Project 365: Week 4, January 23-January 29

Day 24: January 23

Older daughter has woken up with a fever and a sore throat. We'll see how the oatmeal goes down.

Since we had a sick day, we needed something to do in the house.  Older Daughter decided that we would make paper hats!  I think her fever made her a little more...emotional when the hat wouldn't stay on her head, but I attached a couple of bobby pins and we were fine and happy! 

Day 25: January 24

We brought Older Daughter to the doctor today, and she's been prescribed antibiotics.  Just down the street is the world headquarters for Krispy Kreme doughnuts.  Krispy Kreme had it's start in Winston-Salem; if you're interested I blogged about it here.  Winston-Salem is also the hometown of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco (the cigarettes are named after the city, not the other way around!), Wachovia Bank, Texas Pete Hot Sauce, and Piedmont Airlines (which later became Delta Air).  In addition to that, Winston-Salem is also the corporate headquarters for BB&T Bank, HanesBrands, and Blue Rhino.  Betcha didn't know all that!  ;)

Day 26: January 25

A Day at Work

Day 27: January 26

Here birdie, birdie, birdie!  We made pine cone bird feeders today!  Come and get it!

Day 28: January 27

Older Daughter always wants to play those "claw games", and the answer is always a resounding NO because I think it's a waste of money. In the last month, however,  I have allowed her to play two different claw games. The Santa Claw (you can read about that adventure here),   and today, the claw game at CiCi's Pizza.  Every play is a win at CiCi's!  (Okay, you just win one of these colorful rubber balls... but at least it's a promised win.)

Day 29: January 28

Older Daughter finally was well enough to go back to school today, so it's just me and Younger Daughter again.  I was putting away the groceries and I hear "giggle, giggle, giggle" as she clomps around wearing two pairs of shoes at the same time.

Day 30: January 29

Older Daughter is attending a birthday party at a horse farm today!  I'm going to include Day 30 in next week's post.

Well, here's something cool I wanted to share!  I subscribe to Photojojo's newsletter, and on Tuesday they tell you how to see through your kids eyes.  Which is cool in itself, but you do so using a wireless memory card  that automatically uploads any photos you've taken into your computer just by having the two devices (your camera and the computer) within the general vicinity of each other.  Pure awesomeness.  You can find out more here and here's a direct link to the memory card.

Please take a moment to leave a comment, and leave a link to your 365 so I can visit you, too!  See you next week! 

Skywatch Friday

This week was pretty uneventful for me, skywatch wise.  It's been either gray or cloudless all week, and neither makes for a great photo.  I went out yesterday with the specific idea of getting an awesome sunset, but the sky did not cooperate.  Still no cooperation this morning for a sunrise.

I did, however, find some hints of impending spring.  Despite being dead in the middle of our winter, with temperatures still dipping below freezing... I see a bird's nest and... tiny buds on the trees!

I did get a glimpse of that boring blue sky through the tree branches

Our region of North Carolina can be rather up-and-down with the seasons.  If you missed it last week, I talked about it further here.   Last week, amid the freezing rain and snow, we had a day in the mid 50s, and tomorrow (Saturday) is supposed to be another day with the same springlike weather.  No wonder I'm seeing bird's nests and budding trees!

So as not to disappoint you who are looking for a true SkyWatch experience...  here are a couple of photos I took last August.  I was racing around town running errands, trying to get some last minute school shopping done, and I could see that a storm was on it's way.  The clouds were dark and ominous, and they were moving quickly.  I really wanted to finish the shopping before the downpour arrived.  I was at a stoplight just outside the shopping center, and when I looked up this is what I saw.

This storm waited until I got into the store to begin it's downpour.  And yes, it was fast moving.... it had finished raining by the time I finished shopping.  :)

Take a minute to SkyWatch across the world!  Go here to check out this week's photos.  If you have kids, this is a great way to explore the world.   I love to look at the photos with my daughters in my lap... last week we saw an awesome skyline in the Netherlands, a sunset in Niger and more.  This week I already see linky's from Germany, Singapore, India, Sweden, London, South Africa, Serbia, New Zealand, Poland, Brazil... and plenty from the U.S.A.

http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Treasury: It's Been Too Long Since Somebody Whispered "Shut Up and Kiss Me"

From artwork to jewelry to soap, beauty products,  pillows and more... you can seal this Valentine's Day with a Kiss.  
Check out these awesome Etsy shops featured here!

