February Update

Monthly Update - February

Liking: the new bird feeder I bought recently.

Drinking: lots of water and several teas, mostly Good Earth Original Sweet & Spicy (herbal)

Eating: rather, not eating, grains.

Reading: magazines: Rangefinder, Shutterbug, Popular Photography, and Scrapbook Trends

Feeling: a bit overwhelmed with the new diet and learning new recipes 

Questioning: Why I check Facebook 5 times a day. I'm about to make some changes there. :P

Watching: reruns of XIII on the Reelz Channel and waiting for the new season to begin.

Weather: overcast...they're predicting snow this weekend, though I doubt it. (skeptic here)

Wanting: a vacation (or as the English say, a Holiday!) -- a renewal for my soul. My toes long to wiggle in the sand.

Needing: a new computer. This one hates me, or it's full, or dieing, or something.

Connecting: I need to get my butt back in church. There have been too many reasons and excuses lately. Another renewal is needed here, also.

Wishing: I had money for said vacation. (I might need to get creative with this one.)

Thinking: I need to buckle down and follow this new diet more strictly. (more details on that later.) 

Enjoying: Reading some blogs that are new to me, especially Marcy Penner's, It's me, KP, and  Amy Tangerine

Loving: my family and how they embrace me, even with all my idiosyncrasies.

until next time, I'll be
sharin

The Great Purge

I've been sorting and cleaning and donating. 

Lots of donating. 

My work room is coming together entirely too slowly, but I know I'll get there. Slow and steady is definitely my course. Always has been.

NOTE:  A picture should go in this space but I have none. I'll let you imagine a room with about 15 years worth of scrapbooking supplies: papers, adhesives, scissors, cutters/trimmers, acrylic and rubber stamps, inks, punches, and on and on... 

I've already donated 3 trimmers and 4 huge boxes of paper and other supplies like ribbon, buttons, charms, flowers, and various other trims and notions that were popular in the scrapbooking world a few years ago. 

I'm not kidding when I say huge! I stacked the boxes one on top of the other and the stack was 4 feet tall. That's a lot of stuff that will make some other people very happy. And I'm happy to have it out of my house.

I even have 2 old electronic die cutters that I'm giving away. One is the first model of the blue Wishblade and the other is the first model of the Craft Robo. The machines are still functioning but I've moved on to a Silhouette Cameo. The Craft Robo already has a new home and is packed and waiting to be taken to the post office. The Wishblade sits waiting for a new home. If you're interested, it's yours. All I'm asking for it is to cover the shipping charges.

Other Happenings:

• I'm sick and tired of being sick. This is 3 weeks in a row, maybe more.
• I done with cold weather. Really - really done. Spring can come any time it's ready. Yea, Punxsutawney Phil says Spring will arrive soon!
• I've decided that I have a love/hate (maybe the love isn't really there...) relationship with blogging. I like the idea of noting what's going on around here. I hate taking photos specifically for blogging, processing them, labeling and sorting them, writing and editing blog text, etc, etc.
• I think I need a vacation. Or as the English call it, a Holiday. I love that expression..."holiday." I like the notion that packing your bags, leaving your residence, and taking off for a while just to enjoy yourself in new surroundings isn't just a vacation, it is a holiday! That sounds refreshing ... renewing. I need a renewal.

Part of the reason I haven't taken any photos is because the grass isn't green; it looks like straw. There are no leaves on the trees either. Everything looks barren, sort of like a wasteland. I'm not inspired to take my camera outside and take pictures of things that look dead. 

Perhaps I should photograph my purchases at the grocery store tomorrow. HA!

'til next time... 
I'll be
sharin

One Little Word, aka One Little Word - 2013

My word for 2013 is Practice.

This is my third year choosing a word. Although I'm not terribly faithful about focusing on my word for either photos or layouts, it remains constantly in the back of my mind.

Practice. What do I need to practice?

Will I have time to practice or will I have to work at carving time out of my day or week?

