For One Moment

Day 8 - Steampunk Goodness!

2011-12-10T01:25:00.001-05:00

Here's my low key version of steampunk. I really don't have any steampunk stamps...so this one sent me digging in my stash and pulling boxes and boxes of stamps out of the closet. By the time I got through tonight I only had a little area big enough to lay the tag left to work in. But it's all cleaned up now!

I cut the big gear out with cardstock the Cricut from the Accent Essentials cartridge. The little gears is from the Artful Muse Textures Trades. I used Hero Arts Embossing Powders and made them look like rusty metal.

All the stamps are from Just For Fun except for the spatter stamp and it is from Imaginations and I have had it for years. It is my most favorite stamp and I would be lost without it. I used a portion of a 7Gypsies ticket and stapled it at the top using my version of the tiny attacher that I've had for years and years. In fact I still have a BIG supply of the original staples for it too.

Tonight's Supplies

Stamps by Just For Fun and Imaginations
Tim Holtz Ruler for spacing piercing
Hero Arts and All Night Media Embossing Powders
Distress Inks
Marvy Matchable Inks
ColorBox black pigment ink
ColorBox embossing pad
Tiny stapler
Tiny toy watch gears
ribbons from my stash
Holly Berries from Michaels
Artful Muse Texture Trade
Nostalgiques Aphabet Sticker
Glossy Accents
Rollabind disks
Heart Button Charm
Sprig of juniper from my yard

Too Many Late Nights are Catching up with me...

2011-12-08T23:13:00.001-05:00

Well, tonight's attempt at making gears and sprockets from chipboard on the Cricut was a dismal failure. AHHH well, tonight I'll get a good night's sleep and come back and tackle it tomorrow. I think I'll opt for a heavy cardstock instead and layer it up with pop-dots to give it the dimensional feel.
Looking forward to seeing Tim, Ted and Michelle's tags in the morning...and checking out all the kewl blogs and tag inspirations that everyone is posting.
Until tomorrow! Rest well my cyber friends!

Day 7 - 12 Tags of Christmas

2011-12-07T22:45:00.001-05:00

Loving the colors and textures of Day 7! Again I had to improvise as I didn't have most of the ingredients for this one. I'm really liking this one, as I love greens and browns.

I didn't have any kraft glassine so I used a buff colored Parchment Vellum from Marco Paper and used the Distress Inks. Turned out better than I thought it would. The vellum is very crinkly and stiff ...not sure what the glassine would be like as I've never tried it. The vellum worked pretty good for this though.

I don't have a holly leaves die...so I freehand cut some holly looking leaves.

I inked a tag with Distress inks...well actually it took me 3 tags to get one just the way I wanted it.

Tonight's Supply List

#8 Tag
Buff colored Parchment Vellum from Marco Paper
Winter Birds stamps by Inkadinkado
Crackle Cube by Stampers Anonymous
Script Stamp by Just For Fun
Flourish #2 die by Sizzix
Gold Cremcoat paint
Distress Inks in Vintage Photo, Old Paper and Antique Linen and and Distressing tool
Adirondack Inks in Lettuce, Butterscotch and Bottle and Blending Solution
ColorBox black pigment inkpad
Black Embossing Powder
Glossy Accents
White Scribbles dimensional paint and white glitter glue
Little bits of lace and trim from my stash

Day 6 - 12 Tags of Christmas

2011-12-07T22:43:00.001-05:00

Placeholder for Day 6.
I still can't decide how I want to do the metal tag....SO I'll skip if for now and come back to it.

Day 5 - 12 Tags of Christmas

2011-12-06T23:27:00.001-05:00

I'm really loving the look of the snowflake stamps and die cuts. Don't know why since I really don't like the cold or the snow and I don't expect to see any here in Central Florida any time soon! Something about Snowflakes gives me that cheery Holiday feeling.

I still didn't manage to catch up tonight, but at least I am not getting any further behind!!

Not a big list of supplies tonight, as it did not take a lot of different supplies to make this one.

Clear plastic packaging, cut into a tag and white gloss cardstock cut into tag shape to be layered under the plastic tag.

Adirondack Inks: Butterscotch, Cranberry, Wild Plum and Lettuce

Black archival inkpad. (Forgot to put the inkpad and a couple of inks in the picture)

Snowflake stamps from Just For Fun...and I forgot to put the largest one in the shot.

Glossy Accents

Brass Foil Tape and Brass colored wire.

Old gold trims from my stash

Lucite Shapes...not sure of the company on these particular ones. I've got them from 3 companies over the years and have a large stash of them. I know some of them came from Just For Fun.

This is a shot of the ornaments after they have been adhered inked side down and before I peeled the protective paper cover.

...and a shot of the card by itself before I started adding all the embellishments. It was almost a shame to even add anything to it, as I really loved it just like that!

Day 4 finished!!! Still trying to catch up!

2011-12-05T23:28:00.001-05:00

Whew! Day 4 is done! This one took me a bit longer as I had to let the Crackle dry. The Glossy Accents were not quite dry, but they were dry enough to assemble and photograph. I think I made the layer a bit too thick, but I was trying to speed things along rather than put a couple of thinner layers. I love the blue and silver! Here are a couple of close- up views.

...and a behind the scenes, in progress shot.

...and now for the supply list!

I cut the snowman out of chipboard using the Cricut and the Plantin Font cartridge, building him from circles and shapes and the letter Z! I don't think he turned out to bad at all!

Inks: Brilliance in Plantinum Planet, Moonlight White and Mediterranean Blue. Distress Inks in Vintage Photo and Old paper (to age the music scrap behind the number 25), and ColorBox in Aqua.

Rock Candy Crackle Paint, US ArtQuest mica flakes, US ArtQuest Glossy PPA, 2 largest snowflakes from Just For Fun and one tiny sprinkle one that doesn't have a name on it.

Various trims from my stash, and Silver DMC Floss.

White acrylic paint, and various white, silver and blue re-inkers for layering of background.

NOW, to finish cleaning up my mess and put the last little bits away. I think I need to clean the glue off the side of my mouse too! LOL!

