Focusing on Life: Monochromatic and Percolated

I'm a photo app kinda girl.  I love me some quality time on the iPad with some creator's inventive way to manipulate and play with photos I've taken. 

For this week's "one" photo, I went back into my vault of black and whites...keeping it monochromatic...and tried out a new app that I found out through some friends on Facebook (thanks, Sue & Nancy).  It's called Percolator.

It was hard to step out of the colorworld, since I was feeling pretty colorful this week.  But, following Sally's prompt, I enjoyed time in the grey world.

This is a shot of a gorgeous chandelier in the Bellagio that I took when I was in Vegas for Mother's Day last year with my ma.  It's all dotted up and ready to go.  Love the tones and the texture.  I think it'll have to get printed....and at least put up on the fridge.

Tons of friends have joined in on the "one a week" idea to focus on life.  They'll be linked over at Sally's Studio Sublime. 

Focusing on Life: Feel the Love

Yeah...I was thinking that "feeling the love" would involve people of some sort, but I think it's more about capturing how much fun I had with my friends at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens last weekend.  This is my favorite shot of the day.  The little sign near it said that it's witchhazel.  I've never seen anything like it before and when I think of witchhazel I think of Tucks medicated pads and then I just laugh and laugh.

So, I took along three friends who weren't really into "photowalk" mode, but they were great sports.  Then, I was a little surprised and really thrilled when they all pulled out their "little" cameras and phones and started playing when we went into the tropical plant house.  We ended up in there for about an hour and all had sooooo much fun exploring camera and filter features.  It was awesome!

I got a shutterfly coupon in the mail this week and decided to order a copy of this one.  Can't wait to see what it looks like live!

There are lots of photographer/bloggers out there sharing love this week...

Focusing on Life: Fresh

Fresh is the word that's going to drive me through 2013.
Fresh is how I'm going to wake up and look at each day and each opportunity
Fresh is the joy I'm going to look for in things that seem rote and boring and old and tired.
Fresh is my outlook on frustrations.
Fresh is my view of crafting and creating and challenging myself to try.
Fresh is how I'll savor the little things like a new tube of mascara or a perfectly salted pistachio.
Fresh will get me to take a deep breath and stop on the way to work on the King Street Bridge on Langley to take a picture when the water is so smooth, there's a duck-looking bird eating fish, and the cars are honking hello.  (I was late for work, but it was worth it.)

So, that's it. Fresh.  That's my word.  

There are others out there sharing their words today...

Focusing on Life - Week 1 - A Pondering Woman

That's me.  The pondering woman.

I'm thinking of all the things I'd like to do this year and how I wish I had the energy to do them. 

I'm thinking about how I want new glasses.

I'm thinking that I should wear eyeshadow more often.

I'm thinking that the skin on my nose is really dry and it's a mystery.

I'm thinking my haircut is cute and I'm relieved because I had to try a new stylist because mine moved.

I'm thinking I should get my eyebrows waxed more often.

I'm thinking I should get some bigger diamonds for my ears.

I'm thinking about being less frustrated by my job.

I'm thinking about going to the gym.

I'm thinking about the next 51 weeks and the photo journey I'm on.

I'm thinking that I compare my life to others' too often.

I'm thinking I'll get another beer (lite, of course) and go play.

A Hipstamatic Study of National War College Architectural Details

Or, in simpler terms:  pics I took while at Curt's graduation ceremony last week.  :)

First off, I have to say Congratulations to him...he's finished up a year at the National War College at Fort McNair.  It has been a year of ups and downs and a few sideways, but he made it.  And now he's off to new adventures!  It was great to spend a few hours with his mom, dad, brother and sister as we enjoyed a gorgeous June day and the graduation ceremony for all the National Defense University Students.  I couldn't help but whip out my phone and take pics as we toured around the historic buildings.  I've tried out Instagram, but Hipstamatic is still my favorite.  Here are a few shots...

Lens:  John S - Film:  Big Up

Lens:  Jimmy - Film:  Dream Canvas

   

Lens:  Kaimal Mark II - Film:  Rock BW-11

Lens:  James M - Film:  AO BW

Lens:  James M - Film:  Big Up

Lens:  James M - Film: Dream Canvas

Lens:  Kaimal Mark - Film:  Rock BW-11

Things that are awesome

Things that are awesome.  

