Scavenger Hunt Sunday

It's Sunday and I am out of ideas at the moment for a post, so I am getting back on the Scavenger Hunt band wagon. It's getting to be Spring and it was a decent day today...so...I broke out my dust-covered SLR camera!

I haven't been inspired at all this Winter and have had a lot on my plate. But I don't want to forget my trusty Canon as the weather turns and the flowers make their early appearance.

So today I hung out with my photographing family and went to the park to play with my nephew and the dogs!

Without further adieu, here is my entry for the scavenger hunt this week put on by Ramblings and Photos.

1. Camera Phone

Nothing Fancy here, just me with my messaging phone and my favorite Chihuahua Chupes! You can't really tell in the picture, but he looks very skeptical of me.


2. Camera

This is my momma using her new lens! I thought it was fitting that she be included in this scavenger hunt.
 3. Shoes

Not my best work, but I use what I've got and my sister had the cutest shoes between us! Plus little Jeffie-pie is posing so that's a plus!

4. Chair

Bennett is checking out the hobby horse so why not use that for the chair?

5. Imperfection

This is the fence to the side of our house. It's falling apart and looking mighty sad, BUT it's got character. And we rent, so I am not replacing it. :)

*Want to join in? The rules are simple:


1. Anyone can participate.

2. You're encouraged to take five new photos this week for the challenge.

3. If you get stumped, you may use one photo from your archive (although I'm not too strict about it - I do my best to take fresh shots).

4. Link up here on Sunday (or Tuesday at the latest) - you can use the button above.

5. Leave comments for at least five entries around yours (we have so many new participants each week, this is the only way I know to be inclusive).

Have fun!



 
Here are a couple other photos I took of my sweet nephew Bennett. It's been months since I have attempted to get some shots of him. They are not the best pictures I've taken, but they sure are cute!
 
 

( I may have a case of the Monday's tomorrow...)



Greatful

A photo I just love and wanted to post for a challenge this week:

Eyes ~ Simplicity

This is my good friend's cat Tatum. Her eyes were so piercing I HAD to take a quick picture. I don't think  she was very happy with me however. ;)

My dear friend Katie has really been there for me this past year. She is someone I was close with back when I worked for the bank and I sorta kept in touch with her over the last few years. This past year or two however, she has really stepped up and shown me that people can really BE there.

As you get older, one tends to find that many of the friends she once had are not quite "there" anymore. Whether it be because you have grown apart, are in different stages in life, or have just changed. Some people you never really believed you would end up close to at this point in life, end up surprising you. They really show you that even in a bleek moment, they can be exactly what you need. And beyond that, they can listen and try to understand even when they don't - they can put themselves in your shoes and really feel what you are going through.

This same person may not be in your life later...life changes...happens...but, I can be greatful for having her in my life right now. Be greatful that I have an unexpected confidant and comedic relief. Thank you to Katie D for being available to become someone important to me.

Photo Challenges of the week!

Here are my entries for this week's Photo Challenges.

The First is my very own sister's, entitled Windows to the Soul. Here is my "eyes" photo - of course I would choose one of my fur-baby Charlie. He has the prettiest brown eyes! I will post my other (1st) choice as well, but figured since the photo is OF Mandy, she may feel strange having it as an entry.
Here is my Charlie Brown ~

And here is the one of my sissy!

The second Photo Challenge deals with "Light" and I had so many neat ones I couldn't choose! This Challenge was posted by Linkie Lueville and is a new one for me.
Here is my entry: another one of my sis! She's going to LOVE me ;)

note: I did not alter her eye-color, just popped the image a bit. She really does have two different color eyes.

Sometimes I just don't know what to do with myself!

I was thinking today that I need to find something(s) to keep me busy. I feel like the past 5-6 years, I haven't done much with myself and it's kind of bothering me. I have had a great time being married and keeping up friendships, but I don't feel I am accomplishing anything to be proud of.

I have my photography, but it's not enough (since I am not doing it full time) and to be honest, I just feel sorta mediocre at it. I have an eye for it, but I don't feel like I am really all that great at it.