I'll be back again tomorrow to do this all over again. I still have to do Day 5, and Day 6 will be posted by the morning. I need to get hopping, so I don't get too far behind!!

Day 3 Complete!!

2011-12-04T23:08:00.001-05:00

I didn't want to fall too far behind, so I was glad to finally have a chance to sit down and work on Day 3. I didn't have any of the stamps, embossing folders or dies that Tim used...so again I improvised.

Tonight products included several Christmas Stamps from Just For Fun

Distress Inks in Old Paper and Vintage Photo

Adirondack Inks in Butterscotch and Cranberry

Brilliance Inks in Green, Blue and White

ColorBox inks in Red and Black

Glossy Accents and some bling

1/2" hole punch

An old jingle bell and some some gold and white twine from my stash

The Flourish was cut with na MFT Flourish Die-namics die and I hand cut the holly leaves from green cardstock.

I dyed some lace with Distress Ink Vintage Photo and used another snippet of juniper from my yard.

It didn't take to long to make and I love the simplicity of it.

I was still been able to keep up with Mario and his Behind the Scenes posts while I worked AND I made my own little behind the scenes photo. LOL I managed to get just a BIT INKY!!

Busy, Busy Weekend - with no time to play!

2011-12-04T19:59:00.001-05:00

Had LOTS to do this weekend so I didn't get to sit and play as much as I wanted. I did go out shopping and used some Bonus Cash Coupons from Michael's and got another storage cube to add to my space and a few other little odds and ends.

I was hoping for a Tim Holtz die or two but the ones I wanted were out of stock. Instead I borrowed my sister's Cricut Expression, the Craft Room software and the Plantin SchoolBook Font Cartridge I recreated the Snowman Alterations Die. Don't think I did too bad!! Now to see if I can play some tonight and try to catch up a bit. I still need to do a tag for Day 3 and Day 4 and it already time for Behind the Scenes for Day 5. ACKK!!!

Day 2 - 12 Tags of Christmas

2011-12-03T19:59:00.001-05:00

Didn't have a Reindeer die...went with one of his alternative tags ideas and made some snowy pines.

Day #2 Supplies

Inks: Brillance White - Color Box Aqua - Color Box Greenery - Distress Ink Antique Photo
Stamps - Pine Tree and Pine Branch by Just for Fun
Glossy Accents, White embossing Powder
White Pinata Paint, White Brilliance re-inker
White Scribbles Paint, Sheet Music
Shimmering H2Os Shimmering Mist in I-Gold
Gold Ribbon and Burlap for trim, Grunge Board scraps for snow
No Hammer snaps

Day 1 - 12 Tags of Christmas

2011-12-03T19:55:00.001-05:00

I'm trying to play along with Tim Holtz and his 12 Tags of Christmas. Here's my go at Day #1

Here is my version of Day 1 of Tim Holtz’s 12 Tags of Christmas.

I didn’t have any of the things he used, but I think I managed to improvise fairly well.

This is what I used to recreate Tim Holtz 12 Tags of Christmas - Day #1: H2O's Shimmering Mists in Golds, Sky Blue and Irish Mist, Ceramcoat white acrylic paint, light blue Carnival card stock, green card stock,... Tim Holtz Grungeboard alphabet, old sheet music, pinecone and berry trim that I've had forever, Sizzix snowflake die and snowflake embossing folder. Antique Photo Distress Ink,

All Night Media Satin Pearl embossing powder and MFT Flourish Die-namic.

I dyed some white lace with the shimmering mists, dug in my stash for a couple of glass baubles and picked a sprig of juniper out of my yard.

WHEW LOL I think that lists everything I used. OH...I used the Vagabond and Cuttlebug to cut my dies.

Stacey driving Amphibicar

2011-04-14T21:33:00.003-04:00

Sunnyland Classic Boat Show

Gatorland

2010-03-20T22:49:00.003-04:00

It was a beautiful day first day of Spring. I celebrated by heading to Gatorland and the Bird Rookery for the morning.

2009-09-07T22:24:00.000-04:00

New shot of Tori and her new "do"!

Purple

2009-09-04T16:50:00.002-04:00

Tori gets a new hair color.

Looks like we have a new family member...

2009-09-04T16:31:00.001-04:00

LuLu and Tori

2009-08-27T15:55:00.002-04:00

Create Fake Magazine Covers with your own picture at MagMyPic.com

Sneakers

2009-07-21T22:30:00.002-04:00

Work

2009-07-21T16:07:00.001-04:00

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T19:03:00.000-05:00

Megacon!

2008-03-09T10:56:00.008-04:00

Tori

2008-02-24T22:02:00.002-05:00

Momma Cat

2007-12-29T19:02:00.000-05:00

2007-12-16T10:03:00.000-05:00

Christmas Concert

2007-12-13T21:23:00.000-05:00

Growing up!!!

2007-12-11T21:04:00.000-05:00

Mariah's First Car

2007-11-04T19:40:00.001-05:00

Waukegan Illinois Harbor

2007-10-06T17:17:00.000-04:00

Finally!!! Time out to play!!

2007-09-23T16:02:00.000-04:00

It's been ages since I got out and played with my camera. Between the HOT and HUMID weather...or the pouring down rain it has just not been good shooting weather. Went out for a couple walks this week and got a few pix that I like.

Took this one today along the edge of one of our local lakes...

Tri-Color Heron in non-breeding plumage...

Here's a couple from last weekend's outing:

Black Vultures Sunning

Snowy Egret

My little girl is growing up....

2007-08-26T12:57:00.000-04:00

Can't believe she is in High School already. We spent the day yesterday shopping for some cute teen clothes. This is her first year not wearing school uniforms and we had so much fun shopping. She got contacts this summer...so glasses are a thing of the past too. So many changes this year and it is so good to see her growing up and handling them so well. Have a GREAT YEAR, my (still) baby girl!!!

Play me a song...

2007-08-06T23:17:00.000-04:00

I've really wanted to get some shots of Mariah playing her guitar. Took a couple shots last night...then tonight I felt like playing in Photoshop...so here she is.

