January 26

January 27
K brought me roses for my birthday and I've been having alot of fun taking pictures with them! I had to laugh because as soon as I saw him with them he said look, time for pictures!

With January 26th picture I just learned how to use textures in Photoshop and I added a frosted window texture I got from Jo at Life's Perfect Pictures. I lowered the opacity and then added a solid red layer and a text layer and that was the result. I've never used textures before but seeing the pictures on i heart faces challenge for this week got me curious and wanting to try. It's not totally what I had in mind, but it's not bad for a first try I guess.

I had the morning off yesterday and edited a bunch of pictures and in the evening we went to the boys basketball game at the high school. JV won but the Varsity lost.

Today Mr. T and Tater were pretty tired and quiet so we didnt' do a whole lot, snuggled mostly. Mr. T liked being my assistant and plugging in and turning on the light on the piano to get my picture for today. He was pretty proud of himself, it was so cute!

Headed off to get ready for Awana soon. Tonight is Talent Night. The kids can sing a song, play an instrument, recite a verse, read a poem, just use their talents for the Lord. It's also bonus points for bringing your Bible and wearing crazy socks...putting both together since we missed last week. We may have to fit in another talent night since we schedule two to fit everyone in. It just depends on how many still want to do their talents.

January 22
I had such a busy day on Friday. I had many things going on at once and this was my desk as a result. I got everything caught up and in the afternoon we got ready and headed over to our friends' place to pick them up for the basketball game only to get a call from the boys saying it was cancelled due to the fog. So as long as we were in the car we went out for supper and K worked on a bit of remodeling in their bathroom with him while his wife and I made some bananna bars and played a couple games of Sequence.

January 23 This was pretty much my view for all of Saturday. I slept in a bit and then had some typing work to do. I got that done and then we headed for a soup dinner/silent auction for a local 8th grader who has lukemia. We headed right from there to the basketball games where we watched the JV boys who lost, the Varsity girls who won, and the Varsity boys who lost. We had a short music practice and went over PowerPoint and then it was finally home to bed!

January 24 After church we went to my Mom and Dad's for lunch and hung out with them until it was time to leave for the evening service. We got to chat with my brother on Skype for a while. It was good to see him, he was planning to come home for Christmas, but between the weather and his car problems it didn't happen. He says hopefully in a couple weeks he will be able to make it though. This is a macro of my Mom's Christmas cactus....I had alot of fun playing with my macro and some of her flowering plants at the house.

January 25 Today started out well, the kids were on time for school and I got Mr. T sent off on the bus for afternoon preschool and a half hour later I got the text message that school was letting out two hours early. The bus kids actually had to stay at the school for an extra hour because they didn't want to send the buses out with the blowing snow and bad visibility. They have already called a two hour late start for tomorrow. Hopefully we can make it and have a basketball game tomorrow night! Tonight's game was postponed, and it was a makeup game from last week! Tomorrow night's game is a make up game as well! I've gotten almost everything checked off of my to do list today...the only thing that I haven't gotten done is write to my sister in law in Kuwait, but tomorrow is a slow day kid wise, and even more so now that I have had the evening to get more things checked off that to do list, so I'm sure I can get that letter written and out in the mail! This is a picture of some of the cds in our 101 disc changer. I love the mixture of colors of cds and rainbow effects on the back of the discs! I added a bit of a motion blur to this in Photoshop as well.

January 21
This isn't exactly the shot that I was going for, but I do sort of like it. I did some color correction in Photoshop and then converted it to black and white. Maybe I'll give the shot I was looking for a try again tomorrow....we'll see if I remember haha!


I woke up a bit later than I planned, but I've still gotten quite a bit done. I pulled all the bedding except for the electric blanket off our bed and have it going in the washer and dryer now. School started as two hours late and I was going to have R from next door at 8, but Dad called and said that he was staying at Grandma's for a while, maybe the whole day since there is no morning preschool with the two hour late start. He said he'd have her call, but so far nothing at 10:30.

I don't have the other boys today, Mom is done working for the week, and so I kind of hope that Grandma does keep R! I'm playing with some more pictures and if things go well I may post some more this afternoon!

No ball games tonight, but we will meet with our Pastor to record his radio message for the week.

Hope you all have a great day!

