Photography Class- Week 7

Seventh assignment: "Photoshop"

Instructions: Take a picture of a flower. Next week, we will take that picture and change the colors using Photoshop.

My thoughts: I'm bummed that I will be in Ft. Worth for work and will be missing next Tuesday's class.

She Got Up To 85

Scout & I on the trike.

Me & the dogs

We already took it for a ride. Jevon got it up to 85. Have I mentioned that I don't know how to drive a standard vehicle? Yeah. Still need to learn to do that.

Week 6 Assignment

Photography Class- Week 6 Assignment:

(natural frame)

(lines)

(simplicity)

(balance)

I never got around to doing the merge picture. I planned on doing it today when I got off work, but I got home later than expected and didn't have time.

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It came with a bonus. OMG. I am seriously laughing out loud at this. The seller felt the need to send this along with "her." I guess it is a "she." Anyway, if you can't read it, it says:

Too Much Fun Bunch Trike-In

Home Built Trike

Second Place

She won 2nd place out of 29 entires.

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My Honey.

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They love each other. Sometimes.

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OH Mylanta! Lubbock has a cupcake shop! It's called Cake and I went there today after my date with the vag-cam. I absolutely love cupcakes. They are my weakness, well...that and Jevon, ice cream, purses, sleeping late, my doggies, chick flicks, amaretto sours, tivo....

Anyway, I had heard about it and finally decided to stop in there. These babies are better than Sprinkles (tried during trip to Phoenix) and Kate's Frosting (tried during trip to San Antonio). The one I had for breakfast was "S'mores." Imagine this if you can--chocolate cake filled with marshmallow gooeyness, chocolate buttercream on top sprinkled with pieces of graham crackers and mini marshmallows and then drizzled with another chocolate! Ahhhh, it was heavenly! I got a few others to take to work and share the love. Cupcakes are much better when shared with friends.

Bug Love

Soon after Jevon got his trike I began thinking about how fun it MIGHT be if I had one too so that we could ride together. I said I would ride one on one condition: It must have a "bug butt." That conversation took place last November and has come up a few times since. Definitely not something we have been in the market for. Well, Jevon found one on Brothers of the Third Wheel for sale and showed it to me and asked what I thought. "Ohmygoshthatissooooooooocute, could we paint it pink?" was my response. He contacted the seller and will be leaving tomorrow sometime along with Raymond to pick it up. In Illinois. 19 hours away. Oy. I sure wish I could go, but I just can't miss work.

Oh and I already picked out these rims:

Cute huh?

Pool House: Day 7 & 8

We have windows, textured walls, and now paint! I guess you can tell that I decided against coral paint. It was too hard to pick because the colors either looked too red or too orange. I decided to go with "Tide Pools"-a nice greenish blue color. I wanted something soothing since this will also provide another place for guests to sleep. My plan is for this room to have a "beachy" feel to it. As for flooring, I think we have decided on tile but still unsure about a color.

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Fall is here. It was so cold this morning, steam was coming off the pool.

Quote

I ran across this quote on Resolved2Worship's blog and because I liked it so much, I thought I would share it:

"When you judge others, you are revealing your own fears, insecurities, and prejudices...Let the refining and improving of your own life keep you so busy that you have little time to criticize others..."

By the way, check out her blog when you have some time. She has such a beautiful family and takes really awesome pictures.

Visit With My Sister

I spent the weekend in San Antonio hanging out with Stephanie. We spent our time eating ice cream, shopping, and seeing movies (multiply those things by 2).

Friday night we ate ice cream for dinner and went to see Love Happens.

Saturday we were up bright and early. We ate at Red Robin (I think?) and then headed to Charming Charlie which I LOVED! This place is awesome! Jewelry, clothes, purses EVERYWHERE! And what's cool about this place is that everything is divided up into colors. All of the red jewelry and accessories were grouped together, purples were all together, etc. I usually get overwhelmed in places like this, but I think having everything grouped together helped calm me. :) We then headed to La Cantera. As we passed La Cantera the night before I told Stephanie that I heard angels sing. She was like, "Huh?" This place really is that amazing. You would probably hear angels sing, too! Here is what I came home with:

(Charming Charlie)

(Metal letters from Anthropologie. Can't find them online. Oh, and Jevon and I were married on February 19th. I am thinking about hanging them on the outside of the pool house--sort of like house numbers.)

(Hooks in our initials. These are also from Anthropologie.)

(Charming Charlie)

(Cupcake mix from Williams Sonoma. I know what I'm doing this weekend!!!)

(And a bunch of cool stuff from Sephora, but I am way too lazy to post it all. I did get Philosophy's Caramel Apple body wash and it is yummmmmmy! I've already tested it out, so I know what I'm talkin' about!)

After doing much damage, we headed to Target, got ice cream (again), and then went to see All About Steve. I wouldn't recommend Love Happens, but All About Steve was hilarious! Grabbed dinner at Friday's, headed back to the hotel and watched some college kids get busted for drinking and driving.