More Butterflies!!!

2007-07-07T23:20:00.000-04:00

Another trip to the Lukas Butterfly Encounter today, and it was a HOT one. I may just have to wait until Fall or Winter before I go again.

I got a new lens, a Canon 100mm 2.8 macro and was itching to try it out. It's going to take a bit of getting used to as the DOF is so shallow when working with macro, but it is VERY sharp and I think I am going to LOVE it!

Fireworks!!!!

2007-07-05T18:40:00.000-04:00

Hope everyone had a fun-filled 4th of July! Here's just a few of the fireworks shots that I got last night. Spent the day with friends and family, and although I took the camera, I didn't even take it out once. Just spent the time enjoying the moment!

Lukas Butterfly Encounter

2007-06-02T19:50:00.000-04:00

Took a trip to Oviedo today to the Lukas Butterfly Encounter. We saw lots of beautiful butterflies and flowers. It was very hot and humid and the butterflies were quite active. We got to see newly hatched butterflies and lots of caterpillars. It as a fun place, easy to get to, and one that we will surely go to again.

Music play....

2007-06-01T23:14:00.001-04:00

Osprey

2007-05-31T21:42:00.000-04:00

We have a pair of Ospreys that like to sit in a tree outside our 5th story windows. Today one of them decided to have lunch. He must have been MIGHTY hungry as the fish was almost bigger than he was...and it definitely had to have weighed more!

Mariah

2007-05-28T20:00:00.000-04:00

Stacey

2007-05-23T09:50:00.001-04:00

Tori

2007-05-22T20:51:00.001-04:00

Brooklyn Bridge

2007-04-29T21:20:00.000-04:00

Starting to work my way thru NYC trip last month. Here's a collage of a few shots from the Brooklyn Bridge.

Dwayne's New Ride

2007-04-26T20:57:00.001-04:00

The Brick Wall...

2007-04-22T22:13:00.000-04:00

Tori and I had fun taking pictures today...

James and the Giant Peach

2007-04-22T21:47:00.000-04:00

My daughter performs at the local theater. This weekend they did James and the Giant Peach. Here are a few to start. I'll add more as I get them processed. Mariah played the Ladybug.

Spring Break '07

2007-04-15T21:57:00.000-04:00

The kids had a blast this week doing different parks and activities...
We went to the Science Center...the Lowry Zoo and TWO trips to Cypress Gardens.

...a few more from NYC

2007-04-08T21:14:00.000-04:00

The city is full of interesting characters...

Looking UP at the glass elevators in the Marriott Marquis. We stayed on the 28th floor. This is the view looking up from the lounge on the 8th floor.

...a B/W conversion of a busy Times Square corner.

In the tunnels leading to Grand Central Station...

...a Street Sweeper. We saw a few of these on our rainiest day there. They keep the water shoved to the side of the street and into the gutters..

More NYC!!!!

2007-03-28T21:25:00.000-04:00

More from NYC!! These are going to be in no particular order...I'm just going to post them as I look at them.

Pretty lamp in the lounge at the hotel

Newstand on the street...

World Trade Center site...

Standing in the middle of Times Square at 2am!!!!

New York! New York!!!!

2007-03-28T21:01:00.000-04:00

Met Dee and Melinda in New York City for the weekend. We had SO MUCH FUN! Here's a few from Thursday...our first day there.

First...just a shot from my airplane window. Loved the little puffy clouds...

Pigeons in the snow...

Radio City Music Hall...

Top of the Rock sign...

Dee...

View of the city and Empire State building from the top of the Rock...

Cool visual effects on the see thru top of the elevator ride to the of the Rock...

Flowerstand on the street on our way back from the Rock...

The view from our room...the Marriott Marquis on Times Square...

Ice skating rink at Rockerfeller Center...

Lunchtime break....

2007-03-15T22:20:00.000-04:00

Took a little break at lunchtime yesterday. The weather was beautiful and I needed some time to relax and recharge before the afternoon...so I drove along one of the local lakes. Stopped at the one little pull off area that is not posted Private and caught a couple shots.

...a little cypress tree...trying to be a bonsai

Three ibis' in a row. I would have loved to have gotten a better shot but they were on private property, so I had to shoot from the right of way...

This lovely little flower was one of many in the wet sands along the water's edge. I saw it had a little visitor...

Day out with the girls...

2007-03-10T21:23:00.000-05:00

It was a beautiful day here in Florda. My son was camping with the Boy Scouts...so the girls and I headed off to the local zoo.

This little cowbird met us as we arrived...

Tori had to pose with her "monkee brothers" as she likes to say.

These flowers were in the butterfly garden. The blue ones looked painted in air.

The puma was enjoying the shade. I wish I could have made the cage disappear better but because of fences couldn't get in the right position.

Came home and headed to one of the local parks along a lake. This Great Blue Heron was just hanging around so he could pose for me.

...all in all we had a wonderful day!

Five in a row...

2007-03-09T22:16:00.001-05:00

Egret in the evening....

2007-03-09T06:47:00.000-05:00

Stopped at a little dock on the way home and captured this shot. I liked how he was standing so serenely there on just one leg.

Osprey and Sunset...

2007-03-04T21:12:00.000-05:00

I snuck out for a bit this evening at it was getting dark. This pretty osprey was nice enough to pose for me before it got too dark. Then I went on down the road to another pier and got a shot of the sunset.

...just Florida sites and wildlife

2007-03-02T23:13:00.000-05:00

The near full moon was looked so neat in the evening sky a couple of days ago. I snagged this one about 5pm as I walked out to my car after work. I just liked the way it looked between the tall palms.

Drove by one of my favorite bird hangouts on my way back from lunch today. These cormorants were just hanging out. There were 4 in a row when I drove up ...but of COURSE one had to hop down into the water before I could fire off a shot. The others hung around long enough for me to grab a couple shots and then they all starting hopping down into the water until they left one lone fella on the dock.

Osprey feeding time...

2007-02-28T22:43:00.000-05:00

Just a little shot from out the window at work today. This osprey was enjoying his dinner and had stopped for a break. You'll notice he still has his fish clutched in his claws.