January 20

January 20
Originally uploaded by H3IdI

This is much later than I had originally planned to post this, but we've been having internet issues. This little star toy was tossed aside and sort of forgotten about while the kids played around it. I took all the color out in Photoshop except for the star and its shadow.

The kids got out of school at 11 this morning. It counts for a day, so that helps, but it does seem as if the worst of the storm has missed us. So far not even a mention of a late start, but we'll see.

I have an idea for a picture for tomorrow, but it requires me getting up with K about 5 am so it's dark in the house. Hopefully that will happen!

Ok you can tell how shocked I was at that award because I completely forgot to list 7 things about myself that the award asks for!

Lets see....1. I really do not like raw tomatoes...very rarely will I eat one on a sandwich or something, but most of the time I will pick it off. However I love big chunks of cooked tomatoes in chili or things like that!

2. I love "different" colors of nail polish...not just the plain old pinks and reds. I love the deep blues, purples, greens, oranges, right now I'm wearing a sparkly silver. At one point one of my favorites was sparkly with some glow in the dark shapes, but that has long since dried up and I haven't been able to find any more. Sigh. Brandi I had to write this after reading your list and seeing what you wrote about your nail polish!

3. I have never lived totally on my own. I was 19 when I got married (12 happy years of marriage for K and I in 2009) and so I moved from living with my parents to living with the husband.

4. I LOVE music! Whether it's singing in church or one of the nursing homes when I am able, leading music in Awana or Sunday School, playing piano, or just listening to one of my cds music is a huge part of my life. Right now two favorites are Steven Curtis Chapman's Beauty Will Rise cd and Selah's You Deliver Me.

5. I had to wait until my 13th birthday to have my ears pierced the first time. Since then I've gone a little "crazy" and not only have my ears triple pierced on both sides, but I have an extra piercing above that on my right ear (partly for fun and partly to balance out the look since the trainee that did my first piercings got them a little crooked) and have the cartilege at the top of my right ear pierced. I used to have a second piercing up there as well but it has grown shut. K and I have discussed many times getting it repierced, but camera lenses and filters have since taken the place of that thought!

6. Our best friends inadvertantly started a collection of Precious Moments figurines for me....now I'm about as addicted to them as I am my pictures and camera!

7. And I admit it...I have lived a pretty sheltered Midwest life and have never seen the ocean! I really want to go at some point! I've had quite a few firsts in my life the last few years, including my first concert (Mercy Me, Aaron Shust, and Monk and Neagle) thanks to our best friends!

Well, there you go, seven random facts about me. And I pass this award along to the ladies that I mentioned alongside Brandi in my last post!

Wow! Brandi
at My Three Bubs gave me this award! I'm shocked! Thank you so much, Brandi! She wrote that she was enjoying my pictures...and that she had especially like this one....
(yep that's a macro shot of my eye...I just did some minimal lightening of shadows and things and then took out all the color except for the colored part of my eye in Photoshop)

I know I've written about it before, but just in case you have stopped over from Brandi's blog I'll write about it again. This year I have given myself a challenge. I want to learn more about my camera and taking pictures, composition and such, and also about Photoshop. My goal is to take at least one picture a day and in some of those try some new things, whether it be a new angle of the shot, using the little eye viewfinder instead of the larger digital screen, trying a different filter or something in Photoshop, but mostly just to get out there and use my camera! It's been alot of fun so far, and even help working through some things that have been going on in my life right now. Thank you so much Brandi, Jen, Dani, Steffi B., Rebecca Jo, Lisa, and anyone I may have missed unintentionally for all of your comments and encouragement with my pictures! I truly appreciate it and you all have helped me to keep picking up that camera on days when I've been discouraged with what I've shot and keep trying! I can't thank you enough for that!

Here is the picture for today...January 19
This plant sits on the railing of the deck in the back of our house. I love the contrast in colors and how soft the frost looks on the leaves.

School was cancelled today, not sure if it was foggier outside of town that had them concerned about buses and students coming in, but it really hasn't been too bad in town. It sounds like we may be in line for some freezing rain and mixed snow and ice the rest of the week so I don't know how much school we will get in. I really can't remember the last week that these kids have had a full week of school! We'll be going into June at this rate!

