Snow Pics - Day 28

It snowed all day today and there was no school. The kids were home and it was a bit noisy. So, I went walking in the neighborhood and took some photos. It's so peaceful at the moment. This looked so vintage to me. I took a bunch of different angles, until I could isolate just the swing with the trees. It looks fantastic in black and white too.
This shed with all its neatly stacked wood makes me feel like I'm living in a very cold place. The truth is, it's been stacked like that for ages, and the owner probably only uses a few of those pieces per year!


A lone pine cone covered in the cloak of winter snow.

Schools Out Early - Day 27

Kids were let out three hours early today due to snow. We've been forecasted to have snow so many times and the roads have been salted each of those times, but to no avail. No snow, no flurries, no nothing. So this time, when the weatherman said "snow", the city decided it was a false alarm and didn't salt the roads!! Here's the really funny part. When my youngest was being picked up for school, his bus driver told us that she'd be turning around and bringing him home shortly! Not because of the amount of snow, but because the roads were so slick and full of accidents.

Ah, A Quite Day for Me - Day 26

It's finally a quite day for me. Everyone is back to feeling 100%. Hubby's at work, and the kids are at school. I could get some bills paid, or some swaps done, or some dinner made. Nah, I think I'm going to curl up with my blanket, hot chocolate, snacks and catch up on all my dvr'd shows!

My DH's Other Love - Day 25

P61 Black Widow
When I got married, I realized that besides me, my husband loved model building. He'd been building since he was in his early teens. He's really very good at it. These planes come in little kits as you can see in the "before" picture. It takes him a very long time (months even) to finish it. He's very meticulous in his research. Has an amazing amount of books and reference material so he can be accurate. He's lent his technical knowledge for a book and has contributed his photos for other books. His models, when he enters them, have won awards. For this P61, he even made that cool base using bricks from dollhouse accessories!

My Youngest DS picture 2 - Day 24

My youngest loves taking pictures. He's been taking it quite seriously that since I'm not up to taking pics today, he'll take some. After taking quite a few of these feathers from different angles, he took this one. I think he did a fantastic job. I'd like to enter some of his pictures into the county fair later this year. He would be in the junior junior category (under 10). What do you think?

Substitute Photographer - Day 23

I've been under the weather a wee bit and so my youngest DS has stepped in and is filling in for my photos. He's loving taking pics of everything in the house, including our pet, remington. Rem.'s 11.5 years old, and thinks he's a sibling, not a pet! We adopted him from a pound when he was about 2-3 months old. He's a a lab/shepard mix. Those eyes could melt any heart, especially when he's begging for scraps. We all know it's no good for the dog to have any, so I wonder why he's always licking his chops around the dinner table!!

My Dinner - Day 22

It's a cold 40 degrees outside tonite. My husband wanted to know what was for dinner. I told him, I was having a banana split for mine! A banana split, he said, it's freezing outside. I told him I figured that if I equalize the temperature inside and outside of my body, then I won't be so cold anymore. I got my banana split!!

Bird Food Isn't Just for Birds Anymore - Day 21

We have quite a few birds in our back yard and try to put up various kinds of bird feeders, including, birdfood trays, seed huts, and this woodpecker seed cage. These feeders are always full of bluejays, cadinals, yellow breasted titmouses, woodpeckers, hummingbirds and many more beautiful birds. But today, my DH caught this unusual species of bird!! Quite the gymnast..

Inauguration 2009 - Day 20

What a history making day today is! I live close enough to Washington DC to feel the excitement vibrate in our area, but like most of us Americans, I'm glued to the TV. Whichever side of the fence you were when it came to voting, no one can deny that it is a history making day for us all. Today, race was not an issue, and perhaps tomorrow, gender won't be either. I but pray that in the future, our children won't be burdened by their ancestery, their skin color, or their gender, but step forth and succeed because of who they are!!

In my backyard - Day 19

I love the animals that we have in our backyard. There are a ton of deer at all time, but catching them clearly is a bit tricky for me. I have a ton of pictures of them, but either it's too late at night, or they move too quickly, or....well, you get the picture. These two were a bit far away, but they decided to stand still for me. I guess they figured, with their coloring they probably blended in well enough with the woods. Come spring, there should be a lot of babies around. So expect to see more of these animals in the future!

Swan Lake - Day 18

It's been a dreary day today and I was in the dumps a bit, so I decided to take some pics. to cheer myself up. I'd seen frozen lakes in the area and decided to check them out. So my DH drove me around. Instead of frozen lakes, I found Swan Lake!! A lake full of swans just lazing away a chilly afternoon. I was kind of miffed that all I could get was a far off shot, so DH drove around till we were able to get a closer pic. Sure did fix my mood seeing these beautiful birds!