Carnival Revisited...

2007-02-25T17:50:00.000-05:00

Had to man the Girl Scout cookie booth...but did escape to grab a couple daytime shots.
Ferris wheel by day...

...a couple of other rides.

Love Bug the clown. She is a friend of ours.

...and what is a carnival with out silly souveniers?

...and my son Stacey coming down the Super Slide.

...canoes waiting by the side of the lake.

...and we came home to find this parade going across the street in front of our house. There was about 2 dozen of them. Happened to have the camera in the seat by me...so stopped and took a shot. They flew off when I had to take the corner and come on down the street.

George Fest Parade

2007-02-24T12:53:00.000-05:00

My goodness...two posts in one day, and probably more before the day is over. I'm home on a break between the parade and our turn to run the Girl Scout cookie booth.

Everone loves a hometown parade so here's a sampling from the Georgefest Parade this morning

No parade is complete without ...Flag Corps

...a King and Queen

Grand Bahia with Kissing Camels, Motorcycles and Funny Cars:

Clowns and MORE clowns...

Pretty Horses and wagons...

...interesting characters

Red Hat ladies...

Tricycle Brigade...

Ronald McDonald...

...the High School Marching Band

and you HAVE to have Baton Twirlers!

Don't forget the balloons!!!

...and a last glance down the road after the parade is over and the crowds have left...

Saturday! ...just trying to catch up.

2007-02-24T09:13:00.000-05:00

Been a long, long week with sick kids and a VERY tired me. Today was the first day I've slept late in I don't know how long. I could still use some more to catch up...but there are places to go and things to do.

My youngest is selling Girl Scout cookies at a local festival called the George Fest. It is the longest running festival in Florida and the second longest running festival in the United States. There is always a carnival and days of boat races, parades and special events. This year makes 105 years. I'm headed out the door in a few to get pictures of the parade this morning.

...but first here are a couple from the carnival there last night.

...I also took time to play in the music store while my girls were taking their lessons. Here's a couple taken in the low lighting of the store..using only a monopod. I like the graininess of them when I converted them to black and white.

....another local festival is the Dragon Boat races that will take place in about a month. Here's a local team out for a practice run. They still need a bit of work on their form...

Last but not least for this posting is a picture of some buds on my pink Rose of Sharon. This is one case of the buds being being prettier than the flowers. This particular flower seems to start wilting and darkening almost as soon as it opens, and I've yet to get a good shot of the flowers...but I LOVE the buds!

Meet Sneakers...

2007-02-21T23:21:00.000-05:00

I was going through some files that I hadn't worked up yet and found this one of my baby boy Sneakers that I took in B/W. If I had taken it in color, he wouldn't look any different. He is a beautiful black and silver gray.

Sunday drive...

2007-02-20T22:24:00.000-05:00

Took a little drive on Sunday. Had to go to Oma's house to pick up Tori so we took the forest route.

...saw this boat and hot tub that the tornadoes dumped together on the side of the rode out in the middle of nowhere.

Then just down the road a bit, is the end of the path of one of the tornadoes that went through on Groundhog's Day.

It was a beautiful sunny day by mid afternoon and we pulled over at a little park on the St. Johns River so I could grab a couple of shots of the hundreds of seagulls that were on the river.

My Weekend Adveture...

2007-02-19T09:04:00.000-05:00

Had to take a few days break from my blog...not that I wanted to, but the the fact that I had been sick and hadn't caught up on my rest, FINALLY caught up with me. PLUS the fact that I had to prepare to work on Friday and Saturday in Clearwater at Stampfest (a rubberstamping/art type convention).
I did manage to take out the camera a few times though and grab some shots.

This is one from our crazy adventure on Friday. It is usually just a bit over two hours for us to get to Clearwater from where we live. So my mom, my oldest daughter and I drop the younger two kids off at school at 8 and hit the road.

We are cruising nicely down I-75 when all of a sudden we hear a tire pop! POOF!! ACKKK!! Thankfully there is nice wide paved shoulders on the Interstate and we pull off to check the damage. Tire is hopeless...so I give AAA a call...cause this road is BUSY and I'm not standing on the side of it changing a tire with semis whipping past at over 70 miles an hour! After I describe to them where I'm at...what I can see, where I was headed, etc, etc...they say someone will be there in about 45 minutes. AHH...THAT we can handle...so we wait and wait.

Next thing you know they are calling me back saying they can't place where I am at....but they think that I am around mile marker 275. I tell them I am not sure...as we weren't near any of the mile markers for me to read and I could only read a blue sign ahead that says Rest Area 2 miles, the rest of the signs up the road were too far to read. One lady at AAA asked me to walk to the rest stop and get the mile marker #..and told her, NO I was NOT hiking two miles to the rest area and leaving my mother and daughter who could NOT walk that far in the van on the side of the road!

AAA advised me to call Florida Highway Patrol and see if I could get a better idea on just WHERE I was. It's not like I was off on some deserted road...GOSH I'm sitting on the side of a major HIGHWAY and no one can find me. FUN? NOT!!

...so, to continue...

...after talking to FHP, they thought I must be around mile marker #277 and they would send someone out to check on us until AAA got there....and NOT to get out of our vehicle...which is OK by me, as I have NO plans of getting out of it! I call AAA back and tell them where FHP says we are, and they say no problem give them about half hour more and someone would be there.

....wait, wait...wait, wait and WAIT!!! ...a couple conversations with AAA later and still no one is showing up!

THEN a light bulb turns ON!!! DUH! I have my camera right there by me, with my zoom lens! LOL so I take a picture of the signs WAY down the highway that none of us in the van can read from where we are sitting, then I CHIMP it on the back of the camera and zoom in to read the next exit sign!!! YES we have a NUMBER!!! Exit 309!

...so they are looking for me 30 miles OFF! Of course they are never going to find me!

Here is the shot that finally saved the day. LOL, wasn't looking for composition, white balance or ANY of those things. JUST SHOW ME A NUMBER!!!! LOL

...and a shot of my chimping view!!!