Still waiting to hear about the basketball game scheduled for tonight too. The last few they have played even with both schools being cancelled for the day so there is a chance we will play. If not we have been invited to a friend's surprise 50th birthday get together. She is a tax preparer and it is starting to get busy for her so it will be just a small gathering of friends, but it depends on the game and the weather if we will be going.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day! Hugs!

January 18 This is my "baby". He is a picture of unconditional love to me! I love seeing his wagging tail and him running off to find his favorite toy when I get home!

We were supposed to go to the Honor Choir/Band concert tonight, but when we got there they had a sign posted that said they had moved it up to 4 pm so the kids could get home before the fog. No one called to tell us :(....so we had the evening free and I cleared off my desk and organized some things and got a start on the cards that I have gotten behind in making. It worked out ok, I was able to be there for a friend who I haven't seen in a while now, who I had sort of lost contact with after she found out some bad news. Hopefully she and the family will be able to heal now and they can grow together as a family.

January 17

I forgot my camera at church yesterday after the morning service. We had gone out to lunch with some friends and had to run earlier than we normally do. Whe we came back to get it we noticed that someone had left their Bible on the library table. The worn pages caught my eye and I started shooting. This is my favorite to come out of that. I was thinking of adding a friend's favorite Bible verse along the bottom in white lettering and doing the same with another picture and adding his wife's favorite verse and giving it to them for their anniversary this year. What do you think...is it too dark? I was thinking that the white lettering would "brighten" it up some too.

I did some very basic editing to this in Photoshop, some color correction and lightening of shadows.

January 16

January 16
Originally uploaded by H3IdI

Hubby enabled my addiction to pictures this morning. He came home from work and told me to get ready, we HAD to go out for a drive and get some pictures! Of course you know I agreed! We had another frost overnight. The only editing I did to this was a smart fix and taking out some shadows in Photoshop. The sky really was that blue....I loved the contrast of the white snow and frost on the tree with the blue sky!

It's been a busy weekend! We lost the basketball game last night but won by two tonight. Too bad tonight's game wasn't a conference game!

I got the house cleaned this morning while K was at work and got my PowerPoint all finished. We have to head to church to get the hymns set up and the announcements into the loop.

Might get some quilting time in tomorrow afternoon, depending on how both B and I feel. We're all set to put the batting on the quilt top. Can't wait to see it finished!

January 15

January 15
Originally uploaded by H3IdI

I grabbed the camera and just started shooting while the kids were playing. I was trying to use the eye piece rather than the digital screen and it ended up a bit blurry so I played with it a bit in Photoshop. It sort of made me think about surviving the curves in life and just staying on track. Not fully thought through, just sort of a glimmer of an idea.

January 14 This isn't one of my favorites...and not story behind it...but it's one I took today...I am keeping up with the picture a day...I took this one at church, it's a plastic poinsettia from one of the plants there. I took this with my macro lens and then played with it a bit in Photoshop. I have a few more pictures in mind...but it's been a busy day and I haven't had time to set them up.

B came over this morning and we worked on my quilt. I have the quilt top completely sewn together, the next step is the batting. I burnt myself on the iron just under the knuckle of my index finger on my right hand. It's kind of puffy looking and a little sore lol definately something that would happen to me haha!

R came at noon and left at 3 and soon after K came home we headed out for a Jr High basketball game. We got back home with enough time to eat and then headed out to church to record PM's radio message for the week.

I'm ready to head off to bed now, tomorrow brings a day full of kiddos and another varsity basketball game. Maybe even a stop at Wal Mart on the way home.

Ok...really off now, can't keep my eyes open any longer....hugs!

January 13

Anticipation! The boys were waiting for their Mom to come and pick them up. I loved watching them as they would practically stand on their tip toes and yell "That's not my Mom!!" as each car drove by. I thought about how excited they were to see her....how they knew she was coming even if they had to wait for a bit, they knew she would be here.

It made me think about how I anticipate feeling comfortable in my own skin, but more importantly how I anticipate the return of my Heavenly Father, how just like these boys knew that their Mom was coming, that she would not forget them, I know the same of my Heavenly Father. And how I should anticipate His arrival with such joy and excitement! It makes me think about how thankful I should be instead of being stuck on the negative and petty. I know I've said it many times before but this Project 365 is really turning out to be a good thing for me. Not only am I getting the camera out more and using it and trying new things but it is a wonderful way to work through my feelings instead of staying stuck and getting depressed!

