Labels and BIRTHDAYS!!!

So, you may notice that I've added labels to the right.  I have blogged long enough now that it's difficult to sort through all of my posts to find things I want to find, so they are mostly for me.  However, as I was going through and labeling everything, I realized that I never put up pics (on here, anyway) of Paul's or Caida's birthdays this fall!  Also, I never really got around to posting about our wedding or honeymoon!  *GASP*

I think the reason is because there were a GAZILLION photos on facebook and I just got too lazy to post it all twice.  But still.  Here's a recap:

Paul was in El Paso, TX, for a business trip during his birthday, so we had to postpone the celebration until he got home a week or so later.  It was a fairly small gathering, not as much of a big to-do as his 25th, but it was still fun.  There was a "mad science" theme (this sort of doubled as our birthday/Halloween get-up this year...one day we really will celebrate Halloween properly!).  The cake was yummy and cute, and he got a big TV.  That's all that matters, right?  :)  We DID play a few games, but nothing crazy. 

Caida's 6th birthday was a lot of fun for me and Cerene to put together.  She had a Littlest Pet Shop theme.  Mostly just family came, with a few small friends, but they filled the house!  We had puppy chow in dog bowls as party favors, and I got to be in charge of the pet "transformation station" where kids got animal ears and face paint.  Mostly the kids just played while we grown-ups ate, and then she opened presents and we had to leave.  But she was the cutest little birthday kitten around!

Next up, wedding/honeymoon travels!

A funny photo a friend shared...

Hundreds gather to protest global warming.

photo by Greg Vaughn



Ready for a Change...

Do you ever just have days when you really wish your life were different, or when you feel like it's just time to make a change in a BIG way?  Sundays especially do that to me, I don't know why.  Today I feel tired of the world, and tired of my life.  Probably has something to do with me and Paul both ping-ponging sickness back and forth, and definitely has a lot to do with my thoughts lately about what I want out of my life and what I'm doing to make it happen.  I just feel like being here is being stuck, we're not progressing, we're barely making ends meet, I never see people and have no way of getting around town on the days Paul works, I'm not getting pregnant and there are pretty much no job opportunities for me (or Paul, obviously) here, and it's not like we really have any friends.  At least not the kind you hang out with and call up when you're having days like today.  Which is how I wound up here, blogging.  :) 

I'm taking the Sabbath off from my photo journey...but up next, who Obi loves...can you guess?  :)  And then is "generations."  I may need some inspiration for that one, since Obi has no ancestors or progeny.  I was hoping to get creative and make this whole month all about her and scrap my photos to make a scrapbook just about her...any suggestions?

Obi Destroys :)

Tanner and Obi

Joy of Love Day 5: What You Love To Hate

The lesson today was about using your camera's selective focal points.  I mostly had to read the entire user's manual to understand what that meant, but I did learn a few things.  :)  And while my options are limited, they DO exist!  Here's my first trial run, just using a nutcracker (I didn't think Obi would be still enough for me while I experimented):

It's important to note that I didn't move my camera or zoom in at all, I was just playing around with the focal length options.  I had my ISO set to 80 for all of it, and the metering set to "spot."  There was a noticeable difference, to be sure, but I felt like nothing was focusing well, and I wanted to achieve that blurred-out background that so many great photographers have (if it was at all possible with my little point-and-shoot).  That's when I discovered that, because I was soooooo close when I took these photos, I should probably use my magic macro button.  :)  So I tried again:

It really did make a bit of difference!  I was REALLY liking the 1.5x option (because it didn't zoom in SOOOO much but it still gave me what I wanted), so then it was time to move on to the actual assignment for the day: what you love to hate about ________. 

In spite of her sweet temperament, Obi does a lot of things I don't really appreciate.  She jumps on people when they come in the door, and barks anytime the outside apartment building door opens.  She licks EVERYTHING like it was her own puppy, which makes everything smell like doggie breath.  She whines at the dinner table.  She thinks she's a lap dog and climbs up on us (which is actually really cute, that black lab part of her, but sometimes painful, too, with her greyhound elbows).  She talks back to me.  She gets SOOOO jealous of me and Paul (because she thinks he's HERS) that she literally comes between us, whether we are kissing at the door or snuggling on the couch.  She digs in the bathroom trash if the door doesn't quite shut.  But, MOST annoying of all, she tears through any toy, pillow, or doggie bed we get her in just moments--especially if that toy is filled with stuffing! 

