Lens: 24-105mm f/4L IS USMAperture: f/4.0
Speed: 1/50 second
ISO: 400
Speed: 1/50 second
ISO: 400
Lens: 24-105mm f/4L IS USMAperture: f/4.0
Speed: 1/50 second
ISO: 400
Speed: 1/50 second
ISO: 400
11 years ago
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Two more photo shoots!
I've gotten the other two photo shoots edited! Here are my favorites from each, and they link to their respective albums.
Lens: 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
Lens: 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
Lens: 24-105mm f/4L IS USMLens: 24-105mm f/4L IS USMFriday, August 22, 2008
Lusk Photo Shoot
The first of three photo shoots are up! Click on the photo to get to the rest of the photos from the shoot.
Lens: 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
Lens: 24-105mm f/4L IS USMAperture: f/5.6
Speed: 1/200 second
ISO: 400
Speed: 1/200 second
ISO: 400
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Garage Before and After
The key to a good After pic is a very bad Before pic! One might use this to their advantage and "stage" their first pic, but usually that's not necessary. It certainly wasn't in our case. Here's the before:
As you can see, the garage had become a maze of mess. What you can't see is that our attempt at organization--big plastic boxes stacked on top of each other in the back corners--had put our boxes to the test, and they had failed. One was crumpling completely in on itself from the weight of the others on top of it. Plus, every time we needed to put something in one box, it was inevitably the bottom box, which meant we just dropped the item in the garage "to put in the box later." Later never came. Until today!
Jon constructed three heavy-duty shelves that would house big boxes and paper office boxes alike, as well as allow for some room to stash odd-sized things like my photography backdrops. He also got rid of THREE boxes of books! (And if you know Jon, you know that was quite a sacrifice for him.) On my part, I parted with all my fall and spring decorations (because I only decorate for Christmas. anyway), and all but one of my beloved crafts. I also went through house decorations from my college days. AND (sigh...) the ghetto-fabulous cat tree is seeing its last days. It's going out with the next trash run.... It's in the house now for its last hurrah, though I must say these cats are not nearly as enthralled as Friday had been. Hmph. Spoiled on store-bought toys, I guess.
The one big thing left for me to cull through is fabric. I've collected quite a bit of it, and it's just so dang useful I can't see getting rid of it. I have a trunk full (that would make an excellent toy box for Caleb...), bags full, and even more stashed inside the house. However, several of my friends have picked up the sewing bug lately, so I might just bestow some fabric on them as a way to encourage their efforts. It would make me feel better about parting with it. Some of my fabric, however, I'll probably never part with!
Something else I feel like I'll never part with are my memory boxes. A tradition we started as kids, my parents would give us a box to hold the memories of our year: awards, drawings, stories, and many many many random things. I guess John did it, too, but I would also guess it the idea was for me, the pack rat with way too many memories. (Hey, when you're as forgetful as I am, you need physical things to remind you...and I just happen to want to remember everything.) So, sad to say, I have numerous memory boxes. Big blue bin, two large Rubbermaids...all housing memories from grade school up. It's embarassing, really, but that's one thing I cannot look at objectively.
And there are still some things in the garage that seem like I will never be able to get rid of them--namely, my darkroom photography equipment. I just can't seem to get motivated to put it up on Craig's list, and the sad truth is that I'm afraid most of it will go in the trash. However, I'm ALMOST ready to accept that truth, because I refuse to move it one more time. I have to get it up on Craig's list, and what doesn't sell, I'll leave at the front door of the local camera store in the middle of the night. :)
So, without further ado, the After!
As you can see, the darkroom equipment is in the front left, and that will hopefully be gone soon, which will clear up even more space. What you can also see is the floor! And the lawnmower! Where did that come from?? And almost every box (excepting a couple of book boxes) are accessible on the shelves, with no stacking and piling (and crumpling) to worry about.
What you can't tell is that one of the big blue bins is completely empty (all decorations relegated to the garage sale pile!), ready for stuff from our back storage closet, when my mom comes and helps me organize that area. And maybe she'll help me with my memory boxes?? (Pretty please with sweet smile and puppy dog eyes!)
All in all, I'm so proud of what we accomplished today. We made some organizational advances that will help us wherever we go, and we got a good start on our overall clean-out as we prepare for Caleb.
NOTE: Notice that Jon's accomplishment was to clean out some book boxes. For as much grief as I give him about collecting so many books, I obviously have the hoarding problem in our house! :) Hence, I've labeled this post "personality" because I think it speaks quite clearly to the type of person I am.
As you can see, the garage had become a maze of mess. What you can't see is that our attempt at organization--big plastic boxes stacked on top of each other in the back corners--had put our boxes to the test, and they had failed. One was crumpling completely in on itself from the weight of the others on top of it. Plus, every time we needed to put something in one box, it was inevitably the bottom box, which meant we just dropped the item in the garage "to put in the box later." Later never came. Until today!
Jon constructed three heavy-duty shelves that would house big boxes and paper office boxes alike, as well as allow for some room to stash odd-sized things like my photography backdrops. He also got rid of THREE boxes of books! (And if you know Jon, you know that was quite a sacrifice for him.) On my part, I parted with all my fall and spring decorations (because I only decorate for Christmas. anyway), and all but one of my beloved crafts. I also went through house decorations from my college days. AND (sigh...) the ghetto-fabulous cat tree is seeing its last days. It's going out with the next trash run.... It's in the house now for its last hurrah, though I must say these cats are not nearly as enthralled as Friday had been. Hmph. Spoiled on store-bought toys, I guess.