Or, at least I think they're awesome right at the moment.  I'm kinda fickle...

~ Loving on handmade beads from my friends Sue & Donna in great shades of orange and pink and blue.

~ Working with beads and wire...it has been a long time since I got down to business at the bead table.

~ Sleeping in when it's raining on a Sunday morning.

~ Realizing that the pink on my toes matches the pink of my bathroom rug.

~Taking fun pictures with Hipstamatic's "random" setup because you never know how the shot is going to come out.
~ Pulling out some pearls that came from my last trip to Hawaii and fondling their richness before finally using them in a project.
~ Eating no-bake peanut butter cookies from Sheetz that are just like the ones we made in middle school home ec class.

~ Taking a two hour nap on a rainy Sunday afternoon.
~ Feeling skinny after taking a 14 mile ride on the recumbent bike.
~ Playing sudoku while taking a 14 mile ride on the recumbent bike.
~ Being pain free for 10 minutes after an hour on the recumbent bike.

~ Laughing tremendously across the lunch table with a good friend about ridiculous things like capuchins and crimping irons.
~ Making up the bed with freshly laundered sheets.
~ Organizing a bunch of new bras in various shades of pretty pink and melon and salmon and sexy.
~ Savoring a banana pudding milkshake with whipped cream and a cherry from Chik-fil-a; okay, actually savoring a few of them, not just one.

~ Getting Frankie kitty up close enough for some snuggling since it has taken five years for him to get comfortable with me.
~ Figuring out how to play poker with friends and realizing that I can't count; did you know you need all the numbers in a row for a straight?
~ Reliving high school memories and relationships with new album updates in my iTunes repertoire...Van Halen, Ozzy, Tesla, Warrant...you get the drift.

~ Finally getting an appointment with a doctor who might be able to help me get some back pain relief; it's not for a couple of weeks, but it's still scheduled.
~ Watching Modern Family.  This week's episode was flipping hilarious.
~ Discovering Ellen and laughing out loud while looking at Sophia Grace and Rosie over and over.
~ Finishing out the weekend with a Sonic slushie.

~ Life is good.  :)

Project 52 Pic - At the Bellagio

A few months ago my ma called and asked if she could visit over Mother's Day weekend.  Well, here in Hampton, there's lots of exciting things to do like knit or craft or play with cats, but I decided to propose something a little different.  You know...life is too short and so it's time to do fun stuff.  So, we went to Vegas!!


We called The Bellagio home for a couple of days and treated ourselves to luscious massages and a stunning Cirque du Soleiel show and fantastic late night meals and phenomenal cocktails.  It was 


I have a ton of pictures, but I decided to just feature this one for today as part of my "Project 52" set...I've actually made it to Week 19!

I captured this shot using my iPhone's Hipstamatic app with some kind of cool black and white filter/film combination.  I don't know exactly which one.  :)  We had just finished our Sunday morning breakfast and were, sadly, getting ready to head to the airport.  We decided to hang out in the lobby and  watch people for a little while before venturing back into travel mode.  I ended up watching chandeliers more.  :)

It's hard to tell that we're related, right?  haaaaaaaaaaaa

Macro Sunday...You'll Never Guess

It's my fave close-up shot of the week.  Wanna know what it is?

The lint from my hairdryer!  haaaaaaaaaaa

I know it's kinda gross, but when I pulled it out to clean it there was a pretty spiral pattern of pink fuzz. I couldn't resist getting a shot of it.  I have bright pink towels that have been a complete lint nightmare even two years later.


Enjoy my lint and have a fabulous week!

A Peacock, a Pig, and a Panda

Roger, my couch, and I have been spending far too much time together.  My back has really been hurting, so I end up laying around far too much.  Seriously, I realized yesterday that there was absolutely zero that I should be doing.  I had no commitments to anything.  There are plenty of things that I could have done, but I lost hours playing sudoku (got my highest score ever), reading magazines (actually just skimming them and tearing out the things I want to read for later), and napping.  My cats and I bonded.  But, we are already bonded and really don't need to spend this much time together.  So, last night as I sat up watching useless television, I resolved to get up and go do something today.  I decided to go to the zoo!  I have lived here for nearly two years and have always wanted to go down to the Virginia Zoological Park in Norfolk but haven't done it.  I was going to set my alarm and wake up super early and go work out and read the paper and then get there when they opened at 10.  But, in reality, I woke up at the regular cat feeding time when Brando, my big fat crazy boy came up up and reminded me that the sun was up and it's time to be awake.  I crawled to the bathroom (since my back doesn't work that well in the morning) and eventually managed to stand upright.  I'm happy to report that after coffee (two cups) I finally got up and out of the house and on the road to the zoo.

