California Dreaming.....

....except I'm NOT dreaming! In case you notice a lack of posts, especially Project 365 posts, for about a week or so, I just wanted to let you know that I am still taking photos (and lots of them!), but I happen to be in sunny Southern California this week so won't be posting any pictures until I get them home and edited.


Stay tuned...... :)

Project 365: Day 55

Day 55: More snow! And bitter cold temperatures! The bees obviously stayed warm enough because they had a nice little icicle on their hive. I guess they warmed up the hive enough to melt some snow to form an icicle! :)

Project 365: Day 54

Day 54: I went to the local college to volunteer with the area Summer Theatre for a few hours. When I went in, there was a little snow, but not much. I walked out 3-1/2 hours later to a downright blizzard - and had to brush 2-3 inches of snow off my car!

Remember This?

Remember the old building in these pictures?

It's gone.


That's right. It's been torn/burned down and all that remains of the building is, well, the land it sat upon. I bet that building had quite the story. I bet it was someone's house once upon a time. I bet kids used to play in the yard around it. I bet if the walls could've talked, there's some great stories they could've told. Now we'll never know because it's gone.

And besides....walls don't talk, anyway. :)

Project 365: Day 53

Day 53: Tonight's sunset was so beautiful. Thankfully I have a decent camera on my cell phone! :) However, it still doesn't do it justice. Trust me, it was amazing.

Project 365: Day 52

Day 52: I went on a hike with some friends today! It was a bit chilly, and even snowing from time to time, but it was so worth it to get outside and enjoy God's creation and fellowship with friends. I took a lot of pictures, but this one is one of my favorites.

Project 365: Day 51

Day 51: I got a tripod for my birthday and it just arrived the other day. I can't wait to try it, but I have to pick out which head I want, first. The head is kind of important because that is what connects the tripod to the camera! The tripod I got is a Manfrotto 190PROB. I will hopefully have a tripod head and can then post some even better pictures soon!!! :)

Project 365: Day 47

Day 47: This is another one of those pictures I took for a day when I didn't have a picture. This was taken downtown on the lake on a beautiful day. I used a pseudo-HDR action in Photoshop to get this look. HDR seems to be very popular these days but hard to accomplish (if I understand the process correctly), so the action that makes it look like HDR is pretty awesome. :)

Project 365: Day 42

Day 42: I actually took this on a different day with the intention of sharing it on a day when I couldn't think of something to take a picture of. And then I intended to post it on Day 42 but life got in the way and I am just now catching up. But here is a picture of a local Catholic church. It is quite an impressive building!

Project 365: Day 50

Day 50: AWANA Bible Quiz day! This was my 6th year coaching Awana Bible Quiz and it was so much fun! I was so proud of my girls. I've been asked not to share pictures of our Awana kids on my blog/Facebook for safety reasons, but I figured a picture of the AWANA Flags would be acceptable. :) So there they are, in all their red, blue, green and yellow glory. :)

Project 365: Day 49

Day 49: Our dogs love popcorn. Reba (the black Lab) comes out as soon as she hears the popcorn maker come out of the cupboard. Cody (the yellow Lab) prefers to wait (he spends most of his day napping in his crate) until he hears the kernels popping, at which time he pops out and hopes to get some. I decided to aim the popcorn maker on the floor and treat them to some popcorn of their own. Reba was sitting so patiently staring as the popcorn maker was warming up, but moved as soon as I went to take a picture. So I had to settle for this one of them eating their popcorn feast. :) I love my old dogs!

Project 365: Day 48

Day 48: My brother and I made a trip to the local Apple Store (we've been wanting to check it out every since it opened last summer....) and my original plan was to take a picture of that for you. Insstead, I thought these stairs looked super cool and decided to share them instead. They are not in the Apple Store, but they are in the mall that we parked at that contains the Apple Store. Pretty cool, huh?

Engaged: Mary & Damian!

As I alluded to in a previous post for Project 365, I had the opportunity to take engagement pictures for my friend Mary and her fiance, Damian, recently. This was my first time taking engagement pictures.

Unfortunately the day we chose for the pictures was cloudy and a tad rainy at times.....and cold......

But in the end I decided the weather was pretty much perfect...the lighting was amazing and we got some great pictures!

I've known Mary for several years. We used to work together. 

It was fun to have the chance to take engagement pictures for her and Damian!