I call AAA back and FHP back and tell them where to find me. It still took a LONG time after that, as they were 30 miles south of me, and had to go almost 30 miles NORTH of me to get off on an exit to turn around and come back south to me. FHP arrived about 10 minutes before AAA, and very kindly checked on us to make sure we were ok and stayed until the truck got there.

AAA got us changed to my donut spare and the next part of our saga began. Limping along at 50 mph or less we had to go more than 50 miles to find a tire store...as we had popped the tire way out between towns. Finally got to a Tire Kingdom and got the tire changed. (Why is it that even if they are NOT busy, and NO one else it waiting that it still takes an HOUR to change ONE tire. HECK they changed it out on the rim without even taking the van inside. They only pulled the van inside to actually put in on and to restow the donut)

...well to shorten an already TOO long of a story, we finally made it to where we were supposed to be about 4:30 in the afternoon. SO...what should have been just over a 2 hour drive turned into an 8 hour adventure. LOL, well it did get me out of 8 hours manual labor of setting up the booth...but I really would have rather been doing that instead of sitting on the side of the road being buffeted by the winds created by the semis blowing past!!!

(...note...halfway home on Saturday night, I have another big DUH moment. I had my laptop with me. ON that laptop I have Microsoft Streets and Trips AND I have a GPS that attaches to my computer that coordinates with the program. I could have popped on the laptop...attached the GPS and told them down to the lattitude and longitude where I was...or at the very least I could have found out what exit on the highway I was close to. AHH well...live and LEARN.)

Project 30 - Day 30 - February 13, 2007 Here Comes the Rain Again!

2007-02-13T16:39:00.000-05:00

Well they predicted severe weather this afternoon. Thankfully it moved thru fairly fast...but for a while the rain came down fast and hard!

Here comes the rain...

Rain...Rain...

...and more rain!

...and after the rain...beautiful GLORIOUS SUN!!!

Project 30 - Day 29 - February 12, 2007

2007-02-12T22:02:00.000-05:00

...another gray and dreary day. I am OVER them already! More severe weather warning are expected within the next 24 hours. Our storm ravaged areas can't take much more....so hopefully things won't get too bad weather wise.

Today as I was getting ready to leave the office an elementary school was warming up the band in the rotunda. I took a peak over and took a shot at the ones on the xylophones

I have a couple Rose of Sharon bushes in my yard that have been there since we bought the house 14 years ago. This one has pretty white blooms and the other one has a bright pink bloom that looks totally different. The pink ones were looking all ragged...so I'll wait until new ones open up before I grab a shot of them...but here is the white one.

While I was out prowling the yard looking for something to shoot....Momma decided to follow me around. Here she is exploring the trailer while she waits for me.

Project 30 - Day 28 - February 11, 2007

2007-02-11T18:41:00.000-05:00

...another dreary day, so not much to show today. I spent the day cleaning and almost let the day get away from me before I went out to shoot.

Project 30 - Day 27 - February 10, 2007

2007-02-10T18:47:00.000-05:00

Went out this morning with the kids to see if the otters were out...but there was no sign of them. While we were there we decided to walk down to the pier to see what we could see. The sky was bright and hazy and full of clouds. There just wasn't any real blue to the sky at all.

This is a little hawk that was posing nicely for me until a boat came by. He decided to fly just as I clicked the shutter, so I ended up clipping his wing. At least this way you can see how pretty he was.

It looked like this little egret could walk on water at first glance...but when you look close he is standing on two little twigs coming up out of the water. He was fishing. Poor thing, you should have seen him trying to keep his balance when the boats sped by and chopped the water.

There were a couple guys on the pier and one was casting for bait. I took a series of shots and made a fun animated avatar.

...and here's a single shot from some of the ones I took.

Here a neat view thru the pilings of the canal that runs under the highway.

...and Tori chillin' on the side of the highway by the bridge while I took pictures.

Here's a shot down the canal in the opposite direction. There was a couple of fishing tournaments going on and there were boats EVERYWHERE!!!!

We went home for lunch and to wait and see if the sun would come out. Well it did, WHILE we were home for lunch...but as soon as we headed out again, the clouds covered it back over.

Stacey says....you're not pointing that thing at ME are you?

Here's a little heron that I found at a different park that we went to for the afternoon session.

Here's a shot of one of the piers and bridge across the lake in the distance.

I found lots of love today...here's a couple of heart shots. I actually had a couple other shots from other places but didn't want to show off. LOL!

...this one was mowed into the side of the hill next to the Hospice House.

I couldn't get a good angle on this little egret, so instead I played with DOF and selective focus instead...

Project 30 - Day 26

2007-02-09T20:39:00.000-05:00

Saw this little bird and tree against the beautiful blue sky this morning...so I had to whip out the camera and take a shot. It was nice enough to sit and pose for me.

Here it is converted to black and white...this will be one I'll add to my brush collection.

Looks like my GBH is home again. I used to see him every evening on my way home...but during the Winter he must have found another hang out. Glad to see he was back today.

I did a black and white effect on this one too and will add it to my brush collection too.

...and just another dock and GBH shot.

Project 30 - Day 25 - February 8, 2007 Out on a Limb for Love...

2007-02-08T20:19:00.000-05:00

Went to meet my parents for lunch...a found a little love. The first
heart I found hanging on a tree limb.

Then I looked down and found a fallen bit of love...

Here's a couple of twig shots for today. I metered to turn the sky white, and took this first one. This will be one that I'll probably turn into a PS brush.

This next one I focused on the closest branch with a shallow DOF so that it turned the one in the background into a shadow effect. I hope the separation of the layers shows up on the web version...

Project 30 - Day 24 - February 7, 2007

2007-02-07T18:12:00.000-05:00

A beautiful day today with temperatures in the low to mid 70's. Too bad I really didn't feel good enough to enjoy it. I stayed home from work with absolutely NO voice!! The crummy cold is getting the better of me!

Mariah has also been battling a cold for over a week now...so it was time to go to the doctor. She came home with antibiotics, and my doctor called in antibiotics for me. LOL so the afternoon was spent running to get them filled.

