Project 365: Days 147 - 151

Day 147: My dog was just too cute when curled up on the blanket after our American Idol Finale Party that I couldn't resist sharing this picture. He was so content to just lie there I hated to send him to bed. Of course, we all know what he was *really* hoping is that some crumbs would fall off the table and into his mouth!

Day 148: I went to see a fantastic stage version of The Miracle Worker at a local theatre. Wow, was it good! The acting was fabulous and I forgot I was at a play most of the time. It was directed by local resident Patty Duke who herself starred as Helen in the original movie and as Annie Sullivan (opposite Melissa Gilbert) in the later version of the movie. Goodness, I was impressed. :)

Day 149: My uncle has been initiating family video chats with my grandmother, my cousins, and us. It's been kind of fun so I decided I should take a "family picture." It's not the greatest picture....so maybe next time I should make them all pose and smile first. lol

Day 150: Happy Memorial Day! I went to a BBQ and truly, only in Idaho do you wish you had your wool coat at a "summer kick-off" type BBQ....it was freeeeeezing!

Day 151: Apparently the lighting was too harsh to show off the true beauty of these flowers....they really are pretty purple tulips that I see on my way in and out of work every morning and evening. :)

Project 365: Day 146

Day 146: Some friends came over for an American Idol Finale party. We were all rooting for Scotty....you can imagine our delight at the results. :)

Who Will Win?

The showdown happened tonight.

The results are tomorrow.

Two young country singers.

Potential stars.

Lauren Alaina.

Scotty McCreery.

Both deserving of the title of American Idol.

Both destined to have their songs heard on the radio.

Which one will win?

I'm pulling for Scotty. The third song he sang....the one that will be his single if he wins? It may or may not have left me teary-eyed..... :) Listen to Lauren & Scotty & see what you think!

Project 365: Day 145

Day 145: After spending several hours editing, resizing and uploading pictures (while watching American Idol), I kinda felt bad for my poor computer when I looked at how many windows were open on my desktop.....I gotta say, I love my Mac! It puts up with a lot of use. :)

Project 365: Days 141-144

Day 141: I went to two weddings over the weekend. The first was Andrea & Mark. I met Andrea when I first joined the college group at a local church. She started the small group that I still get together with every week. We have kept it going even though she moved to Chicago not long after starting the group. They came to town for their wedding and it was very sweet. :)

Day 142: The second wedding of the weekend was Katelyn & Alex. I met Katelyn at the same college group I met Andrea at, but at a different time. She is such a sweetheart and I am so happy for her and Alex! :)

Day 143: I named my camera Charlie. I often joke, when I take him places, that my camera is my date for the evening. I have also jokingly said that I need to get him a bowtie. What never occurred to me until recently was the idea of putting a cowboy hat on his head....my friends assure me he will not provide me with a lifetime of happiness, but for now he is a good companion. :)

Day 144: I took this at my friend Katelyn's wedding over the weekend. These were part of the centerpieces and very cute! :)

Project 365: Days 137-140

Day 137: My work does an event called "Friend Raiser" which is a night of appetizers and a preview of some of the songs from the shows we are doing this season, for our donors, sponsors, etc. We got food donated from various restaurants. I'm not sure where these bread sticks came from, but they were super yummy!

Day 138: This was the venue for the Friend Raiser. It's called The White House and is beautiful!!!

Day 139: Some people gave preview of some of the songs this season. Here they are singing a song from "A Little  Night Music."

Day 140: I decided to test my tripod by trying a self-portrait. I don't think it turned out too badly. I felt like a country girl in my plaid shirt and denim skirt.....so I had to add my cheap cowboy hat. :)

Project 365: Days 133 - 136

Day 133: I went to the ArtWalk with a friend to take pictures of kids from the school she teaches at, and as I was walking down there, I couldn't resist getting a picture of the Resort. So pretty!

Day 134: I photographed a friend's graduation and then we went for a walk down by the local waterfall. :)

Day 135: One of the art pieces that the school kids put together during the Art Walk.

Day 136: More friends at the waterfall....

Project 365: Days 127 - 132

Catch-up time! (note, not all of these were taken on the exact day they are listed under....but they are being shared just the same)

Days 127 & 128: Missed

Day 129: We got a new cookbook from America's Test Kitchen called Slow Cooker Revolution. Our first recipe from the book was called Huli Huli Chicken. It was a Hawaiian chicken. . .and very good!