Bye Bye Christmas - Day 17

It seems like just yesterday I had put up all the Christmas decorations. I could hardly wait, the house was so festive and beautiful. Now, just as impatiently, I could hardly wait for the all the decorations to be put back in their boxes and up in the attic. It should have been taken down last weekend, but my hubby was a bit under the weather, so we left it till this weekend. It didn't take nearly as much time as it takes to put it up! Now I've reclaimed the living room and the outside. It looks great and ready for what this year has to offer. Love it.

A View to Remember - Day 16

For our 20th anniversary, we gifted ourselves with a cruise to Alaska. It has always been my dream vacation and I was lucky enough to have it come true. It was magical and breath taking and because our sons were with us, it was everything I had ever dreamed of and more. Every where we looked the view was awe inspiring, nature at it's most splendid! I took well over 1,000 pictures. I know, that's a lot to some, and perhaps not enough to others. All the scenese are as glorious as this, perhaps even more so in some cases. I revist these memories today because the kids want to go to disneyworld this summer for vacation, but I think nothing can top Alaska for being the true magical place on earth!

My Current Obession - Day 15

This was a Christmas present for my kids, but I'm enjoying it just as much as they are. I've really gotten into playing tennis. I started it for exercise, but I love it so much, that I'm playing it a few times a day. My kids and hubby sometimes even watch me play. My own personal cheering squad! Next, I'll get the wii fit. I hear the ski slopes are quite fun. Only in the virtual world can you ski and stay warm!

Swaps Going Postal - Day 14

I'm so excited. Another swap gone postal. I was up all night and working on them today too. It's so hard to say bye to these pieces. They were a lot of fun to do, as are all swaps. It's such a pressure to start, and such a relief when they go "postal"! Today's swap was for a "Hand Drawn or Hand Painted + Background" swap on ATCforall. Since I will be putting a pic. of these cards on my art blog, I didn't add them here too.

Burning the Midnite Oil - Day 13

Well, o.k., it's not quite oil, but it's not midnite either. It's actually 3:00 a.m. As I've found lately, I've been perpetually creating for my swaps right at the last possible moment. So, true to my pattern of late, here I am. Just barely under the deadline! The best part...it is quite and there is no one interrupting my train of thought...not even thoughts of sleep. Now tomorrow, well later today...I'm sure I'll be taking a nap!

Encased in Ice - Day 12

Brrr! It's cold out there. No snow, but still cold enough to freeze. The poor birds have no water to drink in our yard, it's all frozen, well until the sun comes up, that is. The bird bath freezes every morning encasing whatever has blown into it the night before! My kids have to go out in this weather and so does the hubby. I get to "drive" my youngest to the top of the driveway and sit in a warm car while we read and wait for the bus. Once he's on his way to school, I go back to a warm house drinking hot tea as I look out my windows! If it wasn't for my foray to the bus stop today, I wouldn't have any idea how cold it was!

A new header! Day 11

I wanted a new header for my new blog. I had someone design my last one and didn't know quite I wanted for this one. I am not blog savy, but I figured it couldn't be too hard. I mean, afterall, I just wanted to use one of my pics and not create one from scratch. Boy, was I wrong. It wasn't as easy as I thought. First I couldn't decide what pic to use. I've got hundreds and hundreds of pics to choose from. I finally decided on these four which are taken in my backyard in the winter, spring, summer and fall. My backyard is so full of trees, it's just gorgeous to sit and look around as the season changes throughout the year.

I have photoshop, but I barely know it. With the help of my son, I used the "Paint" program to collage the photos together and than I used photoshop to write out the title. The photo wasn't loading properly, so Sherri pointed me to a utube tutorial which explained how to properly load up my title. Each day I play on these programs, the more I learn about what amazing programs these are. And viola...my new header. All in all, it only took me six hours!

New Santa for 2009

This is my new Santa for 2009. I try to make a new one every year. Try being the operative word. I started with ceramics when I first got into a hobby. I loved painting santas during the month of december. Now, it seems an entire year is needed to plan for this tradition. All the ceramics stores I knew of have closed. At the end of last year, I found a store that had recently opened approximately an hour away from us. Today my husband along with my kids drove me out to it. I picked up this Santa. It's hard to see, but he has a whale in one hand, a pig on his head, and a bear, a rabbit, a cow and a cat hanging out of his bag. A frog clinging to his coat and a lion lying on his boots! I love santas with animals. I'm so excited about this one. I'll put him on my shelf so I can see him each day and hopefully have him finished well in advance of Christmas. One can only hope! I'll post a pic when I'm all done painting him.

