26 june 2011

I started looking at some of the photos from last night. The gym shots are poor. I should have kept the speed up because the kids were moving. There is blur.

POTD. Today's prompt is heart. I had the idea to make a heart of flowers using my Lego flowers. I don't have enough stems to make it look good. I pulled out the Lego heads and used those. Kind of odd, but I like it.

Backed up my devices and momento. Did some laundry. Made grilled cheese for lunch. I normally go to McDonalds on Sundays when dad is home. But since I went to church early, I didn't get lunch. Andy was OK with the change though he kept commenting on it.

Worked some on the party photos. I am down to 300 photos. I have processed 50. Hopefully I will get it down even further.

Layout: meet the teacher. I came across these photos yesterday so decided to scrap them today. (Poor photos. I used my point & shoot without the flash.)

Card of the day.

Checked out the app store. I found Day One which is a journaling app. They also have apps that run on iOS devices. I am trying it out. I like that momento culls my feeds but it does not sync. I have been using notesy for my journaling. It syncs well using dropbox. Day One also uses dropbox. But notesy is very plain. Day One has a few more options and also a date stamp.

Dinner: tuna, tomatoes & lemon sorbet.

Ryan wants to continue our outings on Wednesday, which we have now labeled Wednesday Adventure Club. He does not want to even come to the pool when Andy goes swimming. But he does want us to bring him back lunch. And by lunch I mean fries from McDonalds.

Still not sure about 500pixels. I am seeing more lackluster photos so I should not be afraid to post more of my work. Still. I will save only the best for it.

I started tweeting again. Since I got rid of most the Brits I used to follow, there is little to read. It's OK. There are some more I need to purge. I followed them back to be nice and now I see they post a lot and stuff I have no interest in.

Even though I am doing Finding Photo Freedom, I wanted to take another class. FPF just feels like busy work. It is probably something I could have done myself. But paying the fee is motivating me to get it done. Anyway, I just purchased Design Your Life by Cathy Zielske.

25 june 2011

POTD.

Spent my morning buying digi kits and organizing some. Also worked on August 2008 photos. I got about half done with that month.

Card of the day.

I stopped at Five Guys on my way out. Oh man it tasted good.

I photographed a birthday party tonight. It was for a two year old. It was a pirate pool party. Too bad it got rained out. Mostly. We went indoors to the gym. The kids still had fun. After pizza and cupcakes and presents, the rain had stopped and the pools were reopened.

I felt awkward taking photos of people just at the party. It was easier to focus on the kids but I tried to get the adults too.

The party was from 5:30-7:30 but they had use of the place until 9:00. I left after 7:30 so I could get home for bedtime. I got home at 8:03. Ryan was out of the bath and Andy was going in.

I ate half a melon. I know I am going to wake up with a tummy ache.

24 june 2011

The boys got haircuts today. It was a morning appointment which was different for them. We usually go near the end if the day when there are fewer people.

Dad left Atlanta at 6 am. Andy is very happy. "I cannot wait until Poppa comes home."

POTD

I just realized I should get Jack a birthday gift. He is turning two and I am going to be shooting the pirate themed party. I wonder what I can find at Barnes & Noble or can I talk the boys into going to Toys R Us.

I ate lunch at Barnes & Noble. I love the roasted tomato caprese sandwich. I think they overheated this one. I found a Melissa & Doug toy, Melissa & Doug Beginner Pattern Blocks
">Beginner Pattern Blocks, for Jack. B&N has a kids nook area. There are two tethered nooks on a short table with cushions. It reminds me of the Apple Store. Andy picked out Percy's Chocolate Crunch. He must have a half dozen copies of this book. Ryan found another Warriors book to add to his collection. Andy is walking around the store. He is easy to spot in his yellow shirt & hat.

Ryan was concerned about the darks clouds. He hates the rain and storms. I told him we would be OK. He asked how. I said I would keep him safe. He said OK.

We ran into some rain but Ryan stayed quiet. If he was upset, he didn't show it.

Dad called after 1 to say he would be here before 2. Andy was really excited. In the past, the boys hide when poppa comes. They wait until he is settled and things are quiet again before they come out. Today, Andy kept checking the time and looking out the window. When poppa finally arrived, Andy told me he was here. I told Andy to open the door and say hi. He did and was practically bouncing up and down. He let poppa hug him and helped us carry some of the numerous bags.