There was a gorgeous peacock traversing the "farm area" of the zoo.  He was being chased by three little boys whose parents had no control over them.  I have been facing the reality of a child-free future lately and thought it might be rough with all the families around at the zoo...alas, there were plenty of naughty, dirty, rude, uncontrolled kids, so I didn't have to feel too bad about being the weird single lady wandering around taking pictures of the animals by herself.  I was happy I wasn't pregnant and trying to pull a carriage full of kids covered in ice cream drippings...there were several of those around.

The crazy-looking pig was probably my favorite animal of the day.  It was just so funny with hairs sticking out everywhere and a huge snout.  It was around here that I saw a lady wearing big giant-heeled sandals trying to control a two-ish-year old.  Seriously, lady, we are walking around a zoo.  To quote one of the kids I heard today, "it smells like poop."  This is not the place to put on your cutest high-heeled espadrilles.  They were cute, but not good for chasing an ornery boy into the tiger trail.

This little nugget is actually a red panda.  So cute!  His (or her, I don't know) tail is as big as his body but it's hidden back in his little bamboo hut.  I watched him for a good 20 minutes as I stood there trying to stretch my hip/ass/back so I could walk some more.  I'm sure I really looked like a crazy woman at that point.  

I played with each of these a little bit with Photoshop Elements.  And, while I was digging around looking for some textures to layer in there, I started looking through my email and realized that I joined in with a year-long Kim Klassen "Beyond Layers" class and have done ZERO of the lessons.  Nice!  haaaaaaaaaaa  Just when I said I had nothing to do...I guess I could open up the flippin' computer and get some things done!  Oh, and I also signed up for a little monochromatic challenge with my friend, Sally Russick, and have gotten to the step of having every purple art supply that I own out on the kitchen counter.  It's kinda fun to shop in your own art room.  Of course I went to Michael's last night for some additional paint, but only because the coupon was set to expire.  I made it under the wire with 15 minutes to spare before they closed.  I should probably go open that paint, but, Roger the Couch has really got me feeling happy, so I may have to snuggle down for a bit.  On that note, happy end-of-the-weekend!

Hometown

I was home in Bedford, Pa, for Easter and loved every minute of it.  I can't believe I have to go back to my "real world" today.  Sharing a few pictures:

The Bridge's Edge

Classicly Empty

Industrial

Northside Landmark

Spring on Copper Mountain

A simple breakfast can be lovely

From my Project 52 set...the week 6 shot of breakfast from Sunday morning.

I'd love to say I eat this beautifully every morning, but I used up all the milk on Sunday and haven't gotten any more yet.  Now I'm stuck with diet bread with diet peanut butter and diet jelly.  Delicious.  haaaaaaaaaa


I love that the little blueberry star is the highlight of the pic (and it only took me six shots to get it like this!! haaaaaaaaaaa)  Luckily, it's some sort of super-healthy cereal that doesn't get soggy fast.


Happy middle-of-February!

Lighter Handed

My wellness day on Thursday was wonderful.  I made jewelry all morning and then went to my knitting class where I practiced casting on and off.  Then, I went on to drawing class in the evening.  I didn't get around to cooking any meals, but I took the time to put a grocery list together for a few Cooking Light recipes and now I have the most yummy smells coming out of my kitchen!  I'm trying a baked root vegetable sort of thing with chicken.  We'll see how that goes.

In the meantime, it's almost like I got to have another day of reprieve from anything "real world" again today and I love it.  I had to go through my photos and find something to draw.  Part of this class I'm in is designed to work us through a drawing from beginning to end.  I was completely overwhelmed with picking one thing that I will have to focus on for hours of work.  But, alas, I finally found a really pretty shot and worked it out.  I'll share more about that one as it goes in later posts.  For now, though, I want to share a few variations of a photo that I found while wandering through my files.  