Day 130: Happy Mother's Day to my mom! :)

Day 131: It's beginning to look a lot like spring! The first BBQ of the year! :)

Day 132: Say hi to Reba!

Project 365 Update

Just wanted to let you know that I AM still doing Project 365...I'm just trying to get all my photos edited. I have taken pictures at several events lately, some work related, some personal, and so I am planning to use them for my Project 365 pictures....but since I took them as RAW photos, I have to do a decent amount of editing before I can share them....and since some of them were for other people, I am trying to do one event at a time with the editing. Soon, very soon, I should have more pictures up here. :)

Book Review: Courting Miss Amsel (Kim Vogel Sawyer)

Courting Miss Amsel by Kim Vogel Sawyer

When Edythe Amsel gets her first teaching assignment in Walnut Hill, Nebraska, she is excited. Now she can prove to her father and her siblings that she can teach! Edythe has great intentions of opening a whole new world of discovery to the students in the small town. But it doesn’t take long before she realizes that the parents of her young charges don’t necessarily agree with her “newfangled” methods of teaching.

Edythe finds a friend in her landlady, Mrs. Kinsley, and in Joel Townsend and his young nephews. Eventually she realizes that she feels more than friendship for Joel, but also does not feel that she could marry him as that would mean taking care of his nephews. Having been forced to raise her own siblings, as her mother died when Edythe was 14, she doesn’t want to, once again, raise someone else’s children. She decides that her best bet is to leave Walnut Hill at the end of her year-long contract, because she knows if she doesn’t, she is going to have trouble controlling her heart.

Will things work out between Joel and Edythe? Or will they go their separate ways for ever.

I enjoyed this book! The storyline was engaging and the characters so real. I felt like I was right there in the little town of Walnut  Hill with Edythe, experiencing the frustration of the parents when they did not agree with her teaching methods, and experiencing Edythe’s frustration when she couldn’t get the parents to see why her methods were important. I would recommend this book and hope to read more books by Kim Vogel Sawyer soon!

**I received this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review.** 

Made My Day!

This is amazing. If you've read my blog for awhile, you will probably remember that I absolutely love Josh Turner. If you've been reading for just a short while you are probably familiar with the fact that I am rooting for Scotty McCreery on American Idol. One reason I like Scotty so much is he seems like a younger version of Josh Turner. This week the idols went to their hometowns and put on a concert. Scotty got a huge surprise. Watch the video to see it. :) This video totally made my day. :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to my mom! :) This was taken in 2008 when we went on a mini-trip to Leavenworth, Washington. What a fun town! Make sure to visit there if you ever have a chance. :)

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! :)

Project 365: Days 114 - 126

 

Day 114: Daffodils in bloom on Easter!

Day 115: Taken on Easter, but too cute not to share! Our lovely Reba girl.

Day 116: Awana Awards night...and boy, those new awards are COOL!

Day 117: No picture, and no terribly interesting older pictures to share....

Day 118: I was combing the internet to find out when I could watch The Royal Wedding (no, I did not watch it live when it aired because that was 1am our time!).

Day 119: Tea & scones in honor of the Royal Wedding. :)

Day 120: I took this on Day 119 but since that is also when I made those tasty scones, it had to wait for the next day. I went to the senior research presentations for LCSC....interesting stuff this year!

Day 121: One of my friends graduated from college and he got to make a speech since he was the student government chairman this year. I thought this was a pretty cool picture. :)

Day 122: Taken on Day 121. A friend hosted a bonfire to celebrate N's graduation...and again, this was a picture that was too cool not to share! :)

Day 123: Awana Leadership Dinner....delicious chicken, veggies, coleslaw and cheesecake. Mmmmmm!

Day 124: My poor tripod looks pretty sad, doesn't it? It has no head yet!

Day 125: Hey! Look what came in the mail! I tripod head that allows me to use the tripod with my camera (like my Rainbow Sandals, In-N-Out Burger & Mac stickers on my mirror? *grin*).

Day 126: Someone brought in some ruby slippers to my work for us to use as a possible prop...I had to try them on. Unfortunately clicking them together three times while saying "There's No Place Like Home!" did not transport me anywhere....because that would be quite a story to tell! :)

*Smile*

Project 365: Day 119

Day 119: I will go back and post the days before and after this one, but I am so excited about this one I just have to get it up a bit out of order. In honor of The Royal Wedding, I made some delicious scones and had some tea!