There is a boat ramp that I passed on the way to and from Mariah's doctor's appt. There are three dead trees in the water and all kinds of water birds like to perch there. Today one of them was filled with caracaras both coming and going to the appt. I've looked at these trees for years and saying I wanted to shoot them...so while on a med run I thought I'd go back that way and try to shoot them.

But alas, they weren't there by the time I went back...but I did find a few things to shoot. There is a metal spool down in the bushes by the lake and I used it as a frame to try and catch a boat speeding past. I'll have to go back and try this again with a great DOF and see if I can get it all in focus. Today I only ended up with either the boat in focus or the metal frame. LOL then I ran out of boats.

This little hawk was sitting up high on a light pole enjoying the view of the lake...

Across the road at and abandoned old wharf I found some neat old pilings. As I was shooting them, an otter decided to swim into the picture just as a clicked the shutter. There were at least 3 of them but they were headed under the bridge over to the lake side back across under the highway...so I only got this one shot.

Here's another twig shot for today with a hawk attached. :-)

...and last but not least a little fence post with some lovely moss on it.

By then I was whupped and I headed back home...and will saved these places in my list of places to go back and explore more...especially now that I know there are otters there.

Project 30 - Day 23 - February 6, 2007 Blue Skies AGAIN!

2007-02-06T18:38:00.000-05:00

Well, a lousy cold wasn't going to keep me from getting out in the first Blue Sky Day in a week! I had things I had to do at work, since 3/4 of my department is still working around the clock in the Emergency Operations Center. I knew today was going to be busy as contractors lined up for permits to start repairing the damage, and I would be needed. The governor even was here...but ALAS I didn't get to see him as I was upstairs in my office when he came to the EOC.

As I stepped out to a beautiful blue sky, I thought of you Dee when I saw the beautiful twigs of the tree behind us, against a wonderful blue sky...so I had to grab a shot!

This was my view out my window today...ahhh MUCH better than the dull gray skies I've been seeing. The birds were out along the shore as you can see in the bottom right corner...and the little white dots that look like they are in the lake are actually gulls flying.

Kids had appointments this afternoon. Here they are waiting...

...as treat when we were done, they got to take a roll or two down the sides of the retention pond. LOL thankfully it wasn't full of water after the rain we've had.

Project 30 - Day 22 - February 5, 2007

2007-02-05T21:05:00.000-05:00

It's my turn for the Crud! YUCK!

Project 30 - Day 21 - February 4, 2007

2007-02-04T18:34:00.000-05:00

We lost our sun early today...so the skys were gray and overcast again. I went out looking for natural hearts but didn't find any. I love my pretty azalea bushes, they have bloomed faithfully all this winter.

Our plum tree is in bloom and I caught this little bee...

...I also went and walked the railroad tracks behind my parents house looking for hearts..ahh but no luck. I snapped a few shots of the tracks to use in artwork, but no pretty flowers along the tracks this time.

I tried catching some of the birds flying in the gray skies. Took this one and played with it in RAW - desaturating it and boosting the contrast. I kinda like the way it came out.

Witching Water...

2007-02-03T21:58:00.000-05:00

For those of you who keep asking...this article from Mother Earth News can explain about Water Witching better than I can.
Witching for Water

Project 30 - Day 20 - February 3, 2007 - My Little Girl is Growing Up!!

2007-02-03T20:04:00.000-05:00

Well, my little girl is growing up. She had her first date tonight for their Homecoming Banquet. We spent the day hunting for a dress, shoes and all the extras. We found this beautiful dress for just $27, and it makes her look SO grownup.

Project 30 - Day 19 - February 2, 2007 - The Day of Tornadoes

2007-02-02T20:04:00.000-05:00

Well, this is what I woke up to today. After listening all night to it pouring BUCKETS of rain...I turn on the news to find that places about 1/2 hour east of me and 1/2 hour west of me are devastated!!

I work for the County...and our EOC command center is here. In fact half of the department I work in either run the center or work in it. So that was what we lived and breathed today. This was what I saw looking out my windows today as the new vans were lined up right below all in a line.

I had the news up on my laptop all day so that I could keep up with the news reports...

...and this was a shot looking down into the lobby below where part of the EOC were taking breaks and watching the newcasts on the large TVs outside the Commissioners Chambers. We've already had 19 confirmed deaths, and who knows what the weekend will bring as they continue to search through the rubble and destruction. I spent my last hour doing Well Check calls as people all over the nation were frantically calling to check on loved ones that they couldn't reach by phone.

I had to find a little beauty in my day tho...so while the girls were at music lessons I went down to one of my favorite little picture spots and grabbed a shot or two. The sky is still filled with clouds as there is more rain to come...but lets hope there aren't any more storms.

6 Weird Things!

2007-02-01T22:35:00.000-05:00

I swear I am NOT weird...but I've been tagged, so I guess I can come up with 6 unusual things. Although reading others lists, I find we have many things in common! LOL

1 I LOVE LOVE LOVE Godzilla movies.

2 I can witch water.

3 I know how to fiddle for worms.

4 I can roll my tongue, wiggle my ears and my nose! LOL

5 I eat DINNER for breakfast, and I'm not talking steak and eggs kind of thing. Give me meat and veggies! A salad will do too! I hardly ever eat breakfast foods.

6 I used to make my living clamming from a boat in Indian River below Melbourne, Florida.

NOW....really is ANY of that weird? :-)

Project 30 - Day 18 - February 1, 2007

2007-02-01T18:56:00.000-05:00

...and the color is RED!! We're repainting all our doors. I'm LOVING this new color.

Project 30 - Day 17 - January 31, 2007

2007-01-31T22:03:00.000-05:00

Well, I caught up things at work today and snuck out early. Usually the only time I take off is kids Dr appts...etc...and no special time for just ME. Went shopping for some desparately needed new clothes, met my husband for lunch and then took my camera out to play for an hour before picking up kids and heading out to appointments.