"If you are ever in doubt as to whether to kiss a pretty girl, always give her the benefit of the doubt”

--Thomas Carlyle

Project 365: Week 3, January 16-January 22

Three weeks into this project, I'm starting to feel a little challenged.  I know, I know, that's the whole point of doing a 365, isn't it?  I have always loved photography, as long as I can remember.  I bought my first camera with my own money when I was six, maybe seven.  It's always come pretty naturally to me,  but this project is pushing me to really look at the world around me, and find something interesting about it.   One part of me feels like I should "go out" and take pictures, but it's unrealistic to think I can turn every day into a photo shoot.  Every picture this week was either taken in our home or within walking distance.  Some photos I'm really happy with... a couple of them... Eh.

I am loving the linky's and exploring everyone else's blogs and photos.  I love that people from all walks of life and all parts of the world are participating, and I love seeing just a bit into their lives.  I love that amateurs and professional photographers are participating, and I'm learning a little bit from everybody.  

Are you starting to feel the challenge?  What are your sources of inspiration?  What's your favorite thing so far about doing a 365 Project?

I'm so glad you stopped by!  If you're doing your own project, please be sure to leave a comment so I can visit you, too!

And on to week 3...

 Day 23: January 22

Me and my girls!  I seem to remember Older Daughter saying "let's pretend to be asleep!" She looks very convincing, doesn't she? 

Day 22: January 21

I'm starting to beg myself the question, "how much is too much?"  While most of my photos are just fine SOOC, I find myself wanting to edit... a lot.  I'm an amateur, and I'm not ready to invest in photoshop, but I do love picnik, and find myself adding lots of effects.  (I should say, that's what happened with my daughter's eyes in the picture below.  They were bright and sparkly, and ended up... not quite natural.)  Anyway, we came upon this tree in a clearing in our woods out back, and I was really attracted to it.  It is huge, and cracked with lots of hollow critter holes, yet it keeps growing more live branches.  

This is the same tree, close up, SOOC.  You can see, it's completely falling apart, yet continues to stand proudly. 

Day 21: January 20

There is one definite advantage to participating in a 365 Project: Younger Daughter is getting more camera time.  You know how the older child has tons and tons of photos... well, when she was born I was still using (gasp) film (!) and have a filled album for each of her first two years.  By the time she was three, I had digital, and I certainly didn't print out all the photos, but I was still printing.  By the time Younger Daughter was born, I stopped printing out all but the best photos (heck, they're all online anyway, right?), and almost every picture had both daughters.  Now, Little Sister is getting her chance to shine.  I've got to work on "motion" pictures, because it seems every picture of her smiling is blurry... but I may love her serious ones just as much.  Here, we're waiting for Older Sister at the bus stop.

Day 20: January 19

Just trying something a little different today... this is at the edge of our woods at the dead end of the street.

Day 19: January 18

A photo a day is not as easy as it sounds, is it?  I took my camera out with me, and my batteries died.  When I got home, I took a few photos, none of which I was happy with.  I spent about an hour editing those photos, and I really just felt like they stunk.  I decided that I just wasn't going to have a photo for day 19.  I turned off the computer, started closing up the house, and decided to take a picture of my Valentine's window cling,  with my (cheap) camera phone, in the dark.  I brought it into Picnik and worked with the color a little bit... and now I'm glad that I took that "one last photo".  Does that happen to you often?

Day 18: January 17

School's out, and it just seemed like the perfect day to have scrambled eggs and toast with my Mom's homemade strawberry jelly for lunch.  Yum.

Day 17: January 16

"I know, Mommy!  You can take a picture of my ponies!  Here, I'll arrange them for you"

Skywatch Friday

North Carolina is known for truly having "four seasons".

Sometimes we have all four seasons in one week!

It's been cold and gray for weeks on end... and then Wednesday....

Ta daaaaaaa!

Big, beautiful, billowy clouds, surrounded by great expanses of Carolina blue sky

Sunlight.  You can see from the darkness of the bottom of the clouds, the clouds were thick and the sun was having trouble penetrating them.

And temperatures in the mid-fifties.  (Although within the hour of taking these photos, the temperature dropped 14°.)

 

Ahhhhhhh.


Wednesday gave me a case of Spring Fever.  We have dipped back down in to the 30s, and they're calling for more (potentially freezing) rain towards the beginning of the week.  Luckily, this is North Carolina.  Regardless of the weather today, it could be completely different tomorrow.  Unless it's summer, and then it's just hot.