And more than just snapping a picture, which is what I started out doing, but maybe finding a little more of a meaning or feeling in it and blogging about it has been so enjoyable!

Thank you to those who have stuck around and are reading these maybe odd feelings behind the photos and checking out my pictures and the wonderful comments I have gotten! I really appreciate it!

Hugs!

January 12 This is the picture of the day for today....

but this one was a very close second.
I had fun getting a few pictures with my macro lens before the kids came things morning. School was two hours late due to fog. I love the delicate lacy like patterns and how it looks so soft and almost fuzzy. It's another picture I can sort of relate to although I didn't mean for it to be at the time...it's something cold and something that most people take for granted and barely give a second glance to. But if you look carefully and closely you see something beautiful and delicate. It sort of fits how I feel again.

This photo project is actually helping alot! I can snap a picture that fits my mood for the day and write about it a bit and just getting it out and clearning my mind helps....venting it out and then I can move on with other things...like I'm not ignoring the feelings or just stuffing them away, but doing something and relating to them. Sounds odd I know!

I ended up with the boys today, their Mom called again and said that someone had gotten sick so she had to work a full shift after all. It's been a good day with them, only a couple minor misunderstandings between them. R has spent the morning with Grandma and she will be dropping him off soon.

I've caught up a bit on some laundry and hopefully while the kiddos are sleeping I will be able to make some cards and catch up on those...then I can focus on editing some more pictures!

Hugs!

January 11I have sort of informally titled this one look into my eyes....I am still doing alot of thinking...really wishing that I could just get someone to understand how I'm feeling but I really can't find the words to describe it myself. Pride;humbled;hurting;broken;sad;happy;confused; I'm just trying to sort out who I am. K and I joke that I am going through my "second childhood" now since when I was actually a child I was having to be more responsible/grown up since my Mom was sick. So I guess I am sorting out things that most people honestly would have sorted out by now...still trying to figure out where I really fit in....I don't really feel like I do belong right now, wishing I could just "fit in". I'm just confused. My emotions come in waves and right now I'm at a low. I know it will get better, it just feels kind of good to write it out....
I brightened the eye just a bit, it was darker than I liked with the way I got the picture...but didn't change the color at all...then I went and decolorized all of the picture except for the colored part of my eye.

We went to a Jr High basketball game this afternoon, and we have two more Varsity games this week and Awana. The work week is pretty slow, just got a phone call that I don't have the boys tomorrow, maybe I'll actually catch up on the things I was supposed to catch up on today and didn't get done!

January 10

This is my Project 365 photo for the day....we went for a drive and I took a few...I had a difficult time choosing between this one and the next one....

We had two great services at church today and then after the evening service we went on a "double date" with our best friends to see The Blindside! It was a really good movie! The only bad part was the theater was so full we sat up in the balcony and the seats there were so tight I lost feeling in my leg for a little while. It was worth it though!

I have tomorrow morning off and I will hopefully be able to catch up on my last few things around the house to finally be caught up and then I can relax! I'll have one kiddo in the afternoon but he'll be ready for some lunch and a nap when he gets here, and his Dad picks him up about 3, which should be just after he wakes up if he's still on schedule. Have to love a day of work like that!

January 9 It's not the greatest of pictures but this shows my day today. This was taken with my camera phone...it's Tater as Super Shaggy running off to save the day! K was helping PM and his son A put in a new bathtub and surround and I was hanging out with C, A, L, Mr. T, and Tater. They were almost finished when the drain broke. It sounds like they are going to try to finish it up tomorrow. We had alot of fun spending the day together and alot of laughs. Hope you all had a great day!

January 8-The sunset on our way to the basketball game tonight. It's been soooo cold, but this was beautiful!

Another winter storm has found us. We got another three or so inches of snow but the real concern is that it is so light that it is blowing...and the below zero temps. The kids didn't have school today and they cancelled for tomorrow at about five this afternoon. It was a bit interesting to keep the kids busy today, but no kiddos tomorrow so I can enjoy the snowday with the kids haha!
Otherwise not a whole lot of excitement going on around here...hoping to catch up on some typing work, editing some pictures, and card making tomorrow.
Hope you all have a great day tomorrow!

