Extra photos of our Saturday

These belong with the post below, but Blogger will only let me upload so many at a time. Also, Blogger compacts the photo, so it isn't as sharp as in person.

Reason 1 million and Our Great Saturday

The 1 millionth reason I love my husband is because he restored all the photos I took today, which I thought I had accidently deleted off the computer. Some of my most favorite shots. He rescused them. And yes, I cried like a baby when I thought I lost them all. Here's a tip: when you delete photos off your computer they go to a magical place called the recycle bin which holds them for a short period of time. All you do is click on the photo and click restore. All is made right in the world. Marrying a computer guy comes in handy sometimes. I am not ignorant about computers, but I didn't know this tidbit. Hopefully, it will save someone else from crying crocodile tears.

Rob and I went Apple Picking and Wine Sipping today. Since we started doing this last year, this is our new fall tradition . We had a great time. We walked around, had a great country lunch, went on a hayride, picked apples, and sat at a winery passing the late afternoon time. I love the fact that Rob and I can do such quiet activities together. We are planning to make an apple pie and an apple and spice cake this weekend.

I LOVE these photos and would say that they are some of the best I ever taken. The photo course has taught me alot about my camera and what it can do. These have not been altered in Adobe in any way. The course has taught me to learn how to take better photos in camera, so I don't have to work as much in Adobe. I know I have room for improvement, but I am happy with my progress.

So Surprised and Honored

I am so excited about this. I was choosen as Layout of the Day on Scrapjazz. You guys have to check this out. This is so cool :-) This is my first time, and yeah, I am on Cloud Nine. This was the second digi LO I ever made.

http://www.scrapjazz.com/

Edited: If you didn't see it yesterday, they have taken it down. The LO only stays up for one day. Here is the one that was chosen:

Here and There

Saturday I went to Dave and Busters to do team building with my cheerleaders. Kinda bummed because only half showed up, but had a nice time with the other young ladies. Rob went because I hate to drive and he said that nothing is worse than the chatter of teenage girls :-) He had me cracking up :-)

My friend Meisha came into town on Sunday. Oh my goodness I hadn't seen her in years. It was so good to visit with her. Makes you contemplate how you can lose touch with those you were once so familiar with. Kinda makes me sad and reminds me that friendships are vital in this world. I wish that I lived closer to some of my friends. They all live in different states.

Photography class is going well. This week I learned how to take great action shots of my girls and the football games. Very important to a coach. I think I am going to sign up for the 8 week course, but I have to convince myself to let go of the $300 :-( I love my digi rebel, it is the best investment.

Have some serious thoughts on my mind lately. Gotta learn to lighten up and let God, but sometimes you are afraid to let God because you are afraid of his response or path for you. Sometimes I am afraid to pray, heavy thought I know, but it is true.

Delta LO

New LO's

Some new LO's I have created this week. Both were inspired by challenges from the Elsie book. I still love that book.

Journaling for the love LO: What you’ve taught me is that love is a sacrificial state of being. It is about giving yourself completely and believing that God has led you to the one person who can nurture and love you to your core. You have taught me that love is steady, comforting, passionate, and above all fulfilling. You’ve taught me so much… especially the fact that I never knew what love was until I gave myself to you.

Journaling for the Paparazzi LO: Usually Rob works so well with the camera. He comes cheap, is available at odd hours, and tolerates retakes. Today was a different story. I warned him that he may never work in this town again. Then he smiled ?!?

Unexpectedly

Here is my LO for the final round of the scrap challenge. The challenge was to use the theme UNEX- PECTED. Very broad, but I think I did something very personal and real. I like it. Here is the journaling:
I grew up the oldest of four children. Because my mom was a single parent, I helped her raise my siblings.
My mom ran a home daycare center for many years, and I never had a problem helping her when I got home.
I work with 150 kids each year and I have coached cheerleading for the last three.
I have always wanted to enjoy the process of motherhood.
Yet, quite unexpectedly, I am not sure I want to travel that path anymore. I am not sure why or when it happened, but I have felt this way for a while now. I feel so conflicted. I love my husband passionately, and some days I think having a child is the greatest way to show and solidify our love. Other days I worry about the evils of the world and my ability to raise and keep a child safe. Raising a child is such a huge responsibility and I am not sure I can or want to handle that responsibility. However, I love my husband and realize that we have so much to offer a child, that somedays I say to myself, "you can do this."
Who knows…I could unexpectedly change my mind again.