This is a light from out at the Bedford Springs Resort in my hometown.  I took tons of shots during the course of a few visits last year and I want to use more of them.  I worked with this shot for my Kim Klassen layering adventures.  Some of her advice that I read this week was to be aware of having a heavy hand with adjustments and effects.  Well, I obviously didn't heed this advice for the banner, but I tried a "lighter touch" and here's what I have to offer...I wanted to share my latest PSE banner.  The "gradient map" is my new favorite tool.  Here's the new banner:

 And here's the original shot that they came from:

I'm happy it's the end of a Monday.  I got lots of good mail today, so I'll share later this week!

Project 52: Unraveling

Here I am for week 3 of 52.  This is a shot of a bigass hunk of yarn that one of my knitting buds is using to craft up a big afghan.  

The title of this is "unraveling" because that's how I feel like my week is going and it's only just begun.  My job is beyond frustrating.  I can't find any reason to craft...everything I make just sits around here taking up space.  I can't eat because I have to have my waist measured tomorrow morning.  If I don't meet the waist measurement in the morning, I'll feel like a total loser.  Feeling like a total loser is not good.  I wish I could retire.  I wish I didn't have a mortgage.  I wish I could make good things happen.  I guess I should just try...even if I am too fat around the waist.   Cheers to whining!!  


I think I'll go shop for some beads.  It won't make me skinny or make my job more satisfying, but at least I'll get something cool in the mail in a few days.  haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Wreathtastic in Williamsburg

Curt & I took a Saturday afternoon and had a little adventure up in Colonial Williamsburg.  We were focused on a dinner date, but I made him go up a few hours early so we could wander around and get some photos.  Well, we were lucky to have a nicely overcast day (with good natural light) and the village was decked out for the holidays with all sorts of natural decor.  I heard one of the villagers, aka a person in colonial garb, talking about the decorations and, apparently, the homes in the historic section can only be adorned with materials that would have been available in the 18th century.  As we were walking I joked about coming up with a blog post about this and Curt chimed in with "wreathtastic" as a descriptor...we laughed and laughed and now here it is!  Enjoy!

 Chowning's Tavern

 A little more detail at Chowning's...love those little "ales"

A few close-up shots...love the dried floral & fruit details

Even with supposed limits on the materials, the creativity in these bits isn't limited at all!  I didn't get many good shots of the more non-traditional materials like cotton or feathers or antlers.

And, finally, while we waited for dinner, a little shot of us.  :)

A New Banner

I don't normally stay up this late, but I forgot my sheets were in the washer so now I'm waiting until the final tumbles are done.  In the meantime, I'm having a little fun with PS Elements and trying to figure out how to get a pic sized right for a banner.  Normally I use Picnik and it's really easy to resize things.  This was a little more challenging, but I think I figured it out!

Here's the photo it started from:

And here's the end product:

You may ask yourself, "Why would Jen put a copy of the banner in the post when it's right there at the top of her page?"  Well, I'll answer by telling you that my mom is at least one of my fans and she sees my posts via a daily email, so she wouldn't know what kind of "banner" I was talking about unless I make it crystal clear.  haaaaaaaaaaaa


It looks a little squished, but I think it'll work for now.  I'm taking a Skinny-Mini photoshop course with Kim Klassen, so hopefully I can figure out the measurement stuff along the way.


Happy Friday!

A Little Texture

I selected my Week 2 photo for Project 52.  It's this door...the door to something delightful, but only in my imagination.  Until I figure out exactly where it should lead, I spent some time having fun with it in Elements and even added one of my own textures!  I'm gonna be learning a lot more about textures this year because I just signed up for a year-long adventure with Kim Klassen called "Beyond Layers."  I'd love to thank my dear friend, Sally Russick, but I can't just yet because I have to see just how much time I'm going to lose staring at my computer playing instead of getting things done!!  haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa  Just kidding...the only way to learn how to fun-up pictures is to practice, so having a program to follow is a great way to work.

If you're interested...here's the before shot that I took with my iPhone.  I used five different layers with various masks to make it look like this.  My brother challenged me to never "just apply a filter" and be done...anyone can do that.  It's the little tweaks that are going to make it all mine.  So, that's what I tried to do here.

So, that's two for two in Project 52!  Whooo hoooo.