How many new things will I find that I want to practice?

And what about the old things in my life that still need practice; what of them?

Photography
A new way of cooking and shopping for groceries
Support for DH and a new health condition
Time for me
Meditation
Being in the moment without worry
Letting go.

Those are a few things that I need to practice.

This list will mean nothing to anyone but me and that's the way it's supposed to be. I'm not pouring out my soul, I'm creating a reminder for myself to Practice.

Let's see how good I am at practicing in the coming year.

'til next time,
I'll be sharin

More Scrapbooking Time

Make Time

I am hoping to carve out more time this year for scrapbooking. I absolutely love it. In fact, it's in a close tie with photography for my favorite hobby.

The Craft and Hobby Association has two conventions each year and the winter one is coming up soon in Anaheim.  (Wish I could go.)

I've been seeing a lot of sneak peeks of what we can expect from the various scrapbooking companies and this one may be my favorite.

New Beginnings from Webster's Pages

Here's just one photo--


Gorgeous, huh?

Now, I have to find a way to carve out more time in my week. I'm still working on that one.

Until next time,
I'll be sharin

2013 -- This month, right now...

Welcome 2013!
Here's hoping you're far, far better for this world than 2012 was.

Keeping up with this blog is just not in the cards for me right now. There's just too much I have to do and too much I want to do besides keep a daily journal here. 

Instead, I'm hoping to post a list like this about once a month this year.

Drinking: water all day, as usual...in addition to my 2 cups of morning java

Eating: doc wants me to really eat lots of protein. I'm trying.

Listening:  to an eclectic mix on Spotify

Wearing: Sweaters and fleece. It's been so cold lately.

Reading: The Moment It Clicks by Joe McNally (photography book)

Feeling: same old, same old (pain, as usual)

Weather: sunny, clear, and cold  -- about 36° daytime and 10° at night

Wanting: to simplify, clean and organize, and to not worry so much

Needing: a good massage and a housekeeper!

Wishing: I were sitting on a beach in the Keys

Thinking: my one little word for 2013 will be: PRACTICE

Enjoying: researching a Paleo diet

Until next time,
I'll be sharin

Test Driving Installed Fonts

When was the last time you went on a search

for some great fonts?

That's exactly what I've been doing today.

So fun.

So engrossing.

So time consuming.

But rewarding and interesting, too!

I've found several sites that are new to me

and several others that I hadn't visited

in forever.

Let me tell you, it's so easy to get caught up

in the search, clicking on page after page.

Knowing the perfect font for your next

project is just a click away.

click,

click,

click,

and the next thing I know, B's home (my DH).

Yikes!

Dinner hasn't been given a second thought!

Well, the day wasn't totally thrown away...

Here's what I found for my next scrapbook layout.

You can find it at demilked.

And here's another cool site: 12 Free Fonts you Need!


A problem I've noticed is that I seem to collect similar looking fonts. It can make narrowing my choices for a project a bit cumbersome. Then I discovered Wordmark.it.

Have you ever heard of it? It's SO cool!

It allows you to test drive every single font you currently
have loaded on your computer!

You get to see a line of your text in each and every
font you have. And maybe the best part is

you don't have to download anything!

How cool is that!

Just go to wordmark.it and type a word or phrase in the text box.

Next, click where it says Load Fonts.

Scroll through the previews and choose the ones
you like by clicking on them.

Click the Filter Selected button to isolate your selected previews.
Then simply make note of those you'd like to use
in your next project.
It's that easy.

You can even look at the negative of the fonts:

Curious about how it works?
From their website:

Wordmark.it detects the fonts installed on your computer with the help of a simple Adobe Flash script and displays the results using HTML and JavaScript. You need to have Flash plugin installed and JavaScript turned on. Font rendering relies on browser's capabilities and some of your installed fonts may not show up due to their names not being recognized by some browsers. Wordmark.it also works on iPhone and iPad without Flash, make sure to give it a try.

To change the text just click in
the box and start typing some new words. 