I finished purging July 2008 photos.

August 2008 POTD.

Card of the day.

Ryan was concerned about the storms that have been threatening. We'd get a lot of thunder and little rain then it would stop for a while. It had stopped for his bath then started again. Andy thought he could skip his bath. I said no. There is only rain and not thunder. It is not that safe to bathe while there are sever thunderstorms. Ryan has taken that to me any rain or thunder. And Andy will skip his bath if Ryan skips his. But with them getting haircuts, they both needed to wash their hair.

23 june 2011

Itchy. Now I know Off! Does work. But I have about a dozen bites where I did get the Spray to go like the backs of my arms and thighs.

POTD.

Hips are out of whack.

We went to the pool. It is getting too hot. I think I will have to go swimming soon.

As we were leaving, we saw smoke. I was surprised that burning was allowed. Our county just issued a fireworks ban through the holiday.

Lunch and the post office. The boys came in even though it took about 3 minutes to get my package.

Groceries at Publix. I spent $115 today. This is getting out of hand.

On the way home, we saw a fire truck pulled over near the burning we had seen earlier. It is not a controlled burned and had gotten bigger and spread. Hopefully they will be able to get it under control before it gets too close to the homes. Ryan is concerned that it will get to us but I told him it is pretty small and they can build fire breaks to control it. He actually hoped for rain.

My package is the CF card reader I ordered from china. It works well. I am not sure how much I will use it but it is nice to know I can.

Layout; Upper Tampa Bay Park

I used a template from Scrapping with Liz. I like that templates make it quick and easy to make a layout. But I am also finding that many, OK most, templates, have too much stuff going on. These days, I am happier with a cleaner designer and prefer grids and color block designs.

http://www.linnecards.com/2011/06/23/sunkissed/.

My dad is planning on driving down tomorrow. Andy asked and I told him. His smile was very big.

22 june 2011

Another Wednesday adventure; Upper Tampa Bay Park.

Ryan was eager to get going. iTunes was giving me crap. We left about 9:30 Ryan chose the long route again. We got to the park at 10:30. There is a $2 fee to enter the park and the gate was not manned. I only $20 bills. I did find enough change to pay the fee.

The park was pretty much empty except for the lawn maintenance crew which woke up the millions of sleeping Mosquitos. I used bug spray but still got a few bites. The boys will only allow it on there legs and ankles, I wonder how they did. (Ryan has a few but they do not affect him. Andy has some that he has been scratching.)

We walked into the air conditioned nature center looking for a map. The trail maps are crude while the canoe maps are professionally printed. They have quite the array of fresh water and salt water fish. We even saw Dori, Nemo and Marlin. They have snakes and turtles too.

I was really surprised by the working bee hive inside the center. Yes, inside. It is encased in glass so you can see the bees working. The enter through a pipe in the wall.

There are satellite maps on one wall. One includes much of Tampa, another includes that portion of Tampa then a third includes just the park. Ryan took photos of everything.

There are two trails. One is called and bobcat and it goes along the boardwalk. The boardwalk is closed for repairs but the satellite map showed what I thought to be a secondary route. Ryan chose the bobcat trail. It circles the salt barrens. We saw fiddler crabs running away from us. I tried to photograph them but they were too fast. Ryan tried with his iPod and was not even close. I tried to tell him to get his phone ready first before he went looking for them. He would not listen.

We ended up having to turn back. The path I thought we could use was not clear enough. Besides the walk was short enough. On the way back, we heard something in the brush. Ryan turned to go see but I pulled him back. There are snakes and other creatures there which would likely freak us both out. Ryan complained about not seeing any animals but he is too noisy and impatient. I said we could go to the zoo if he wants to photograph animals.

We got back and Ryan wanted to go for lunch. I tried a quick shot of my Lego guy looking at a flower. Lego guys don't stand up well in a breeze and there were loads of ants darting about. We left.

On the way out, I saw a turtle walking by the side of the road. I stopped and told Ryan to take a photo. He barely looked out the window. He was afraid of the turtle. Imagine if we would have seen a water moccasin or opossum out there.