Lunch with my hubby and dance with my son! Day 9

Today was a fantastic day. I had lunch with my husband at a local Thai restaurant. The lunch was very enjoyable. I love these quite afternoon lunch dates. While he was in the service, we weren't able to carve out time for ourselves. Now, though, every other Friday, we have these lunch dates. Yeah, I know. So romantic. And Yes, it is.

In the evening, my son took me to his school dance. O.k. I drove my son to his first grade dance, but hey, I think it still counts! We jumped around to "hokey pokey", the "electric slide", and even did the "macarena". My, my, the last time I remember doing the last two, they were in voque and not being played as oldies at the kids school dances. I don't remember getting old, but my music sure did!!

I am balanced - Day 8

Yes, I'm balanced. My checkbook that is! I balanced my books, paid my bills, and organized my clutter. That means, I moved it from one place to another!! lol.

Kids are in school - Day 7

The kids are back in school. Woo Hoo. I mean woo hoo! It's been quite and peaceful and I can actually do a bunch of things with no one interrupting me or breaking my train of thought. I can watch all the shows I want, even see the commercials. I can create to my hearts desire. I can eat all the chocolate I want and not share it. I can, hmm...I can take a nap. Yes. A nap. That's what I'll do!!

Therapy - Day 6

I started going to therapy at the end of last year for my shoulder and neck. I guess you could say I was a "stiff neck"! lol. Actually, my shoulder and my neck have been excrutiatingly tight lately so I finally had them seen. My doc sent me to a therapist. I thought it would be a waste of time. But, it hasn't. I did find out that I hunch like an old lady when I'm working on my crafts, I forget to stretch my neck, and I lean heavily on my left arm as I work. Hmmm....I wonder if that is what made me a stiff necked tight shouldered person! The therapist puts me through my paces first with some band exercises and then do some stretches. Then she massages my shoulder (mmmm....I would go just for this). Then I get iced and shot up with some electrodes. Just a few sessions later, I'm feeling a lot better. I wonder if this is helping or the fact that December is over and I've not been hunched over my table much lately. I think it's those yummy shoulder massages!

Is it Spring already? Day 5

Is it Spring already? The weather has been so warm lately, that not only am I confused what season it is but so is mother nature. My daffodils think so. Some are starting to peek through the mulch. I can't wait to see them open up, but for now I wish they'd sleep a little longer and let it snow enough to make a snowman!!

Creating ATCs - Day 4

The past month has been so stressful and hectic. It's the same for many, I'm sure. I created cards, presents, more cards, ornaments, more presents, baked and shopped in between. Now that everything is finished, this is the first day I've had to create. I created an ATC for an "Eye" swap. I used 5 different stamps and collaged this one. I'm so thrilled with the way it came out. Feels like my muse is back. This was for me. My play. No preset design or rules to follow. I like it so much that I'm going to try to create more freely like this. I'm sure I'll create lots of mud along the way, but I hope I end up with some more of these "free flowing" art too.

clean pantry - Day 3

I love the beginning of the new year. This is the one time of the year, I love to deep clean. Clear out the clutter and start afresh. In that frame of mind, I had the whole family dig in and clear out the pantry. Then we threw out a ton of old stuff (I mean expiration dates on cake boxes from a year ago!). I scrubbed the shelves and then put everything back. Some in the same place and some in hopefully better spots. I love it. My shelves seem lighter and I feel like my kitchen lost weight! It makes me feel brighter and happier seeing this. Makes me want to cook more! lol My DH is thrilled with this side benefit.

Flurries - Day 2

We had the first flurries of this season that accounted for anything! We've had flurries before, but if you blinked you missed the whole show!! The weatherman kept saying this would be the coldest winter in a while for us, the most percipitation, the most.... you get the picture. So far, it's been the most no show winter we've had in a long time!!!

A Chill Day - Playing at Photoshop (day 1)

It's sad to say that I've owned photoshop for quite sometime but have barely tinkered with it. I used to think I was pretty good with software programs, but I know now that I'm stuck in a rut. What I know, I know very well, and what I don't know, well...suffice to say, I've not progressed much in those programs. So this year, I challenged myself to not just be proficient in this program, but to master much of it. So, here on day one, I managed to combine two photos I have taken. I staged the glasses and took pics of those till I liked the way the light shown through the glasses. The bubbles pic was taken at a birthday party for my nephew some time ago. For those who know how to use photoshop, this was probably just a little time out of their life, but for me, it was quite a few hours. Oh, and I loved every bit of it! It was a chill day for us and this was my way of chilling today.