I had known about locks of love back then. Whenever I went with my mom to get her haircut, the owner would just drool, longing to cut my hair.

"S" is for......

2009-06-12T17:34:00.007-05:00

Shampooing. No not shampooing my hair, rather shampooing the carpet. I suppose if one was to be technical I didn't really shampoo them but steam clean them. Rick rented a Rug Doctor and did most of the rooms. Then I redid them the next day. I probably should have done them again but oh well. Their tagline used to "Rug Doctor is Steaming Mad at Dirt!"

Now some of you may be wondering why the deep cleaning. Well I don't know about you but, whenever I am expecting company, I do some serious house cleaning. You know the kind, getting in all the nooks and crannies that you hate to clean on a regular basics and nobody notices but you know it's been awhile since you cleaned it last! You just know that everyone is thinking what a lousy house cleaner you are but in actuality you are the only one thinking it. Come on, be honest you know what I'm talking about! And why were we having company?

Unfortunately, the one photo I really wanted came out extremely out of focus. The one were she received her diploma.

PhotoHunt-Advertisement

2009-06-05T13:04:00.005-05:00

Well I don't know if this would actually count as Advertisement per se but when my daughter first started taking dance lesson the studio had some art work on the windows. The Studio has been closed for 5 1/2 years but the paintings are still there. I decided to snap a photo before it disappears. That will be a sad day because there were a part of her life for 8 years.

Mother/Daughter Seniors -31 years apart.

2009-06-03T17:13:00.008-05:00

Over at Photojojo, they suggest a project of making a photo history of the year you were born. I thought that since Larisa was graduating tomorrow, it would be more fun to a history of the year I graduated. I think it would be fun to remember things from 1978.

So to start things off I present Mother/Daughter Senior Photos.

Ha-Ha-Ha! I never was good at styling hair. I guess I was trying for a Farrah Fawcett do. I remember on the day this photo was taken it was hot, well hot for a Michigan August. I was wearing shorts under the turtleneck. I took Larisa's photo to save money because she wanted to get all her dance photos.

Top 5% Banquet

2009-05-29T08:45:00.011-05:00

Last night we attended a banquet for Larisa. It was for the top 5% percent of her class. They picked a favorite teacher who joined us for dinner. For the most part it was a nice evening. Unfortunately for Larisa, we were served pork chops, asparagus, carrots and rice. She did eat the salad and bread. She would have also ate the carrots but they were cold and smooshy. Even Jaclyn thought the food was too salty.

Each student read a prepared statement about their chosen teacher, followed by a comment by the teacher. Everyone was given a booklet with a photo of each student/teacher and a copy of the student's statement. The emcee for the evening was a fellow student. She followed the order of the book so everyone knew when their turn was next.

When it was about to be Larisa's turn, she mentally prepared; only to have the emcee skip her. Larisa's yearbook picture even flashed briefly on the screen. Finally, after about 3 more students someone was finally able to tell the emcee. She said our last name incorrectly, which we are used too. She said Jadyn instead of Jaclyn; which Larisa said later that it might have been because of her handwriting. Then when it was time for Larisa's teacher to speak the emcee quietly told her she couldn't find her prepared statement so she would have to wing it!

Anyway, we are proud of Larisa and we thank all the teachers for their hard work.

Tonight Larisa has the first recital of 3. The last 3 of her dancing studio career. It will be a bittersweet weekend. Tomorrow, Jaclyn has a band solo contest, and a 8th grade year end party. Larisa has the other 2 recitals. She will spend the night with her dance friends. Sunday evening is her senior baccalaureate.

"R" is for...... And Other Updates!

2009-05-26T14:24:00.010-05:00

"R" is for repair. For a while now we have had holes in the screens covering 3 of our windows. It's just one of those things that needs to be taken care but never gets done. Recently we had a few days where it was nice enough to open some windows. Unfortunately, if I opened previously mentioned windows, we would have a family of mosquitoes and flies buzzing around. I finally broke down, drove to the hardware store and bought the necessary supplies. I was only able to replace 3 of the screens because I only bought enough to cover that many. The hole in the 3rd screen was small so I just patched it for now.