We had lunch and came home. My first kit for Lego master builder academy was here. I am not into space and kits like this but it was still fun to put together. The kit is very nice and comes in its own sorting and storage box. The directions are much nicer than the ones you find in typical kits.

POTD.

Dinner: salmon & grape tomatoes, black cherry sorbet

Card of the day.

21 june 2011

Feels like a lazy day.

Worked on June 2008 photos. Found some more 2008 photos not synched with Lightroom. Turns out they were just duplicates left over from iPhoto. I am glad to away from iPhoto.

POTD

Lunch.

Words with Friends with my nephew. He must have his notifications on because he plays his turn so quickly.

While photos were converting to dng, I tossed more stuff. Tons of mini eyelets and brads that I will never use. Tons of flowers. And a few kits that only a remnants left. Feels good.

Worked on July 2008 POTD.

Bad stomach ache. So I had popcorn for dinner. I do feel better.

Card of the day.

Ryan had trouble deciding where to go tomorrow. He wants to go hiking. He picked Upper Tampa Bay Regional Park. It is mostly for canoeing.

I joined mlkshk. Still trying to figure it out.

20 june 2011

At the pool. Looks like the deck work is done. I am not impressed. The people who run this are all about saving a buck then complaining when it doesn't last. There are two guys by the pool equipment. One is bent down doing the work. The other one is supervising or just adding comment. The commenter has a typical New York nasal accent. "How can you work that way?!" When the guy working mumbles something, the commenter retorts, "Take it easy!" Nothing is said as a statement. Everything is emphatic.

It is hot today. Where is the breeze? Oh right there, barely a whisper and not at all refreshing.

Capture Your 365 prompt is late. I had to use The Daily Shoot which is heat. I was not very inspired. I realized that I do not have many plain building lego.

I did finish June 2008 POTD. This was the second summer I had my dSLR and I took a lot of photos of Ryan jumping into the pool. He really enjoyed swimming then.

A few years ago, there was a woman with 2 kids who came to the pool on the same days as we did. She would yell at her kids with idle threats, "If you can't behave, we will leave and not come back." The kids misbehaved and whined and they came back. I don't recall seeing them last year and maybe the year before. They were back today. I thought it might be them when. I heard the girl say, "James come to Sissy," soon the mother was yelling at James not to yell "Help!" and I knew it was them.

Andy thought she was yelling at him and sat down next to her. Oh dear!

Ryan commented that Andy broke a pool rule by walking in the gutter. I need to print out some rules and maybe then he will follow them.

Capture Your 365 prompt is "gone surfing". I did have a surfboard in my shot but said it was too hot to use it. Hmm...

Lunch & groceries. Andy had wanted to go in the blue doors at Target. We have a SuperTarget and the green doors lead to the grocery side while the blue doors lead to the regular Target side. It is one big store but I tend to stick to the green doors/grocery, unless I need something specific. It is too easy to spend money at Target. So we went in the blue doors today. We walked by the books and the toys. My boys did not want anything. Really. I asked them and they said no. None of the new Cars 2 items and no Lego for Ryan. So I skipped getting a new Lego set for myself. My kids are weird.

We did get a new razor and shave gel and after bath I have to try to shave Andy's face. Yikes!

I did some more photos for POTD.

I did a layout of Ryan's first science project.

Card of the day.

I did work on June 2008 photos. I deleted about 700 photos today.

I talked to Bonnie about her son and parenting techniques.

The shaving went OK. I used Neutrogena Gel and a Gillette razor. Andy was still apprehensive. I made him sit on the toilet. I did miss some places but got enough off for now. His cheeks are a little red. I don't know if it is from the shaving itself or from the gel. I did get the stuff for sensitive skin. Hopefully, I will not have to do this very often. At least not for a while.

19 june 2011

Father's Day. Just another day in this house. Though Poppa should be here by next Sunday. I hope. He went to Indiana today and should be in Atlanta by Wednesday.

Spent most of the day working on May 2008. I was trying to be very creative with the still life scenes for my POTD. I deleted over 1000 photos. I must have been too busy to do much more than grab a good shot and edit it for my post. The rest I left for later. Later took 3 years to happen. Most of the files were still in the original raw format. I converted them to dng. I noticed that I am running low on hard drive space. My photos are kept on an external hard drive with 1Tb capacity. There is less than 50Gb of free space. Purging these extra photos will help but I think I will look into getting 2Tb drives soon.

