{15|365}

taken on 02.15.11

When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure. ~Peter Marshall

{14|365}

taken on 02.14.11

Butterflies are self propelled flowers.

- R.H. Heinlein

{13|365}

taken on 2.13.11

another gorgeous winter day.
Lots of snow and freezing cold.
footprints in the yard.
cooper and alan.
playing.

{12|265}

taken on 2.12.11

cooper was being very cuddly and lazy.

thats his favorite "baby"

he likes to cuddle his raccoon.

how sweet can you get?!

ABC

I saw Andrea do this, so I thought I’d join in.
A. Age: 29. I am very excited to turn 30 though, and be out of my 20s!!!!
B. Bed size: King! 
C. Chore you hate:  Any of them.  Lol.  I actually dont mind the dishwasher or laundry, but actually cleaning I hate.
D. Dogs: Cooper!!  He's our extremely lovable goldendoodle :)
E. Essential start to your day: Diet Coke! and usually coffee.  Double the caffeine and need the carbonation.
F. Favorite color: I like most colors equally.  Depends on what you are using them for.
G. Gold or silver: Silver
H. Height: 5’8”.
I. Instruments you play: I used to play the clarinet from 5th to 12th grade.  I rocked it!
J. Job title: Business Manager
K. Kids: Chances are that we aren't going to have kids.  We could surprise you though ;)  We have briefly talked adoption, but I am still working through a ton of issues.
L. Live: In our home town.
M. Mom’s name: Don't care about my mom.
N. Nicknames: My sister gave me the nickname "Gogie" so now I go by that or "Gogs" with them.  Also been called "LuLu" "Sarsa" "Sare" and "Begglett"
O. Overnight hospital stays: 10 days when I had the blood clot in my brain.
P. Pet peeve: all kinds that involve driving or cell phones. 
Q. Quote from a movie: 

"I think I deserve something beautiful."
— Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love)

R. Right or left handed: Right.
S. Siblings: Kelly will be 27 next month and is married to my amazing brother(in law) Jared.  Lisa is my adorable little sister who is 23.  I can definitely say I am much closer with Lisa.
T. Time you wake up: 6:45 during the week.  8:30 on my day off so I can go weigh in and go to my WW meetings and then on Sundays it is whenever I wake up, which is usually by 8 or so unless we go out late the night before.
U. Underwear:changing it up lately, now that i am losing weight.
V. Vegetables you dislike:mixed veggies...like them separate just fine
W. What makes you run late: Cooper.  I always forget the extra time it takes when Alan isn't home to make sure he gets plenty of potty time, and then I need to feed him, and set up his indoor electric fence
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Teeth, knee, head, chest.
Y. Yummy food you make:  Cookies!
Z. Zoo- favorite animal:Monkeys
Pick a letter and share with me!
And if you did the blogging abc game, share the link!

{11|365}

taken on 02.11.11

gorgeous morning for a photowalk in memorial park

absolutely LOVE the lighting in this shot

made even more gorgeous with a fabulous preset from Kellie Hatcher

{10|365}

taken on 02.10.11

not only did we get snow....we got FREEZING temps.  Here, it shows 5...but just a few minutes earlier it was 1.  Unfortunately I was driving then so I couldn't snap a pic.

On days like these, I listen to my island playlist and I just imagine I am on the beach.

{9|365}

taken on 02.09.11

lots and lots of snow.
lucky for snow...i love it!

amazing thoughts

Your life is in your hands.  No matter where you are now, no matter what has happened in your life, you can begin to consciously choose your thoughts, and you can change your life.  There is no such thing as a hopeless situation.  Every single circumstance of your life can change!

-Bill Harris {from The Secret}

 

wbw

{one} do you always wear your seatbelt in the car?YES.  I try not to sometimes, to be a rebel....but then I feel like I am breaking the law and put it on real quick
{two} do you crack your knuckles?only sometimes.  and only if they hurt really bad.
{three} what is your favorite flavor of gum?depends on my mood.
{four} what is your favorite piece of jewelry that you own?my wedding rings.
{five} who is your best friend?besides alan, i really don't know.i don't have a girlfriend that i call.the one that understands me best, and is becoming my best friend is kristin.  {six} what is your favorite smell?the beach {ocean}
{seven} what is your favorite lunch meat?turkey
{eight} do you still have your tonsils?yes
{nine} do you untie your shoes before you take them off?nope. i guess i'm just THAT lazy!
{ten} what color is your car?some weird name...but maroon!