Oh yeah, I won an online Bingo game at personalscrapper.com I am hoping this winning streak continues with the contest above :-)

So I went to Target to pick up the Timberlake CD and they were sold out. The lady said they sold 6 cases in one week. Apparently that is a heck of a lot. Kinda upset about it. But my super sweet hubby, surprised me with it the very next day. He went to another Target on the other side of town to pick it up and surprise me. Gotta love that guy :-)

Going to Dave and Buster's this weekend with my squad to do some team building, and eating and playing. I love coaching.

Doing an online crop this weekend with the fabulous ladies of personalscrapper.com (the link is on the side)

Otherwise, life is life and I have no complaints, other than the fact I wish I didn't have to go to work and could practice the art of leisure living perpetually :-) A girl can wish can't she :-)

I made it to the final round in the scrap contest. The last round is about the theme Unexpected. Wasn't sure what to do with something so abstract, but I came up with a great idea for journaling. It is very personal and honest. Hope it goes over well.

Life has been life. I spent the weekend doing absolutely nothing but napping and watching football on the sofa with my husband. Nothing better than a lazy weekend.

Photography class is going well. I learned that if you don't have enough light that the camera can't get a good stop action photo. The action will be blurred because of the lack of light. Also, in the basic modes on the digi rebel the camera self selects the focus points. Because of this, what you want to be in focus may not be achieved because the camera is calling the shots and not you. It is so helpful to upload assignment photos and have a professional critique them, offer suggestions for improvement and answer any questions that you may have. I am definately siging up for another course.

I love the new Justin Timberlake CD. You have to listen to it on Rhapsody and then go out and pick it up. The music is smooth, with strong beats and sexy lyrics. Great second album. My husband and I call him white chocolate because he has so much soul :-) lol

Lo and Weekend Plans

This is the LO for round 3 of the contest. You had to scrap about your future or your past. I did a little of both. I thought maybe I should use a photo of me smiling from ear to ear, but then I thought the journaling is about being happy with my everyday life. This is just one of my everyday expressions. I gambled, so we will see how it turns out. I usually ask Rob's opinion on stuff like this, but he has the audacity to be in class instead of critiquing my LO's. Just kidding, I love that my hubby is smart :-) Here is the journaling in case you can't read it.
Journaling: I have always been fascinated by the future. When I was younger, I spent much of my time daydreaming about how my life would be. I was always one to want more because I was never satisfied with where or who I was. But today, I can say that I don’t daydream about the future anymore because I am happy with my present. I have a wonderful husband, a career, multiple degrees, a home I built, my health, the love of family and friends, a creative outlet and financial security. Somedays I don’t fully recognize what I have, but today is not that day. No more day dreaming for me because I am living the dream today.

Tomorrow is Friday and the tailgate at the high school to support the Varsity football team. Our new social commitee chairs are doing a fabulous job of planning activities this year. It should be fun and I definately should have some pics to post.

Learned some new stuff in my camera class this week about how to get true colors in your photos and the importance of setting white balance and how to do custom white balances. The assignment for this week is to practice using the portrait and sports setting and the impact aperture and shutter speed have on the two. I figured the football game will be great for the action part of this assignment.

Congratulations Are in Order and other happenings

Congrats to my mommie who was named Employee of the Year. I am so proud of her. She gets a plaque, a banquet, and a raise!!! Go mommie, it's your birthday, go mommie it's your birthday :-)

The new challenge for the scrap contest is to scrap about your past or future. Which translates to intense journaling. So not sure what I should do.

If you love Chatterbox, check out these kits at personal scrapper, they are gorgeous.


Taking two days off from work can really energize you. I have been on the ball this week. Feels good.

My girls had their first performance yesterday. They did fairly well, but there were some areas that needed improvement. Needless to say, practice today was very intense. They do have potential though. I love coaching and I love watching the girls improve and grow as young ladies.

Fall Retreat

Photos from the Delta Fall Retreat. I used my point and shoot camera b/c I thought I would stand out to much with my digi rebel. I shouldn't have worried b/c other sorors had theres. Great fun. I can't wait for the first official chapter meeting in October. It is wonderful to walk into a room and know that all the women there share you same beliefs and christian values about life. We all value education, service, and sisterhood. I look forward to being active again. When I was in undergrad, I was the community service chair and I loved it. Being in service to others is one of the most rewarding things we can do in life.

Updates

Adrienne: I have two lenses a 28-55 and 55-200. They are both Tamron lenses and they came with my rebel xt kit.

Great news people: I made it to the third round of the scrap contest on another site. I am so excited. I can't wait to find out what the next challenge is.