P.S.  I didn't notice this 'til I posted my linky, but in the first photo... the clouds look like hands to me.  As if it's two hands holding the sunlight between them (cupped together, like you'd hold a firefly).  And God is saying to me, "okay, here's the sunlight, you can have it for just a minute..."  :)

Here it is again.... Do you see it?

Explore the sky throughout the world... link up through SkyWatch below!

Skywatch Friday

Copy/Paste Valentine's Day Text Art ASCII Holiday Greeting for Your Facebook Status

Back by popular demand!

This is a compilation of ASCII or text art I have found throughout the web for Valentine's Day!  They are all free to copy/paste and share... enjoy!  P.S. Some of these have more than 420 characters and cannot be sent as a status update.  Facebook will give you the option to send it as a note, which can still go into your friend's feed.

This  is more than 420 characters and will be sent in a Facebook "note"

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* ♥`•.¸¸.•´´•:*´¨`*:•.••.¸¸. ´´¯`•♥
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想你░░░░░想你░░想你░░░░░想你想░░░░░想你
想你想见你░想你想你░░░░░░░░想你░░░░░░想你 想你想见你
* ♥`•.¸¸.•´´•:*´¨`*:•.••.¸¸. ´´¯`•♥

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.♥/(,")\.(".)♥★
..★/♥\♥/█\♥★
.♥_| |__| |_ ♥

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(¯`♥´¯) ..♥•*¨`*•.♥•´*.¸.•´♥
`*.♥¸.*´.♥•*¨`*•.♥•´*.¸.•´♥

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(¯`'•.¸ //(*_*)\\ ¸.•'´¯)
*`• …☮ ♥ ℒ ♥ ☮… •´*
When love beckons to you…… follow 

This one was created by Laurel Rose

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This is more than 420 characters and will be sent in a Facebook "note"
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This is more than 420 characters and will be sent in a Facebook "note"
────(♥)(♥)(♥)────(♥)(♥)(♥) __ ɪƒ ƴσυ'ʀє αʟσηє,
──(♥)██████(♥)(♥)██████(♥) ɪ'ʟʟ ɓє ƴσυʀ ѕɧα∂σѡ.
─(♥)████████(♥)████████(♥) ɪƒ ƴσυ ѡαηт тσ cʀƴ,
─(♥)██████████████████(♥) ɪ'ʟʟ ɓє ƴσυʀ ѕɧσυʟ∂єʀ.
──(♥)████████████████(♥) ɪƒ ƴσυ ѡαηт α ɧυɢ,
────(♥)████████████(♥) __ ɪ'ʟʟ ɓє ƴσυʀ ρɪʟʟσѡ.
──────(♥)████████(♥) ɪƒ ƴσυ ηєє∂ тσ ɓє ɧαρρƴ,
────────(♥)████(♥) __ ɪ'ʟʟ ɓє ƴσυʀ ѕɱɪʟє.
─────────(♥)██(♥) ɓυт αηƴтɪɱє ƴσυ ηєє∂ α ƒʀɪєη∂,
───────────(♥) __ ɪ'ʟʟ ʝυѕт ɓє ɱє.

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This is more than 420 characters and will be sent in a Facebook "note"
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 This is more than 420 characters and will be sent in a Facebook "note"

…..*..lovelovelo…*
…*..lovelovelove….*
..*.lovelovelovelove…*…………….*….*
.*..lovelovelovelovelo…*………*..lovel….*
...*..lovelovelovelovelove…*….*…lovelovelo.*
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……………*…lovelovelo….*
………………*..lovelo…*
…………………*…..*
………………….*..*

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———————————♥

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..... (¯`v´¯)♥
.......•.¸.•´
....¸.•´
... (
☻/
/▌♥♥
/ \ ♥♥


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╔══╗
╚╗╔╝
╔╝(¯`v´¯)
╚══`.¸.Your lover's name

Project 365: Week 2, January 9-January 15

Did you have a great week?  

We had a snow event Monday night, which turned into an ice event, and the kids were out of school four days, with a two-hour delay on Friday.  Those of you up North or in the Midwest would totally laugh at us (Monday's snow brought us less than a quarter inch), but it would start to melt and refreeze each night.  

I'm ready for springtime, how about you?

Day 16: January 15

"No, Mommy, Stop! Turn off camera!"  Since Saturday is the link-up day, and I want to link up early, I think my Saturday shot is going to be something around the house with my girls.  (Surprise!)  Anyway, Younger Daughter and I were having a great time-- she was giving me lots of smiles, playing peek-a-boo under the blanket, posing for me.  And suddenly she was finished.  "Turn off the camera!"  She gave me her pouty look and turned her head... and gave me my favorite shot of the day.  :)

 Day 15: January 14

Enough with the snow already!  Even I am getting bored with photographing our weather.  This is the frost that had collected on my windshield overnight... I do love that I can see each individual flake. 