January 7 the view of our front steps/walk this morning. More snow. No school for the kids today or tomorrow.

January 6-An Awana game...the kids had to hit the balloons with their batons and get the balloon into the tub.

January 5 Yeah today has been one of those days. I wasn't even working and it was one of those days. The picture above is one of my Christmas gifts. I hadn't even worn it yet. I just threw it in the wash and this is how it came out. We went and returned it tonight. I got another one just like it, it's in the wash now. Hoping for the best.
It sounds like we are in for some more snow. I have heard anywhere from another 5-7 inches. I am already so tired of snow and winter!
Got a few more of the Precious Moments I won in the mail today. I won another auction this evening and have about fifteen dollars left to spend to buy maybe one more. I like to find those cheap auctions...the figurine for five dollars and maybe five dollars shipping, or even better free shipping! The hunt is part of the fun!
Hope you all had a better day than I did and tomorrow is a great one too!

January 4
This is how I am spending my evening...and at least some of my day tomorrow. And you can see that we still haven't gotten the Christmas decorations put away...it was the plan for tonight, but K was called away to work on another project. And with K's new netbook I can actually blog, watch YouTube videos, email, etc from right here....I think I'll like this!

December 25-

December 26-My brother in law's dog, Daisy.

December 27-My gift from the boys...I had a little help opening it before I even got it haha...Tateer was in the spirit!

December 28-A little window shopping with a gift certificate

December 29-Wanted this one to be a little different so I played with it a bit more in Photoshop. I used one of Harry's Filters...old film

December 30-Christmas Cheer

December 31-Basketball scrimmage

January 1-I know it's dark but I didn't want to show Tater's face on the blog....he was enjoying his play with these brass rings...not sure what they go to but he found alot of uses for them!

January 2-New cds and my Precious Moments book I look up the figurines in and record what I have...

January 3-K's new toy...Slimey

We had an excellent service in church this morning...Pastor spoke about having a pure heart. Looked at a few things a little differently this morning and it encouraged me to continue on with my "new start" for the new year!
Afterwards we went out to eat for a friend's 18th birthday with her family! We fully embarassed her by singing Happy Birthday in the middle of Pizza Hut!! We all had a great time!
We talked about taking the Christmas tree down and the lights that we have in the house, but K is napping so I don't know if that will happen....there's always tomorrow.
I also planned to download my pictures so I could share with you my week in pictures...so far so good in taking at least one a day...but I forgot my camera at church. (We're working on a new website for our church so I always take my camera along just in case we have the opportunity to grab some pictures for that!) I should be able to get that done tonight after our evening service though....maybe I'll make that a scheduled blog post on Fridays or Saturdays...my week in pictures...another way to keep me accountable in my goal with my pictures!

I'm freezing!!!! It is so cold outside that it physically hurts to be out there! K said that a neighboring town has the temperature listed as -4. I am definately thankful for my electric blanket that I will curl up with tonight!
We had a great day yesterday...we went to PM and C's place and ate and watched some football with PM, C, Big C, M, A&A, L, Mr. T, and Tater, and J showed up a bit later too! I LOVED spending the afternoon with the boys...I haven't seen them all week! PM laughed and said that he could tell I was enjoying myself playing with the boys! K said he didn't know who missed who more as he watched Tater and I playing around!
After we left we headed to Wal Mart to use a gift certificate that A & A gave me for Christmas. I wasn't sure what I was going to buy...but I found a good deal on an external hard drive for all my pictures and I also picked up an Iowa long sleeved shirt, Selah's You Deliver Me cd, John Waller's While I'm Waiting cd that also came with a sampler cd from the movie Fireproof, Steven Curtis Chapman's Beauty Will Rise cd, and Relient K's Let it Snow Baby....Let it Reindeer cd.
I've also had some money to shop for some Precious Moments figurines. I've found some really good deals on ebay. Looking for what I want at the right price is half the fun too!
How was your Christmas? I hope that you had a wonderful time with friends and family and that you got some good gifts as well.
We went to a 50th Anniversary party this afternoon at the church and we were able to do PowerPoint early...I think finding that electric blanket and a good book sounds like a very good idea now! Much love and blessings for the new year!!!