The Delta Fall Retreat was fabulous fun. I had a great time meeting new sorority sisters and am definately excited about recommitting myself to the organization. Will post some of the photos later. I didn't want to take my big camera, so I used my kodak. Funny thing was, there was a soror there with her camera, and we instantly bonded and shared stories about our digi rebel xt. how fun :-)

Extended Birthday Celebration (or me just dodging work)

We had a blast today. We both played hooky again. However, I felt really bad about it and Rob was non-chalant. I definately needed a mental break though. We got up this morning and went and ate breakfast at the Waffle House, no we didn't have waffles :-) They do have the best hash browns around. We drove out to another park area about 40 min. from the house. Rob is so good to me. He carried my bag, helped me set up my tripod, and even read stuff to me from the manual. There is nothing better than having a husband that supports your dreams. The assignment in the photography course was to understand white balance and its effects on your photo. It really does make a big difference. I also experimented with shutter speed. Here are some of the shots from today. Please remember they are straight out of the camera and I haven't played with them in Adobe photoshop. Some need to be lightened and sharpened, but overall I like them and feel that they are getting better. I am learning from the photography course. I can't wait for next weeks lesson. Rob and I left this park and went to another one in a trendy part of town. We brought slices of my uneaten birthday cake and he sang his version of happy birthday. We played cards, listened to music, and just talked as we sat on a blanket underneath a gazebo. We left there and had a nice dinner outside at a new restaurant. Such a fabulous day. Unfortunately, it is back to the real world on Monday. Yes, I will be going to work :-)

Happy Birthday To Me

I would like to thank my mom and dad for finding each other, so that I could be created :-) :-)

Really though I am thankful to make another year and I pray that I learned some life lessons, and that God will continue to work in my life in my pursuit of being a better person.

Woke up this morning and decided not to go to work. I have over 30 days built up (I am a dedicated teacher) and decided to do me today. I felt that forcing my body to work was not honoring my true spirit (English teachers can make anything sound good :-)

I plan to do what makes me happy today. Breakfast at a nice cafe, practicing photography, mexican for lunch, some scrapbooking, and a beauty salon appointment. Alot on the agenda. I will see how much I get done.

One non-birthday celebratory item: write out progress reports which are due tomorrow :-(

Remember...create something beautiful or learn something new today :-)

Something New

Here is my LO for the no cardstock challenge. If you want to stretch yourself creatively, than I suggest you give it a shot.

Sherri...the site for the challenge is on the right tool bar.

My day of birth is tomorrow. I plan to work on this personal holiday and get my hair done. Rob has class at night, so we won't be able to celebrate until later. In honor of my birth, go out and create something beautiful or teach yourself something new. Two things I believe strongly in :-)

I love short weeks :-)

Just think...tomorrow is already hump day :-) Okay I am trying to make this positive. Ricky Bobby was a funny movie if you like Will Ferrell. Some of it is a little over the top, but it was fun and light, which is what we sometimes need.

I start my first photography class tomorrow through an online site called www.betterphoto.com The class is all about exploring the digi rebel, which is something I need. They have a ton of other courses as well. Check them out. Please let me know if you sign up, I think I get bonus points or something. I uploaded the pics from the weekend and I didn't always get the shot I wanted. Oh well, I love learning and photography is another hurdle to cross.

I made it to the 2nd round of a scrap contest I am in on another scrap site. Kinda excited. The next challenge is to do a LO with no cardstock. Unless you have done this, you can not imagine how challenging this is.

My girls and guy first performance is next Monday. I so hope they are ready. I am going to tape it, so we can critique it later on. I love coaching cheerleading, almost as much as I loved being a cheerleader in high school.

I had a great time hanging with my friend Jen and Latonya from work at the wineries. I got some nice photos that I will upload later. I was so sick yesterday, that I slept the whole day away. I don't know where the cold came from, but it came in full force Saturday night and kept me in the bed all day Sunday. Kinda upset because now my weekend seems one day shorter. Oh well. Off to see Ricky Bobby and them back for some BBQ. Hope you are having a fab day :-)

Friends

Gotta love visiting with good friends. Met Jen at Giotti's on the hill and had a great Italian dinner. I enjoyed visiting with her, her boyfriend, meeting her mom and her cousin. The dinner was great and worthy of the Hill's reputation. After dinner they went to the hotel and Rob and I went to Boogaloo in a trendy part of town. It was nice. We sat outside, chatted and had a drink. Today we are going to the wineries to listen to my co-workers husband play with his band. Jen and company are coming also, so it should be a blast. I plan to take my big baby out today (this pic was taken with my little baby). Hope I get some good shots before the wine kicks in :-) Rob and I were also talking about going to this new neo-sould club tonight. Suppossed to be real laidback. Busy weekend. I am off to do my one hour of work related activity. I hope this new strategy keeps me from feeling overwhelmed.