Note to self: Remind Stephanie to always look out for others, always be careful, and don't get in the vehicle with someone who has been drinking. (I really hope she doesn't think I am nuts! I called her today to tell her that if anyone ever motions for her to come to their vehicle window because they have an envelope for her, to not approach the vehicle because it's a big fat scam and they may snatch her. I also forwarded her an email about how she should use wasp spray instead of mace because it sprays further than mace. I ALMOST told her to get some for her purse, but I thought that might be pushing it and then she may think I am really nuts instead of just a lil' nuts).

Whew.

Anyway, on Sunday Mom & David, Janet & Elizabeth, and Steph and I ate at Pericos for lunch and afterward I headed back home.

I enjoyed every.single.minute of this weekend with Steph. My family is extremely important to me and this weekend was just what I needed! I came back home feeling refreshed and ready for a new week.

Photography Class- Week 6

Sixth assignment: "Framing Your Photographs"

Instructions: Take a total of 5 pictures using the rule of thirds in all 5 and then take 1 picture using each of these criteria:

Simplicity- Just a subject matter and nothing else (ie nothing in the background).

Lines- Find repetition of lines and capture them at an angle

Balance- Keep the photo from being "2 pictures" in one, but still balanced. People or objects can be used and must be side by side, but the picture must be taken from a different angle other than straight on.

Framing- Find a natural frame and use this along with your object/subject. Can be as simple as a door or window frame.

Merge- Give an example of a merge/what not to do in pictures (ie a lady in a purple skirt against a purple backdrop or a person standing in front of a tree and then in the picture it looks as though they have a branch coming out of their head).

My thoughts: I'm going to be busy this week! I kind of already use the rule of thirds (or try to) when I take my pictures, so I don't think that will be an issue. Simplicity might be sort of easy to do because I could take a picture of someone from below and then have a clear sky behind them. Lines...parking spaces, telephone wires, bottles lined up in a Coke machine or cooler. Balance- I really have no ideas right now. Framing shouldn't be too difficult. There is a really neat door frame in Big Spring that would be perfect for this. Wonder if I could talk my boss into posing for me in front of it? Haha! I'm thinking I can probably find a tree with a crazy branch and just have Jevon stand in front of it to make it look like it's coming out of his shoulder or something. I'm sure he would be thrilled to do this!

Week 5 Assignment

Photography Class- Week 5 Assignment:

(Overexposed)

(Underexposed)

Yep. Didn't quite get the underexposed. The teacher really liked the cotton boll and said that I "got it." Dash on the other hand, not so much. He liked the picture itself, but it wasn't underexposed. He said he liked 2 things about it: 1. I got close and 2. It was a different point of view (ie wasn't taken from up high looking down at the dog). I'm still not certain how to do it. How often am I going to take a black on black pic anyway?

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Took this while looking in the Coke machine.

Sad, Sad.

A friend of Stephanie's committed suicide Sunday morning. I have never met him, but for some reason have felt an uneasiness today that I can't seem to shake.

I am around mentally ill people every day at work (indirectly). I have seen people with their wrists slit deep enough to require stitches, people with charcoal still seeping out of their mouth because they overdosed on who knows what and instead of having their stomach pumped, have to ingest this nasty stuff. A lady who was thisclose to hanging herself but was found by a loved one. I've seen people ages 6-82 experience difficult times that most of us can only imagine. I've been around this stuff. It's nothing new to me, so I'm unsure why I am so extremely unsettled by this young man's death. Maybe it's because he succeeded? He was only 23. It's just very tragic and I can't seem to wrap my brain around it or comprehend it. And I don't need to, I didn't know the guy, never met him in my life. It's not my business nor my duty to know the "whys" of it.

He probably had no idea how many people would be affected by his decision. Maybe he did. I don't know. This is strictly my opinion, but I just believe suicide is a selfish act. I feel like it's a permanent fix to what is typically a temporary and in most cases solvable situation. However, on the flip side, I can also understand that when a person is in the deepest and darkest of places, it often seems like there is no way out and no hope. Ugh. Just an all around sad story.

FYI: Here are some warning signs of suicide provided by SAVE:

• Talking about suicide.
• Looking for ways to die (internet searches for how to commit suicide, looking for guns, pills, etc.)
• Statements about hopelessness, helplessness, or worthlessness.
• Preoccupation with death.
• Suddenly happier, calmer.
• Loss of interest in things one cares about.
• Visiting or calling people one cares about.
• Making arrangements; setting one's affairs in order.
• Giving things away, such as prized possessions.

If you pray, will you say a quick prayer for Kolby's family and friends? I can't imagine being in their shoes and having to deal with all of this.

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Dasher.

Internet has been down since Tuesday!! TUESDAY!!! I feel
lost...Updates coming soon. :)

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My Scouty.

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