I still write on occasion and have a rough outline for a story/book, but can't seem to produce much of a draft for it. I think too much and spend too much time critiquing what I've written to ever get very far. I know this is my own undoing, but I can't seem to just write and be happy with a rough draft for the time being. Man, I get on my own nerves sometimes!

I started a bit of Geneology a while ago too. This can be really interesting and fulfilling, but is a lot of work! You can sit at the computer for hours just trying to track down a birthdate for a relative! It gets to be exhausting after a while! I have some information but I don't want to put a bunch of money into a geneology program to keep me organized or pay a monthly/annual fee to subscribe to an online "people finding" site. This makes my search much harder.

I know I have told many of you about my annoyance with being on the computer for hours. Well all three of these hobbies include hours on the computer! After work, the last thing I feel like doing is sitting in front of the computer, so I admit that is part of the problem with accomplishing these tasks. Even blogging requires the computer! What's a girl to do?!

As far as figuring out a solution to this problem; I guess I just have to keep trying to get better at the activities I am alreay doing (maybe take some classes) or find something else to get excited about. Don't get me wrong, I love not having a lot of responsibilities and taking vacations! But, I feel like I need something to feel really good about right now; something to work towards and be proud of myself for. Maybe that means going back to school and getting another degree...or maybe it just means I need to crack down and set some short term goals for a project I am doing. Whatever the direction I head, I need to find the motivation and resolve to stick to the plan. It's too easy to just keep sliding by and "living" without having a real sense of direction.

Boy, it would sure be easier if all I wanted was to have what I have now. I would be set! But I have a lot of goals for myself and my 30's are the perfect time to figure them out and attack them head on. It would be nice to at least have a home of our own by now...yikes...I have a lot to do.

Californication

My mom and I decided to take a little trip this year together. It's been a long time! We set off at the end of August for California to do a mommy & me vaca.

First we flew down to Santa Barbara to spend a few days milling around downtown for shopping and food, with a little visit to the coast. We did meet up with one of my dearest gal-pals, her hubby and her mom for dinner as well. I was not thoughtful enough to take photos of us all, but not to worry...they met up with us at our next destination!




















We were lucky enough to land in one of mom's World Mark Condos in Solvang. Solvang was a cute Danish village a little over a half hour from Santa Barbara. The condo was a big 2 bed/ 2 bath with a generous living/dining area. We even lucked out with the wheelchair accessable room, which meant even more space! There is a lot of yummy Danish food, shopping and wine tasting to be done there. We spent time with Kerry, Kevin and Debbie one evening just tasting the yummy local wines of the area. As everyone knows, CA is filled with vinyards! We even stopped by the Blackjack Ranch where they filmed the movie Sideways.





















After a few days down south, we headed up the coast toward Santa Cruz to see my mom's cousin Litsa and her family. This was just a short stop to grab dinner, but it was really nice to finally meet her! We even met a few furry friends on the way!

















That evening, we trudged our way to San Francisco, both tired and stiff from a long drive. We got to the next condo (more like a hotel room) late so we didn't start our tour of San Fran until the next day. The days flew by as we both walked and rode our way around the many faces of the big city. We didn't rent a car for this portion of the trip so we got a pass for the trolly and saw as much as we could over the next four days. We even got to visit with another of my friends, Corinne, who had moved there a few years ago.









There were just too many things to tell you about, so I decided to just post a couple photos and leave it at that. I would be happy to chat about the places we went over lunch if anyone is so inclined, but that will be it for my blog post. I will close by saying that I had a great time and was happy I got to spend some much needed one-on-one time with my oh-so-wonderful mother!

A nice day for a wedding!

My sis-in-law was married on September 11th and I have not blogged about it yet! First of all, let me say that it was really nice to have a sweet memory to think about on this sad day in history.

I was not the "official" photographer for this event, thank goodness, but I did tag along with her the first half of the day to catch her beautification! I had a great time doing girlie things and helping her capture moments thoughout the day (and during the rehearsal dinner the evening before). I thought I would post a couple of photos for your/my viewing pleasure!

So here she is: the BEAUTIFUL Bride and Co.



















And a few of the BIG DAY!