This church is right by where I park at work. I come out every day and see it's pretty steeple against the sky. Today was such a pretty blue day that I decided to shoot it before I left the parking lot for my BIG adventure. LOL

I headed to one park to check out the water and reflections...but there was still a bit too much chop for reflections, so I turned my attention to a drippy faucet that I found there.

Finding nothing else interesting at the park, I headed down to a local boat ramp and fishing pier. The first Great Blue Heron I found canal side feeding in the shallows. The next one was sitting out on the dock enjoying the view of the lake and pretty sunshine. Then I looked up to see a little sailboat enjoying the day too.

Project 30 - Day 16 - January 30, 2007

2007-01-30T19:53:00.000-05:00

This is Momma Cat. She adopted us a couple of years ago when she needed a home for her kitties. She's guarding a lizard that she'd been playing with and wasn't quite sure whether I was after it or not.

We are having our two weeks of Winter these days with cold, gray skies and blustery wind. What a difference it makes down at the park...

This is the same little willow that I posted about a week ago...only now it has been bitten by the cold and turned all brown and sad...

Project 30 - Day 15 - January 29, 2007

2007-01-29T22:35:00.000-05:00

Decided to look at the smaller picture today. Took these this evening after work. I had gone out to pick a couple bags of tangerines...liked the light so went back in and got my camera.

Mariah has a science project due this week. She was so proud to get it done early! Here she is holding Saturn with 18 of its satellites!

Project 30 - Day 14 - January 28, 2007

2007-01-28T19:36:00.000-05:00

Out today to a little marina. The sun was bright and the lake choppy...not as pleased as usual with my shots, but it sure was relaxing to escape from the house for a while.

Project 30 - Day 13 - January 27, 2007

2007-01-27T13:18:00.000-05:00

I call this my MIS-adventure morning. Out early to drop Stacey at Scouts and then I took a couple of hours for myself and drove all over the area seeking out little lakes with birds and flowers. It was a bright sunny day and I THOUGHT I was setting my ISO at 100...well my finger must have slipped cause I shot my whole morning at 1600 and wondering why I couldn't get shutter speeds fast enough. Ahh well, I managed to save a few, and I can always go reshoot now that I know where they places are. The second one I ran through Neat Image to reduce the noise. The first and last one have Xeros Caravaggio filter.

Project 30 - Day 12 - January 26, 2007

2007-01-26T22:34:00.000-05:00

It turned out to be a beatiful sunny day today. Still a bit on the cool side for me, but not bad enough to keep me off the lake. I don't think I've ever seen it as blue as it was today.

I pass this little private pier every day. Pulled over on the right-away and took these pictures. I'd love to get closer but it private property and posted. Next time I see someone there I'm going to stop and see if I can't get permission to at least get closer to the dock so I can get better shots of the birds that like to sun themselves there.

Then after work I took the girls to their music lessons. I took a little time to play while I was waiting to pick them up. Ran these through Raw Shooter and a couple different filters in PS.

Project 30 - Day 11 - January 25, 2007

2007-01-25T22:01:00.000-05:00

Whoo Hoo!
Hard to believe it has been 11 days already!

Just another regular day at the office...well except that we did have a birthday luncheon for one of my co-workers. Didn't feel like shooting food shots though.

On my way home I stopped at the park again and got this shot. I saw the couple out on one of the docks, and saw that they were nicely framed through the trees, so I pulled out the camera and grabbed a few shots.

I knew what I REALLY wanted to shoot today, but had to wait until after dark so I could get what I wanted. I drove downtown after the shops had closed and set up my tripod and took this shot through the barbershop window.

I wandered on down the sidewalk a bit and found this wonderful little arrangement in another shop window. The Peddler's Wagon is the neatest little home decor shop. Smelling of cinnamon when you walk in and home to at least 2 shop cats, this little shop is a thrill to the senses. I must got back during the day to see if they will let me shoot some of their arrangements.

...and last but not least, this little alley runs behind the theater where my daughter studies. The theater is the oldest in the state with real flyloft, etc. and a delightful place to go. The little town hosts street parties the first Friday of every month...and that evening will find this little alley filled with people and street musicians.

Project 30 - Day 10 - January 24, 2007

2007-01-24T21:14:00.000-05:00

A gray and dreary day here today. The promised rain never showed so I took advantage of that and went down to the lake for a few minutes at lunchtime. Even the seagulls didn't want to fly on such a blustery, gray day.

Took this image in RAW and ran it through Raw Shooter and tweaked some more in PS using Xero's Caravaggio filter to give it a painterly look.

Project 30 - Day 9 - January 23, 2007

2007-01-23T18:27:00.000-05:00

A cloudy and overcast day today. The sun trying to peak through the clouds this morning made for a lovely glowing sky out my office window.

I'm babysitting this little guy while my co-worker is out of the office for a couple of weeks. He makes me smile! My office is filled with ivy and spiders and other plants, so he feels right at home.

Had to take this picture today...one of the last orange groves in our neighborhood, it is a young grove just reaching a good size. It borders a lake, and today I saw a "coming soon luxury condominiums". SO sad.....

Little bird that was flitting around a parking lot this afternoon. The sky was still gray and overcast, but that didn't dampen the little fella's spirits. He was chirping and happy.

Waiting....
I just love her eyes...

Project 30 - Day 8 - January 22, 2006

2007-01-22T22:00:00.000-05:00

Another busy day at the office. The first picture sums up my day...lettters, letters, letters and MORE letters. The second picture is my ponytail plant. LOL - NO time to clean desk move plant and compose shot, so this is what you get.

Home in time get dinner and off to Boy Scouts. Tonight it was all about the KNOT...

Project 30 - Day 7 - January 21, 2007

2007-01-21T21:34:00.000-05:00

Spent the morning cleaning...was really tempted to take a picture of the vacuum cleaner, but decided not!
I did take a picture of the plate of cookies that I baked the kids...although by then they had eaten half of them.

Dwayne is needing a new truck...after the kids had their fill of cookies we headed out the door to look at trucks. Our son loves Mustangs...so he and I took a look at those too.

On the way home it was getting a close to dusk, so we stopped at the local park to see if there was anything worth capturing.