We might try to get some in the sun someday if the weather ever cooperates....but we're not holding our breaths because right now it seems like it is going to stay cloudy & rainy.

This picture (above) is one of my favorites from the photoshoot. I am so pleased with how it turned out.

We, of course, had to try some umbrella pictures....and I'm excited with how they turned out, too!

Mary and Damian don't have  a wedding date set yet......

But I know it will be a fun wedding when they do get married.

Thank you, Mary & Damian, for being my "engagement picture guinea pigs." :)

And Congratulations!

Project 365: Day 46

Day 46: Time for my monthly picture of the view from our deck. Hard to believe we're already in the middle of February! Everything has been melting and spring has been on its way....and then we just happened to get snow yesterday. Go figure. So I guess we'll always remember the mid-February snow dusting, thanks to this picture. :)

Project 365: Day 45

Day 45: Today got two pictures! :) I go to a Bible Study at a local church on Monday nights. Tonight, being Valentine's Day, we had quite the feast of sweet treats! For the main course, my friend Abe made pancakes so that we could try some grape syrup that he made a few months ago. It was soooo good. I admit that I spooned some of the syrup into a cup (it was pretty thin) and ate it straight with a spoon, after I ate two pancakes covered in syrup and whipped cream. The top picture shows you pancakes, waffles, butter, peanut butter and, in the saucepan is grape syrup, ready to go on pancakes. The bottom picture is included because I thought it worth pointing out that the guys were nice enough to do all the clean up after the big mess was made, too. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Project 365: Day 44

Day 44: My birthday was last Wednesday (one of the pictures I can't find at the moment), but we did not celebrate until Sunday. This is my cake. It was supposed to look like a giant Hostess Snowball. It was really tasty!

Project 365: Day 43

Day 43: I went to a Valentine's Ball with some friends. It was a lot of fun! The guys got us girls each a rose and so we decided it was a good time to take a picture. The four girls in the picture with me are some of my closest friends and we have been getting together weekly for years. But for some reason we have never gotten a really good picture of all of us. So this was the time. :)

**Edited: It was pointed out to me that I did not take the original picture, of me and my friends. So I have edited this post to include a picture of some friends of mine that I really liked the editing on. **

I realize I am missing a few days. I have to figure out where the pictures got away to. I re-formatted my memory cards over the weekend and I'm afraid I may have lost some pictures accidentally. :(

Never Fear.....

Never fear...I have taken pictures over the past week....it's just been busy and I haven't taken the time to get them ready to post. Now I am afraid that some of the pictures taken last week were deleted off my camera before they got put onto the computer. Stay tuned. I'll upload the ones I have and keep looking for the elusive ones.....

Project 365: Day 39

Day 39: I am coaching Awana Bible Quiz and tonight we had practice. The girls are doing well...the competition should be fun in a few weeks. These are the paddles they use for multiple choice questions. In the past I have had to make paddles out of index cards with ABC printed on them. This year they got me four sets of the official Bible Quiz paddles to use for practice. They are wonderful and so much easier to practice with. Next year I'm asking for the official buzzer system for the speed (fill in the blank, basically) questions. (Just kidding!) :)

Project 365: Day 38

Day 38: I had the opportunity to take engagement pictures for my friend Mary and her fiance, Damian, today. Mary is a friend of mine who started as a co-worker when I worked at a local bakery, and became a very good friend. I was excited to get the opportunity to take their engagement pictures - my first time to take engagement pictures! Unfortunately it was a rainy day so we weren't able to get too many pictures outside, but if we get a good sunny day, maybe we'll go back out. I was pleased with the ones we did get. We had short periods of no rain, which was nice. :)

Stay tuned....once I get a bunch of them edited, I plan to share more with you....this is just a sneak-peak. :)

This is just a test....I set up mobile posting so now I can blog on the go from my cell phone!

Project 365: Day 37

Day 37: We had a delicious birthday cake this evening and I couldn't resist taking a picture of it. I love how it turned out. :)

Comments, Comment!