Andy usually just wears his jammies on the days we don't go out. His jammies consist of t-shirts and boxer shorts. Yesterday and today he has gotten dressed even though we did not go anywhere.

We put off the shaving lesson until tomorrow. I realized I should get Andy a razor than is not pink and some lotion that does not smell like flowers. I asked my sister for advice and she said her boys started out on electric razors. Andy does not want that. He barely outs up with the buzzing when he gets his hair cut once a month.

I have been listening to old episodes of Build & Analyze. I am not a programmer. But I am caught up on all my other podcasts so I decided to download these. Nerd that I am.

Photo of the day. Today's prompt was dad.

Card of the day.

Went through June POTD. Tons of pool photos that need to be scrapped. Tons of photos I took for POTD but did not use. It is interesting to see how I processed photos back then. I used a lot of photoshop actions. I tended to mute the colors a lot. I love that I have the original that I can do something else if I choose to.

I can't remember when I started taking glucosamine. It was recommended by my chiropractor for my chronic ankle pain. Glucosamine is one of the supplements where you can't really feel it working until you quit. I ran out about a week ago and yesterday my ankle started aching. It has only ached when I have been walking a lot. I have only been home and it should be fine. But it feels like it did before the glucosamine kicked it. It is expensive but I think I will make sure to pick some up tomorrow. Though Kirkland Signature Extra Strength Glucosamine HCI 1500mg, With MSM 1500 mg, 375-Count Tablets at amazon is a lot cheaper than what I pay at Target.

18 june 2011

Bought some new kits. Deleted 30 iOS apps. There are lots more I could delete but I am not sure of Ryan still uses the games.

Went to do POTD and noticed one of the cabins was falling apart. I knew it was Ryan. He said it just fell apart. He didn't do anything. Right. So I rebuilt two of them to match the first one. It has the best design. I was missing two pieces when I was finished but I let it go. Then I took the photo.

Orange lunch: grilled cheese, baby carrots, melon.

Ahh. Finally finished editing and uploading the photos from the bicycling finals for special olympics. Also finished April 2008. May 2008 has tons of photos. I was really experimenting with still life vignettes. It also is a record of what I used to decorate my home.

May 2008 POTD.

Thunder but no rain.

Dinner: salmon, tomatoes, melon, chicken nuggets for the boys

Card of the day.

17 june 2011

Ryan asked when to expect his book. I asked if he thought he deserved it after acting so poorly at the mall. He said he deserved it. He thought I ordered the book while still at Barnes & Noble. I didn't but I also did not tell him that I did order it when we got home. I told him how we had to earn an allowance and save up to buy a book. I told him he had to clean up his area in the family room. He uses my old laptop on the coffee table rather than the eMac in his bedroom. Flotsam and jetsam find there way to this area and under the table. He grumbled as he picked up the larger objects. I said there was still more on the floor like the silly bandz he likes to rip up.

Later, he came to me and said the floor was spotless. It is close enough and I told him the book would be here today.

Worked on more Disney biking photos. I have about 50 more to go. Why do I take so many photos?

Worked on March 2008. I took a lot of photos then as well.

Photo of the day.

Lunch: grilled cheese, carrots and melon.

Finished March 2008. Did April 2008 POTD. Lightroom kept crashing even after I rebooting the computer.

Dinner: chicken nuggets for the boys; tuna and tomatoes for me. More melon for dessert.

Card of the day.

Layout, Andy in 2008. I am not 100% happy with this one. The template is from Get a Scrap. The photos do not have equal borders on the mat and it annoys me. I learned this pet peeve from Cathy Zielske. I didn't notice it right away or I would have fixed the original template. I moved the photos as much as I could without redoing the mat. Yes, I know no one will notice but me. I am not real happy with the paper choice. I wanted a stripe to mimic his shirt. I could not find anything is red or blue. I was going to grab Art Warehouse Pride kit but I feel like I use it a lot. I know some Scenic Route would have been perfect if only they stayed around to go digital. Oh well. It is another layout done.

The sky had a glorious yellow orange glow just before the sun set. It made the whole house light up.