frustrated.

im trying to find positive.
im struggling.
i go through this every now and again.
life in general is good though.
i just really get sad when i realize that i haven't seen the ocean or sand in almost 2 years now.
it calms me.
centers me.

i keep telling myself it will be my reward when i hit my goal weight.
problem is, i can't get a week off work at my new job.
unacceptable.
i can't even get the day off to go to my sister's college graduation.
yea, i have to miss it.


i am stalled in my weight loss.
i actually gained .2 a week, then lost 1.6, then gained 1.6.
wtf?
ive been so incredibly stressed out.
lost.
alone.
the ONE THING in life i can control and i am not controlling it at all!


so, here i am, i need to find happy again.
it helps when i do a LOVE list......


i LOVE alan
i LOVE cooper
i LOVE coffee
i LOVE my friends
i LOVE {most of} my family
i LOVE diet coke
i LOVE cozy nights on the couch watching movies
i LOVE taking pictures
i LOVE sunshine
i LOVE blue skies
i LOVE talks with Lisa
i LOVE scarves
i LOVE flip flops
i LOVE open sunroofs

ahhhh....feel better already :)

.... be back shortly with wee bit of wednesday!

jewelry

Jewelry.

Linking up to Allie's Happy Monday Photo Contest over here!

I decided to use my wedding rings for this challenge.

Then, I couldn't get a great shot...not one I loved....so I brought in the wine cork from a bottle we shared on Valentines Day, as a prop.

colorful

photography challenge this week over at Simplicity

The theme was colorful

Of course I had to use my candy hearts :)

wee bit

 {one} what is your favorite breakfast food?daily...BAGELS!on weekends, I love french toast, pancakes or eggs.  Breakfast is my FAVORITE food!
{two} how many pairs of shoes do you currently own?quite a few, but I only really wear about 3 of them regularly.
{three} city or country?love to visit the city, but live more towards the country.  In between really.  Not crazy city life like NYC, but not farm country either.
{four} what is your favorite part of your job?ha!  ummmm.....that I get to do different things every day?!
{five} what is your favorite junk food to snack on?cheddar chex mix....yum!
{six} have you ever been mentioned in the newspaper?honor roll baby!
{seven} do you use post-it notes?YES! i love post-its!
{eight} do you have freckles?yes...but they only really show up in the sunshine.
{nine} is it okay for men to wear pink?sure…why not?!
{ten} when was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper?does a card count?  I guess its been a while.  I do write in a paper journal though, as well as here at my blog.

yoga?

so..
as I am losing weight and making all these changes in my life I am exploring different avenues for working out and stress relief.  Right now, I am exploring yoga.

I have done it on wii fit and find it difficult to use that silly board to balance on.  My gym offers a free yoga session that is open for all ability levels on tuesday and thursday evenings.  I am thinking about checking it out tomorrow.

I am nervous though.  I am not flexible at all.
seriously.
i can barely hold any of the positions with wii fit.
will i look like an idiot in class?
should i just go anyway?

then I just thought of going during that time and "working out" upstairs so I can watch and see how it works.  {its in the gym so I can watch while doing elliptical}

I have not been working out as I should be, and I am feeling the need to get back to it.

I need to do an update on my weight loss since I haven't done one in two weeks.

This week I am going to work on updating my blog a little bit more....I really want to fix it up but can't really figure out how to do it the way I want and then get frustrated.

And there my mind goes again.  I am totally all over the place!!!!!!!!!

LOL!

I need FOCUS!

I won!!!

I won my first giveaway!!!!
I am so excited :)
This was just the giveaway I needed!

Over @ Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans

Weight Watchers also sent me an amazing kit to pump up my morning routine, containing:

·         a Yoga mat in a handy carrying case
·         $15 iTunes gift card for putting together an energizing morning playlist
·         Eco coffee cup
·         Instant coffee packs for on-the-go mornings

What is great is that I have actually been looking a LOT into yoga.  In fact, I've been planning on giving it a try and was looking for a yoga mat at Target on Thursday evening.  Just yesterday I created a new wishlist of music in iTunes but didn't actually purchase it yet.  It's like I knew I was going to win, but I completely forgot I even entered the giveaway! 

wee bit wednesday

{one} ice: crushed or cubed?cubed. but I really do like crushed.  My fridge that I have now won't do it though :(

{two} what is your worst traffic pet peeve?ugh, i have SO many!!!! Probably people trying to text while driving.  Its seriously dangerous and they aren't paying attention or driving correctly and I'm usually stuck behind them.