 Day 14: January 13

This is the Waxing Gibbous moon, 63% of full.  (I googled that info!)  We were running errands, and Older Daughter was amazed that she could see the moon in the middle of the afternoon.  This photo is SOOC, and you can see the sky was also an amazing bright blue and totally clear.  It took a couple of tries with my (blush) Kodak EasyShare point-and-shoot, but I did get a totally cool shot of this fantastic moon. 

Day 13: January 12

This morning Older Daughter called me into her room to show me her "vanity".  On her nightstand, she had set up a mirror, her jewelry box, and her chap sticks.  She had placed a flower in front of the mirror, wrapped a beaded necklace around the lampshade, and of course her fluffy purple tiara was there, too!  ♥ 

Day 12: January  11

We've been iced in!  These photos were taken at night, with only the street light illuminating.  I love the effect, reflecting through the ice and silhouetting the branches of the woods behind it.  The bottom photo is a macro of the pompous grass, showing the fronds encased in ice.  It was taken using my flash, enhancing the darkness behind it.

Day  11: January 10

We had a snow day today!  They called it last night, but it actually didn't even start til almost 5pm today.  They've already called school out for tomorrow, too!  You can see by our footprints in the snow that there is really not that much snow (maybe a quarter of an inch)... but things are a little... um... different here in the South.  This is not the first time they've cancelled school for snow and it didn't actually snow...  and we're totally unprepared when it actually does "weather".  And also, a lot of times it's ice, not snow, and nobody can drive on ice.  There's a quote for this photo, you can see it here

Day 10: January 9

Tell me you haven't done the same... I love to read, but I just don't have much time.  I was given the book Eat Pray Love for Christmas, and sometimes I have a hard time putting it down!  For the really good books (like this one), I'll prop it open with something so I can continue.  Here, I've propped it open with my tube of toothpaste so I can read while I brush my teeth! (blush).  I've also been known to prop a book open with a bottle of lotion while I dry my hair...   Tell me I'm not the only one!  I have not seen the movie (yet), but I was talking to a friend of mine about the movie, and I already know that my favorite part of the book was changed when it went to the big screen!  (Why do they do that?!)   Have you read the book?  When Liz is traveling with her friend, and she writes the letter to God and asks him to grant her the divorce (you are a part of the universe, you do matter!) and she spends an hour having everyone she can think of "sign" it.  I love that part, and it seriously brought tears to my eye.  This page I have photographed is the page I'm on now, and she's talking to her mother before leaving for Italy.  I can already tell that when I finish this book, I'm going to feel like I've lost a friend, and long for more... that, for me, is the trait of a really good book.

Have a fantastic third week!

Skywatch Friday

North Carolina, USA 3 O'Clock in the Afternoon

 

This is the Waxing Gibbous moon, 63% of full.  (I googled that info!)  We were running errands, and Older Daughter was amazed that she could see the moon in the middle of the afternoon.  This photo is SOOC, and you can see the sky was also an amazing bright blue and totally clear.  It took a couple of tries with my (blush) Kodak EasyShare point-and-shoot, but I did get a totally cool shot of this fantastic moon.  

I am so super-excited to have found a new meme called Skywatch Friday!  If you've followed me for a while, or seen my photos on Flickr or in my Etsy shop, you know that I have a huge fascination with the sky, clouds, sunrises, sunsets... pretty much anything looking upward.  Two things that always make me feel closer to God: the ocean and the skies. 

This is my first time linking up with Skywatch Friday.  Thanks for visiting, I'll see you next week!

Enjoy other participants in Skywatch Friday here!

Wedding Guide: Personalized Cake Toppers * A Treasury

Your wedding is about you! Show your personality with a handmade cake topper, by a talented artisan following your direction. Each one of these featured shops has it's own creative style, and you are sure to find exactly what you are looking for in this treasury!

Encased in Ice

Cold! If the thermometer had been an inch longer we'd have frozen to death.
-- Mark Twain

SOOC-- I added a vignette in Picnik and then brought it back to Picasa, where I increased the shadow a bit.  This photo was taken at night outside, with only the only light coming from the streetlight.

We've been iced in!  This is a macro of the pompous grass , showing the leaves encased in ice.  This photo was taken using my flash, enhancing the darkness behind it.