I tried to get a good photo with the above settings of her actually pulling all the stuffing out, but she moved too quickly and, short of using the flash, she was just a blur.  I wish I had more control over the shutter speed and stuff on this camera!  I still managed to pull together a few decent shots, anyway:

Her destructiveness has earned her a nickname around here: "Destroyer of Worlds."  It makes finding good, durable, lasting dog toys a difficult, expensive task.  Sometimes I wish we had adopted a much smaller puppy...but then I wouldn't have sweet, adorable, crazy Obi, and in spite of all her flaws, she brings a lot of joy and playfulness into our home.  I honestly can't imagine our lives without her!

Check out the rest of today's Joy of Love entries HERE!  And there's still time to sign up!

Joy of Love Day 4: What They Wear

What does Obi wear?  Not much, just her collar.  But that one thing she wears keeps her from looking weird.  (Naked Obi DOES look weird.)

Naked Obi...she has no neck!

Getting a good picture of her collar, however, was a challenge.  Thankfully, I discovered picnik.com, a free online image editing site for amateurs like me.  It makes even dull photos a little more interesting.  :)  So here's my photo for today's assignment, what Obi wears:

I kinda like the way the light played off the metals, and adjusting the contrast helped that even more.

Is it better square?  I think so.

ALSO, the tip for the day said we should play around with our camera's metering.  I was surprised to learn that even my point-and-shoot had three metering options in the manual setting.  Here's the difference:

Great mugshots of Obi. :)

I think, at least with the bright light coming in from the window, there's only a very subtle difference between evaluative and center weight.  The center weight supposedly averages the exposure for the whole photo but gives greater weight to the subject at the center, while the evaluative breaks the image into several complex areas and sort of automatically adjusts the lighting accordingly?  That's what the manual says.  It's kinda confusing.  But I DO know that the spot option was too bright for almost everything I was shooting when the sunlight was pouring in through the window.  I'll have to try later to see when it would be useful.  :)

And, for your viewing pleasure (or at least mine): this pretty much sums up our feelings on this Friday afternoon.  Cozying up in the post-storm sunshine...can I please nap, too, Obi?  :)

Check out the Joy of Love and everyone else's awesome photos HERE!  You can still sign up for the class/daily emails--remember, it's free!

Amazing...

It's amazing what a good photo can do for a scrapbook page!  If I get nothing else out of this whole month, I will have this page and it will have been worth it.  :)

An Ode to Crystallized Ginger

Ever since my little stint with nausea last week, I've been sucking on candied ginger like it was...well...candy.  :)  I love the kick-you-in-the-pants sweet-and-spicy flavor of it.  I like how I feel after eating even just a small piece.  I crave it at least three times a day and, lucky me, we found it at an organic/whole foods store (Sunspot) that's basically within walking distance from our apartment.  If I ever find myself with an unallocated $4 to splurge, you'll know where to find me.

So obsessed am I that I was thinking the other day how yummy this stuff would be in a muffin.  I googled it.  Sad news: someone else thought of it first, so I get no bragging rights.  Glad news: it's so good I don't care. AND there are chocolate chips involved.

Tell me that doesn't look delicious!

Our cute cupcake tree gets its first use!

View from the top...minus the one I ate.  :)

Seriously, my whole house smells SO delicious.  Paul and I aren't huge cake or cupcake people (although I DO love decorating them), but maybe if I start looking for more surprisingly good muffin recipes we can look like normal people for our birthdays (have our "cake" and eat it, too)!

Go HERE for the full recipe and more mouth-watering pictures!

The Joy of Love Day 3: Then and Now

Since we adopted Obi as a one-year-old dog, we never got to see her as a puppy.  In the year since, she really hasn't changed much physically (except maybe gotten a little fatter).  In fact, the only really noticeable differences between then and now are that (a) she's learned a LOT of new tricks, and (b) she's much lazier, sleeping or at least resting for the vast majority of the day.  I tried to capture the difference in her energy, but the photo (taken last night) was kinda blurry to begin with and much worse once I started cropping tight (the tip for today).  I love the idea for the new pic, just not how it turned out.  The second one isn't too much better.  Thank goodness we can try again tomorrow!  :) 

THEN pictures usually included lots of playtime with Paul (which she STILL loves, just doesn't have the stamina for anymore).

NOW pictures are almost always of her sleeping.  She's too adorable when she sleeps to NOT take a picture.  :)

Cropping really DID make this photo WAY better, more interesting, and more adorable.  I love her little paws crossed over.  :)  Just wish I had a better camera and/or a more steady hand.

Look at those paws!  She's moved on from tomboy to princess in the last year...probably natural considering the transition from shelter kennel to 24/7 access to a comfy couch and a full stomach.  :)

Check out everyone else's photos from the class HERE!  There are some SUPER talented photographers out there that inspire me to want to be better.