{three} what room in your house best represents your personality?this is a really tough one.  Its honestly my entire house.  We just built our house this past year and have spent the time since July working on each room and making it our own.  Eventually I will say "my office" but its not even started yet.

{four} do you save old birthday cards?i used to.  now i am sick of clutter.  the only ones i have kept are the ones that hubby has given me.  every other card has been trashed.

{five} when was the last time you went on a picnic?could not even tell you.  i should probably put that on the to-do list for this spring|summer.that would make for some fun pictures :)

{six} do you regularly check your horoscope?actually, yes.  its fun!

{seven} when you’re home, what do you wear on your feet?nothing!  as soon as i walk in the house the shoes come off and then the socks.  can't stand things on my feet.  only when at other peoples homes....can't quite remove my socks {that would be gross....unless i enter in flip flops...then its acceptable}

{eight} what’s your favorite gambling game? texas hold ‘em.

{nine} have you ever written (or started writing) a book?no, but i've always wanted to!  i'm just not great with words...or story telling.

{ten} what is your favorite musical?not really into musicals.  sorry!

{8|365}

taken on 02.08.11

I bought some candy hearts against my better judgement
They made for some great pictures this morning though :)
Although.....its not quite as much fun in B|W
Still pretty cool though!

this has actually turned out to be one of my favorite pictures!

{7|365}

taken on 02.07.11

i was having a rough morning.....and then i looked out and saw three little birds and thought of my favorite "pick me up" song.....

------------------------
{Three Little Birds | Bob Marley}

"Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right.
Singin': "Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!"

Rise up this mornin',
Smiled with the risin' sun,
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin' sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin', ("This is my message to you-ou-ou:")

Singin': "Don't worry 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right."
Singin': "Don't worry (don't worry) 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!"

Rise up this mornin',
Smiled with the risin' sun,
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin' sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin', "This is my message to you-ou-ou:"

Singin': "Don't worry about a thing, worry about a thing, oh!
Every little thing gonna be all right. Don't worry!"
Singin': "Don't worry about a thing" - I won't worry!
"'Cause every little thing gonna be all right."

Singin': "Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right" - I won't worry!
Singin': "Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right."
Singin': "Don't worry about a thing, oh no!
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!

{6|365}

taken on 02.06.11

we moved Cooper into the kitchen from the laundry room
we have an invisible fence outside and the ability to use it remotely inside
he now can be in the kitchen all day while we are gone
of course, he just went straight to his bed

{Scavenger Hunt Sunday}

This is my first time doing the scavenger hunt, and it was actually a fun time this week :)  Some of them were simple for me, almost too easy and therefor my shots aren't so inspired.  But then, I really got into it and got a couple shots I really love.  Hopefully next week is even better!  Here are my shots for this week........

1| Water



This is actually my favorite shot I took this week!  I took inspiration from a couple water shots I just googled and then as I was trying to manipulate them myself, I came up with this beauty.  I know its probably not technically perfect, but I think thats why I really love it.  The sun coming in the window made some really cool lighting in the water.  I just love it!  I wouldn't have even thought to try this without this scavenger hunt!

2| Quote

This was my Christmas gift from my sister.  She put some photos together that we both took while in NYC for our other sisters wedding...and then she used one of my favorite quotes to tie it all together.  I just knew I had to use a picture of this for this topic.

3| Window

This could have fallen under water as well, but its frozen water.  We had an ice storm come through and it left all kinds of ice on our windows.  One night I was sitting in my family room and noticed the amazing light shining in and thought it made a wonderful shot!

4| Activity

Kinda goes along with the last shot.  We had a HUGE ice storm, so hubs thought it would be a BLAST to "skate" down the driveway.....but he didn't quite think about how he would get back up to the house.  Even the grass|snow was covered in ice so thick that he could barely break through to get a grip back up.

5| Page 25 of a Magazine

This is the one I feel is least creative.  Its literally page 25 of a magazine.

At least it is my favorite dreaming mag....Travel and Leisure.  I love to sit for hours and think of all the amazing places I will visit one day.

So...those are my shots....how did you do??