Needless to say now it's starting to get to hot to have the windows open. The girls start to complain that it's too hot in the house!

Back in April I posted a Bucket List. One of the things on that list was ridden an elephant. Mindylew over at captured at 1point8 had posted that she wanted to hear more about that elephant ride. I knew I had a photo of it somewhere. Hot Dang! I finally found it. I'm the one in the back wearing a hat. This was probably 24 years ago so the only thing I can remember is the other girl's name is Vicki, I used to work with her. Also I remember it was very uncomfortable sitting on the elephant's spine!
I was going to post something else but will save it for another day.

Photohunt - Book(s)

2009-05-22T22:39:00.011-05:00

edit: I just realized I did the wrong week! Too busy to change and will be too busy next week to play so enjoy!

Books! I love books! Aren't they wonderful? I don't own any special edition books, or old books, or even 1st edition books. But I still love books. This first photo shows some mindless reading from some of my favorite authors that I've enjoyed.

Unfortunately for me I can not read while riding in the car or an airplane. When I was younger I would just fall asleep. However, now that I'm all growed up it gets kind of boring just sitting staring out the window. Then I discovered audio books!!! What a great invention! Cassettes and cd! They are kind of expensive so I try to borrow them from the library. I have bought some on sale or on ebay. I've received a few as gifts.

Other types of books are photo books. Here's one I made at shutterfly.com. The other book is of poems I wrote when I was in my late teens/early 20's.

Now a days the newest thing is a "Kindle". As much as I'd like to own one, it's at the bottom of the priority list. So I have a Mambo Flix instead. Rick travels frequently and sometimes gets free stuff. He received a Mambo Flix and said I could have. The list on the screen are titles of books. I found a website where you can download some ebooks for free but they older books because of copyright issues.

The fun thing about my Mambo is I can also store photos and songs. It may be tiny but it was free and who doesn't like free!!!

Larisa's Dance Pictures

2009-05-19T17:17:00.011-05:00

Here are Larisa's dance pictures for this year. No, I did not take them. ;-) Their theme this year is fairytales. This first one is called Tinkerbell:

For this one the number is called Giselle:

The song for this one is from the group Eurythimics. It is called Sweet Dreams.

This next one doesn't fit the theme. It is because it performed by the Praise dance group - XCD (Xpressing Christ through Dance). The group is performing a number called Hallelujah. They are dedicating it to the father of a family who has 6 children who all dance at the studio. He has been very ill over the past year and is just now starting to get better. The number is performed barefoot but Larisa wanted to wear her pointe shoes for her picture.

The last one is a modern dance entitled Fairytail Nightmare!

"Q" is for......

2009-05-17T18:14:00.006-05:00

Quilt. Continuing with my version of The Photographic Dictionary I am posting a photo of a quilt my sister, Lynda just sent Larisa for graduation. I have been trying to be creative with my post for my "dictionary". However, I really wanted to show off Larisa's quilt. And you have to admit that the letter "Q" could be kind of difficult. The applique on the quilt IS Larisa. I sent Lynda a photo of Larisa that I had removed the background and turned it to black. Lynda enlarged it to use a pattern for the applique.
The fabrics she used represents something related to Larisa.

PhotoHunt - Paint(ed)

2009-05-15T17:56:00.014-05:00

When I first saw the them for this week I need immediately wanted to use. Trouble was I couldn't seem to find what I was looking for. As I was looking through the archives I came across some other ideas that would do. What made locating difficult was the fact that I have pictures stashed away in several different places. To make matters worse, one of Larisa's last English project is to make a Senior scrapbook. She has been scanning the ones she wants to use but hasn't but them back were she found them. I re looked in last box and found the original ones I wanted to use! Larisa had been looking for them too but, now it's too late.