Check it out.

You'll like it, I'm sure.

Oh, and btw, it's buttermilk pancakes

from scratch for dinner

with fruit, eggs and milk.
My family absolutely loves breakfast for dinner.

And

I love it when I can throw together a dinner at the last minute!

'til next time, I'll be sharin.

Updates on life

I've been busy, busy! Without long, drawn-out explanations, 

here are a few updates to various things.

In no particular order....

Been doing a bit of Goodwill hunting. ;-)

~~~

And caring for a few delicious things

in the yard,

 

like this boxwood basil.

~~~

I've been watching this crazy 

pink lily bloom beyond all reason.

Seriously, this year it just

went Crazy!

Note: I've posted a few pictures of it

and it's been interesting seeing

them pop up here and there 

across the web.

...this one, especially!

~~~

Working on my food photography some.

This breakfast of Greek yogurt and fresh fruit

has become a daily thing lately.

~~~

I took some photos for a family friend.

Little E is wearing her Mama's bonnet

in the picture. Her mom fell in love

with this one. ;-)

~~~

And here is her big brother. This little man

did all the posing by himself...the look, the tilt,

seated pose, the hand placement.

At only 5, he's a natural in front of the camera.

~~~

And this one is probably my favorite from the

whole shoot simply because her personality

shines so! What a little stinker! So darling,

and SOOO happy!

...always smiling!

And I love that she's going through that stage

right now where her tongue is always out.

This stage doesn't last long so it's

good to get a wonderful

shot of her and Mom.

~~~

Daddy and Miss E.

Again with lots of smiles!

~~~

Those are a few of the things that have kept me busy lately. 

In reality, the list is crazy long and you

wouldn't be interested in most of it anyway. ;o)

~~~

I went to the Farmer's Market today and

made out like a bandit!

I've already frozen a huge bag of tomatoes, 

plus we ate several for dinner along with

some freshly pulled carrots.

One of the tomatoes we ate was the

size of my opened hand, with my

fingers spread apart! It was

huge

...and Delish!

Until next time,

I'll be sharin.

Nikon D90 repairs estimate

I finally got a call from the local camera store; they heard back from Nikon and estimated the repairs will cost around $300.

Image via Wikipedia

If $300 will get me an "almost new" camera, that's a fair price.

The reason I say "almost new" is because I requested that they not just check why it won't show that there's a fully charged battery in it, but I wanted them to give it the once over and check it for anything and everything that could use their attention.

Maybe I'll get my D90 back with a nicely cleaned sensor, focusing issues double-checked ... essentially an "almost new" Nikon D90.

Off the top of my head I can't remember how many actuations (shutter clicks) it has, but I'm guessing it's more than 5-6,000. That would mean it's still fairly "young" so I should get several more years out of it that will be (fingers crossed xx) trouble free!

Image by rachel a. k. via Flickr

I'm still not taking photos with the other cameras I have, though I've tried. The Nikon N80 (film camera) was interesting to play with, but the drawbacks! Boy, I'd forgotten about them!

Obviously, no LCD view screen so there's no immediate feedback. This is my biggest problem. I don't chimp after most shots, (look at the LCD and zoom in to check focus, lighting, colors, etc.), but I do like to check the first 3-4 images, just to be sure I've set my camera and/or light settings properly. Once I'm sure of that I can shoot away while trying to engage the subject.

Image via Wikipedia

And the other major flaw of not shooting digital is the cost. I was completely aware of how much each click was going to cost me for film, processing, etc. It made me leery of pressing the shutter indiscriminately.

The camera store guy said it will take another 2-3 weeks for the repairs to the N80 to be completed. 

One last image.

source: BestBuy.com

This is one of the newer Nikon's currently available. It's not as robust as my D90, but isn't it beautiful! I would love it if Nikon decided to give my D90 a new RED paint job too!

So, that's it for now.

I'll let you know when it's back in my hands.

'til next time, I'll be

sharin