I just wanted to let you all know, especially those of you who have tried to leave comments and have been unable to do so, that I fixed the setting so now you can leave me a comment even if you do not have a Google account. Just select "Anonymous" or "Name/URL." If you are anonymous, I would appreciate if you could sign your name at the end of the post so I know who you are. :)

Thanks in advance for your comments....I love to read them and it helps me know that people are reading and enjoying my blog! :)

Project 365: Day 35

Day 35: Our town finally got a self-serve frozen yogurt shop! I first tried self-serve frozen yogurt this past summer when I was in California. I have been eagerly anticipating the opening of this local shop. There is actually another shop opening next month, too! So much yogurt! :) I decided to try four of the ten flavors: Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, Strawberry Banana, Peach and Toffee. Weird combo, I know, but I wanted to try everything! I got strawberries, skittles, nerds, whoppers, etc. on top. So good! I can't wait to go back!! :)

By the way, I decided not to try the bacon bits topping. What do you think? Do bacon bits belong on frozen yogurt? Should I try it next time? Leave your thoughts in a comment.

Project 365: Day 36

 Day 36: I took a bunch of pictures today, but I think I will save most of them for some day when I am not sure what else to post. But this is an old abandoned building that my mom noticed and suggested I take a picture of. The above picture is the original. Below are my edited versions. I figured I'd share all three versions of this picture. :) I can't figure out how to post two pictures side by side like I want to, but I'll keep researching. :) Happy Sunday!

Which version do you like best? Leave your thoughts in a comment. :)

CD Review: "Hymned No. 1" by Bart Millard

Every month I check out Amazon's $5 mp3 albums. Sometimes they have some really good deals and although I don't buy very many of them, I have bought several albums when they have been on the $5 sale as it is generally much cheaper, in that instance, to buy the entire album than to buy the songs individually for 99-cents each!

Normally there are only 100 albums available each month on the $5 special. During the month of January there were 1000! I happened to see Hymned, No. 1 by Bart Millard on the list. I had received a free download of his version of "Power in the Blood" a few months back and loved it, so when I saw the album for $5 and listened to the previews, I knew it would be good. Apparently this CD has been out since 2005 so I don't know how I missed it until now, but I the good news is now I know about it. :)

For those of you who don't know who Bart Millard is, he is the lead singer for the widely-popular Christian music group MercyMe (who I happened to see live in concert last spring at the Rock & Worship Roadshow). If you've ever heard the song "I Can Only Imagine," that is who wrote it/sings it. Anyway, I downloaded the mp3 album, and I love it. The arrangements are, to me, excellent.

Here's the track listing (I linked to all the ones I could find on YouTube):

1. Just a Closer Walk With Thee
2. Mawmaw's Song (In The Sweet By & By)
3. Pass Me Not, Oh Gentle Savior
4. Have a Little Talk With Jesus
5. Take My Hand, Precious Lord (one of my favorites on the album)
6. Softly and Tenderly
7. Sweetest Name I Know
8. Power in the Blood
9. My Jesus I Love Thee/Tis So Sweet
10. The Old Rugged Cross

I encourage you to check out Hymned, No. 1 by Bart Millard. And if Hymned Again (a follow-up CD) ever goes on sale, I bet you'll see a review on that album, too, someday. :)

Project 365: Day 34

Day 34: I have been taking a weekly ballroom dance class. I keep forgetting to take a picture at the class (I remembered on my way home tonight)....so I took a picture of my new-to-me ballroom dance shoes! I found these at a thrift store for $10 and they normally sell for $50! They are real ballroom shoes, complete with the leather sole and a heel. They work great - I tested them at class tonight! :)

Project 365: Day 33

Day 33: I have a confession to make: I forgot to take a picture on Day 33. BUT....I took this picture the next day, of a hat that I bought on Day 33. I realized at 12:04 (or so) on Day 34 that I forgot to take a picture yesterday. So I made up for it today. I got this cute hat and some other cute winter accessories at JCPenney on their clearance table. The hat was only $1.97! I also got some fuzzy gloves (also $1.97 per pair!) and a scarf.

Project 365: Day 32

Day 32: I work in the Awana program at a local church. I am a secretary for the 3rd-6th grade girls. I love working in Awana, as I was in Awana from the age of 3 through my high school graduation. I love making a difference in the lives of the kids who come to the program. I am also the Bible Quiz coach for the girls and have been having fun with our weekly practices lately.

Project 365: Day 31

Day 31: Tonight after college group I went to Pizza Hut with a few of my friends. We had fun eating pizza and having good conversation. And it was much warmer inside the restaurant than it was outside, wich was definitely a good thing! :)

I am quite excited to say that I have made it to the end of my first month of Project 365. I am 1/12 of the way finished. It's only about 8%, but hey, it's a start! I'm taking things one month at a time and am excited that I have made it a month without missing a single day. :)