So the first 2 photos are from her nursery in our very first house. My husband, Rick was so proud of his work. I was too! They were taken before we had digital do they are hard to see at the bottom. The bed was just an extra piece we had so we put it in her room.

Our youngest, Jaclyn is now 14. When she was in Pre-K, I was a Pre-K teacher at her school but I had a different class. At the end of the year all 4 Pre-K classes would have a graduation. The 4 teachers would come up with a theme and plan the graduation around that. The year that Jaclyn graduated our theme was "Stepping Into The Future". Each class would paint footprints of the fellow classmates on a white t-shirt and we would print each students name on their print. Since each class has around 12-16 students we had to put some prints on the front and some on the back. The teachers of the older 2 classes worked together. The 3rd teacher and I worked together. The other 2 teachers took over 2 weeks to finish both of their classes. We finished in less then a week. While they painted 1 shirt and all the children at a time, we did one child and all the shirts at one time. We put each child's foot in the same spot, in the same color on each shirt. We labeled the first shirt with the names and then went back and filled in the rest. The first photo is part of the whole group performing on stage. I added an arrow so you could find Jaclyn. The second is of Jaclyn after the graduation with her "diploma"!

Lastly, The Dallas Zoo (and the Fort Worth Zoo for that matter) always has Boo At The Zoo. Here are the girls with the faces painted for their costumes.

As Seen On Oprah

2009-05-12T17:42:00.012-05:00

I have to say I like all kinds of different music. Although, I don't care much for opra or country. I will say there are a few country songs that I like.

I saw these two groups on Oprah this week. I really liked them both. The first group was on Britain's Got Talent. They are called eScala and they play electric string instruments. When they preformed this song on Oprah they moved around a little bit more and used a fog machine.

This second group is from Germany, however the singer is originally from California. They are called Alex Swings Oscar Sings. This songs has a modern swing sound to it. It is called Miss Kiss Kiss Bang.

"P" Is For.....

2009-05-10T15:59:00.031-05:00

Prom and Portraits.

Ok, sorry I admit it. I am a proud mama. This post is all about my oldest daughter, Larisa. Now don't get me wrong, I love my youngest daughter, Jaclyn just as much. However, she will going to prom in a few years and have her portraits taken too. She has a dinner dance coming up and hopefully she will let me take photos then to post. The first few pictures are of Larisa in her prom dress and of the corsage I bought her.

I believe she had a good time but with her cracked tailbone and the late night she was quite tired. She even took a long nap which she rarely does even when she is sick!

The next batch of pictures are ones I took at the Dallas Arboretum on Saturday. Her school will only allow pictures with a drape on the shoulders and tuxes for the guys for photos in the yearbook. So we took these for her senior pix to give to family and friends.

These 2 are her just in a dress she has. The next 2 are of a dance costume she is wearing this year. The number is called Big Fairy, Little Fairy.

These last ones are of a costume that she wore last year. The dance to a song from the movie The Mission. She was the featured ballerina in that number.

We took lots more but I won't bore you, the viewer anymore. LOL!

Photohunt - Memorial

2009-05-09T06:37:00.003-05:00

Well I didn't plan my blog very well. I had already posted some photos that would be perfect for today. I'll post a few more of them and provide a link to the others. A few weeks ago Rick and I went to visit the American Veterans Traveling Tribute. Click here to read more about the AVTT and see more of my photos.

"O" Is For.....

2009-05-07T20:20:00.003-05:00

Overjoyed!!!!!!

I have been stuck on the letter "O" for some time now. I didn't want to post a picture of an orange or the ocean. I've even been scanning the dictionary to try to come up with something. Then I came across the word overjoyed! Then it hit me, this could work. Now I'm no actor and perhaps I don't look so overjoyed but believe me you, Iam feeling very overjoyed!!!!!