If you are interested in joining in this fun scavenger hunt...the topics for next week are:

1. Shadows
2. Patterns/Repetition (Justine's suggestion)
3. Bright White (Dina's suggestion)
4. Strong (Dina's suggestion)
5. Warmth (Dina's suggestion)

{5|365}

taken 02.05.11 

just kinda happened upon this shot.

my go to spot has become my kitchen window ledge.

when i get home from work it happens to have the some of the best lighting to set objects on.

wine corks are my obsession.

i love the texture of them and how different they all can be.

{4|365}

taken 02.04.11

I was trying to capture "water" for a project this week and happened on this shot by accident and fell in love with it.

Its so technically wrong, but I think that's why I love it so much!

{3|365}

taken on 02.03.11

aawwww....cooper!

hubs was brushing him...so this is his pouty face ;)

sweet sweet cooper.

{2|365}

taken on 02.02.11

so.....

fun times......

hubs decides that hes going to put a piece of mail in the mailbox.

for some reason he thought he would slide down the driveway, rather than drive.

obviously.....did not think about how he would get back up to the house!

after trying a few times, he had to walk in the grass|snow!

{1|365}

taken on 02.01.11

Project 365 | 2010 {year 1} was such a success for me, I figured, let's do it again!

This year, all of the photos will be rockin' out in b+w :)  fun, right?

This here is the hubs company car.  We had a huge ice storm rock through ohio and cover the driveway, house...everything with 3 separate layers of ice.  

what a crazy mess!

Project 365 {2010}

is complete!
I can't believe I actually took it on, stuck to it, and completed it!

Here is the link to my album on Flickr.....
{Project 365|2010}


This is the first picture that I took on January 30, 2010, and I think its actually still my {most} favorite in the whole set!  Isn't that funny?  Plus, I think most of my photos are better in the beginning, but I think thats because I got lazy and just went for the "crap!  I need to take a shot today!!!" photo. 

Project 365 : 2011 is under way already!
Started 02.01.11
Goal : Take a picture daily for a 365 days
Rules:
1. Be creative
2. Process and upload within a few days!!!!
3. ONLY B|W
4. Have fun!!!!!

{wee bit of me}

 {one} what was your favorite sitcom growing up?most definitely Full HouseI would watch it with my sisters and we would always pretend that I was DJ, Kelly was Steph and Lisa was Michelle.  We would then act out the episode forever.  ahhhhh....memories!


{two} what song always makes you happy when you hear it?Bob Marley | Three Little Birds


{three} do you still have your wisdom teeth?no.  They were removed when I was 18 surgically.


{four} what is your go to way to relax?editing photos I have taken in lightroom.-or-watching tv|movie on the couch in the basement with hubs and cooper



{five} do you play any instruments?i used to play the clarinet...does that count?  I played from 5th-12th grade and was AWESOME!



{six} nude beaches: yes or no?no. no. no. 
{seven} do you chew your pens/pencils?no.  I do pull the clips off though.  every.single.time. 


 {eight} can you change the oil in your car?no. i can ADD oil to my car, but I take it in to get changed.


{nine} can you curl your tongue?NO :(


{ten} can you knit or crochet?

NO :(
I really want to learn how to sew though....realllllllllly bad.
i think i need a sewing  machine though....lol.

sweet giveaway!

Really awesome T-shirt giveaway!!!

I really really want it, but you should try to win it too :)

Go HERE to enter!

Goodbye January...

I can't believe one month of 2011 is already over!
How does time flies so fast?
Its pretty crazy really.

Last night I finally finished editing|uploading all of my 2010 pictures.
I am finally into 2011.
Only 1 month behind.
I am off on Friday, so my goal is to hopefully get somewhat caught up....
within a week at least.

I want to be posting more pictures here.
I am close to finishing up my first P365.
Actually, I think I am already done....{this is why I need to get current}
Once I edit|upload I will know, but right now I have 335.
huh...after some quick math...yesterday or today was|is my last day.
Crazy!!!
I actually completed a project goal!
I am doing it again too.

This years P365 is going to be different though.
Its going to be completely B&W.
I want a complete year of B&W photos.

Should be cool, right?
Once I get all of my first year done I will post the link to my album for anyone who wants to see it, but its on my flickr and most of you probably have already seen it.

I will probably make a photo album of it, for fun :)

So....anyway.....

January 2011!
*Worked the IX show again.  First time in 4 years.
*Learning a new job.
*Losing more weight.
*Still becoming a new person
*Losing and then Finding myself again.
*Talked a lot with Lisa.
*Bought a NEW car!

HAPPY 2011!!!

BRING IT ON FEBRUARY!!!
I'm ready for a GREAT month!