This is a Dragon Boat. Three towns border on this lake and every year out town host Dragon Boat races.

A sea plane was practicing take off and landings. It was circling fast and the light was fading fast. I snapped off a few shots and liked this one. I ran it through PS with Red Paw Media's free RMP Beautifier. Gives it a ghostly plane in the mist look.

By then it was time to call it a night and I snapped a few of the evening sky. It has a beautiful orange glow as the sun set.

Project 30 - Day 6 - January 20, 2007

2007-01-20T10:48:00.000-05:00

Up early and out the door to drop off my son off with some of his Boy Scout troop. He was headed out to work on an Eagle Project for a fellow Scout.

My brother and sister enjoying a bit of sibling ribbing. Telling tales of our youth.

Then I took the long way home and stopped by a local park. This is the park and dock area that I can see from my office window. There were a couple of fisherman out on the dock. The sun was bright as it was coming up over the lake, so I went for silloutte and converted to B/W.

I love willows! Here's one that is along the edge of the lake.

...and last but not least...little birds enjoying the morning sun. NOW...back to the house to have a cup of coffee and enjoy the quiet sense of peace that my morning walk gave me.

Project 30 - Day 5 - January 19, 2007

2007-01-19T22:14:00.000-05:00

We were back to a beautiful sunny day again. It was a welcome sight after two days of dreary gloom and wind. I pass this lovely fence at least twice a day on my way into the office. It seems like it is always in full bloom and covered in beautiful flowers. So today I had to stop and take a picture or two.

This is the view out of one of my other office windows. I work in a round building...so the view gradually shifts as you look from window to window. I tried to get a shot of the building as I walked in from the parking lot, but I blew out the sky, so I'll save that to try another day.

While Tori was at her piano lessons I drove down to the local boat ramp. I didn't have time to hike down to the fishing dock where I really wanted to take pictures, so I settled for this shot of trees along the edge of the lake.

Then back to the Music Store to pick up Tori from her piano lessons and take her to Girl Scouts.

WHEW! Back home again...and my day is almost done.

Project 30 - Day 4 - January 18, 2007

2007-01-18T20:31:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of my companions at work:

Alex is one of our resident fish. We spoil him terribly and he loves for us to come and talk to him.

This is Zaralinda, she sits on my desk with me. She is a gypsy wanderer created during a round robin doll project a few years ago.

A pretty Hibiscus that I walked past on my way out to the parking lot when I left work this evening.

...and here is a trio of cool frogs that resides under the eaves of my husbands workshop. We have several of these living round the eaves of our house and workshop. My husband knew I had my camera out...so he called me over and held up the umbrella they were hiding under so I could get a quick shot.

...and last but not least a view of the fading light thru our neighbors tree. Give it a couple of months and I won't even be able to see the sky.

Project 30 - Day 3 - January 17, 2007

2007-01-17T21:19:00.000-05:00

My day..
From waiting in the drop off line at school...

.

..then a what a difference a day can make! A dreary view out my window today.

...finishing off our evening at the theater.

...and a bright and cheerful shop window to brighten the end of a gloomy day.

Project 30 - Day 2 - Office View

2007-01-16T19:07:00.000-05:00

Ok...WHAT A DAY...so SUPER busy day at work...and no daylight hours left once I got home. Thank goodness I snapped off a couple of shots out my office window.

Don't mind the spots...the window is dirty ON THE OUTSIDE and being 5 floors up I can't get out and wash it, and quite frankly I am getting quite tired of looking at it like that.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to get out and about or at least BREATHE and plan something more interesting!

Project 30 - Day 1 - January 15, 2007

2007-01-15T14:36:00.000-05:00

There were no willing subjects IN the house today, so I prowled the yard this morning looking for something to shoot. The day is sunny and bright with no shade...so shooting has proven to be a challenge. That being said...I'm going to go ahead and post these as we head out the door to the dentist, so I don't get sidetracked and forget.

Azalea

2007-01-14T20:44:00.000-05:00

Went out to play a bit today with my macro filters. Still haven't quite got the hang of them, but I liked the DOF on this one.

2007-01-13T20:51:00.000-05:00

The girls and I headed out to one of the local parks today to walk the nature trail and see what we could see. Here it is the middle of Winter and it was 80 degrees...a very beautiful day. The park was full of people and the birds, snakes and gators were out too.

Fading Light

2007-01-13T10:29:00.000-05:00

Had about 15 - 2o minutes to play last night while the girls were at guitar and piano lessons. I headed for the closest spot with a view of the lake and the highway where I'd have a spot to set up my camera. Grabbed a few shots just for the fun of it.

Lowry Zoo

2007-01-11T20:51:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was my birthday...so as a treat to myself my sister and I loaded up the kids and went to Lowry Zoo in Tampa. These are just a few on my favorites from the day.

Happy Holidays!

2006-12-10T20:23:00.000-05:00

Worked today on getting our Christmas cards done. I usually do a very artsy collage, but decided to go with fun pictures of the kids this time.

Up, Up and Away!

2006-12-09T21:51:00.000-05:00

We wanted to go watch the shuttle tonight, but most of the day the chances weren't that great for it going up. Since we had a long drive to get there, we decided not to go, so of COURSE it went up! So I had to be content with capturing as it lit up the skies over the trees as it went up.

New Banner?

2006-11-18T12:34:00.000-05:00

Ok, I'm going to try this out. I've created a new banner! Posting here as a picture to test how it looks...

Lake Eustis Sunsets

2006-11-13T22:14:00.000-05:00

Just a couple of shots I got tonight. Dropped Mariah off at her guitar lesson, and headed down to the closest lake to capture the sunset. There was too much cloud cover and it was too late to capture the big orange ball of the sun, but it had left the most beatiful glow to the sky. These were taken just 8 minutes apart.

Stacey and Tigger

2006-11-05T21:57:00.000-05:00

Couldn't resist adding a shot of Stacey and Tigger. He is one BIG lovable kitty who has never met a person he didn't like. Took this one tonight as it was getting dark. Ran it through Virtual Photographer and Viola! I think I like it!