The reason I am feeling overjoyed is that Larisa found out today that she has been accepted into the Honors Program at Texas Woman's University!!! And with that comes a scholarship that will pay 75% of her tuition!!!!! Hot Dang!! She is also graduating High School in the top 5% of her class. There is to be a banquet at the end of this month to celebrate this achievement. Now if she can do good on her 5 AP tests she has to take.... She has already taken 2, government and English. I know they are very difficult so even if she doesn't pass it's ok with me.

May is a busy month for us. Well, actually busy for the girls. Larisa already went to prom; I'll post some photos for the letter "P". She has her AP tests. She is doing a dance solo for the choir concert at her school. Her dance recital is at the end of this month. Larisa will be in 11 numbers over 3 shows over the weekend. She has a Senior picnic and her baccalaureate.

Jaclyn was supposed to go to a Renaissance festival and give an Egyptian presentation but they were canceled because of the swine flu scare. She has a band concert, a band tour at one of the elementary schools and a solo contest. The bands are going to Six Flags Over Texas. She wants to try out for Color Guard for next year and she may have to try out for Marching band if she doesn't make Color Guard. Assuming that she makes either one, she'll start band camp in August. She also had her state-mandated tests, The TAKS and will have finals next month.

Somehow I will keep everything straight!

Ferdinand the Bull

2009-05-03T15:06:00.003-05:00

Does anyone remember the Disney story Ferdinand the Bull? It was a story about a bull who preferred sitting under a cork tree smelling flowers than run and fight. Down the street from where we live, I saw a real live version of Ferdinand the Bull.

I just thought it was the funniest thing. The flowers they are laying in are Blue Bonnets they're the state flower of Texas.

Photohunt - Walking

2009-05-02T08:55:00.004-05:00

Here is a screen shot of my walk aerobics CD; "Walk the Walk" with Leslie Sansone. This is from the 1 mile version. I also have the 2 mile version. I like it because I don't have to leave me house. You don't just walk in place. You do side steps and leg lifts, front and back.

Is It Asthma?

2009-04-30T18:33:00.006-05:00

Don't know yet. I went to the doctor today to find out if I have asthma. She did an EKG - fine; no problem there. Had me get a chest x-ray - fine; no problem there. She order some blood work to check my thyroid levels, which I already take medicine. She also is checking my iron levels. She said it might be one of those things, or stress which I guess I have a little bit. She also gave me one of these:

She wants me to keep track of when I use it because she says I'm not showing classic asthma, whatever that means. She wants to see if it's something that's getting worse or what. So we'll see, I have to go back in 6 weeks.

Poor Larisa. She's my dancer. Her dance teacher thinks she may have broken her tailbone!! She was sitting on a cooler with wheels this weekend and some how she fell off. :( I told her I don't kiss boo-boo's on Bo-Bos ;-) She has prom this weekend; if it doesn't get canceled because of the swine flu. She's going with a group of girls. She is supposed to dance a solo during the High School Choir Concert at her school on the 15th. Then there is recital at the end of May. Her teacher has been making her sit out, or rather not dance as I don't know if she can comfortable sit! She can not miss anymore school, so she brings a little pillow and alternates between ice & heat.

Speaking of the swine flu. The Fort Worth school district, which is fairly large, has closed all their school until after next week. Fort Worth is about 45 minutes west of here. There is another closed district south of here about 30-40 minutes. So far there has not been any reports of any possible, probable, or confirmed cases in our school district. Today they announced at Jaclyn's school that all activities will be canceled until May 11. So that means Jaclyn will not get to perform her Egyptian monologue or go to the Scarborough Renaissance Festival. It's quite disappointing.

The City of Fort Worth has canceled some festivals for this weekend as well. The state of Texas had canceled all UIL Sport Activities until May 11th but I guess decided to have the track and field event. I also just read that 130,000 students across Texas are out of school. It seems a little excessive to me.