The one big thing left for me to cull through is fabric. I've collected quite a bit of it, and it's just so dang useful I can't see getting rid of it. I have a trunk full (that would make an excellent toy box for Caleb...), bags full, and even more stashed inside the house. However, several of my friends have picked up the sewing bug lately, so I might just bestow some fabric on them as a way to encourage their efforts. It would make me feel better about parting with it. Some of my fabric, however, I'll probably never part with!
Something else I feel like I'll never part with are my memory boxes. A tradition we started as kids, my parents would give us a box to hold the memories of our year: awards, drawings, stories, and many many many random things. I guess John did it, too, but I would also guess it the idea was for me, the pack rat with way too many memories. (Hey, when you're as forgetful as I am, you need physical things to remind you...and I just happen to want to remember everything.) So, sad to say, I have numerous memory boxes. Big blue bin, two large Rubbermaids...all housing memories from grade school up. It's embarassing, really, but that's one thing I cannot look at objectively.
And there are still some things in the garage that seem like I will never be able to get rid of them--namely, my darkroom photography equipment. I just can't seem to get motivated to put it up on Craig's list, and the sad truth is that I'm afraid most of it will go in the trash. However, I'm ALMOST ready to accept that truth, because I refuse to move it one more time. I have to get it up on Craig's list, and what doesn't sell, I'll leave at the front door of the local camera store in the middle of the night. :)
So, without further ado, the After!
As you can see, the darkroom equipment is in the front left, and that will hopefully be gone soon, which will clear up even more space. What you can also see is the floor! And the lawnmower! Where did that come from?? And almost every box (excepting a couple of book boxes) are accessible on the shelves, with no stacking and piling (and crumpling) to worry about.
What you can't tell is that one of the big blue bins is completely empty (all decorations relegated to the garage sale pile!), ready for stuff from our back storage closet, when my mom comes and helps me organize that area. And maybe she'll help me with my memory boxes?? (Pretty please with sweet smile and puppy dog eyes!)
All in all, I'm so proud of what we accomplished today. We made some organizational advances that will help us wherever we go, and we got a good start on our overall clean-out as we prepare for Caleb.
NOTE: Notice that Jon's accomplishment was to clean out some book boxes. For as much grief as I give him about collecting so many books, I obviously have the hoarding problem in our house! :) Hence, I've labeled this post "personality" because I think it speaks quite clearly to the type of person I am.
Friday, August 08, 2008
All in a word (Tag)
The Rules: Answer the questions using only one word. Then tag three others.
1. Where is your cell phone? TABLE
2. Your significant other? FUNNY
3. Your hair? SHORT
4. Your mother? GO-GETTER
5. Your father? ENCOURAGING
6. Your favorite thing? CUDDLING
7. Your dream last night? WEIRD
8 Your favorite drink? SONIC
9. Your dream/goal? ENTREPRENEUR
10. The room you’re in? BRIGHT
11. Your hobby? PHOTOGRAPHY
12. Your fear? STAGNATION
13. What do you want to be in 6 years? PEACEFUL
14. What you’re not? CONFRONTATIONAL
15. Muffins? BLUEBERRY
16. One of your wish list items? MASSAGE
17. Where you grew up? TEXAS
18. The last thing you did? SHOWER
19. What are you wearing? COMFY-NESS
20. Favorite gadget? CAMERA
21. Your pets? FUZZY
22. Your computer? MAC
23. Your mood? QUESTIONABLE
24. Missing someone? NO
25. Your car? MARSHMALLOW
26. Something you’re not wearing? MAKEUP
27. Favorite store? TARGET
28. Like someone? YEP!
29. Your favorite color? GREEN
30. When is the last time you laughed? YESTERDAY
31. Last time you cried? 7/1/08
I tag: KarenD, KarenN, Carolyn (keepin' it in the family!)
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
The Big Snip
Yesterday, Bonnie & Clyde went to the vet for the Big Snip. We tried to warn them about it, but I don't think they were prepared. Neither were we!
The cats still waltz straight into the cat carrier when we bring it out. At some point, they'll start associating it with the vet, but for some reason they still do not. (Even after yesterday, they've gone in it several times.) So, there they go into the carrier, and off we go to the vet. We drop them off and feel very guilty about the pain we've left them to.
By 2:30pm, I was ready to know how the cats were doing. Poor kitties. After our own doctor's appointment (about 5:00), we called to see if we could come by and pick them up. No, we had to wait until 6:00 for a consult with the vet. Oh, okay, we didn't know about that. So we went home for 30 minutes, then back to the vet, where we waited.
Finally, someone brought B&C into the exam room. They were in the carrier and pretty frantic. They pushed their noses into the wires and would never settle down, which made the wait for the vet that much longer. Jon even broke into his own rendition of "Love is a Many Splendored Thing" hoping to remind the people outside our room that we were still there! He always makes me laugh!
The vet finally came in, and his first words were, "Well, Clyde really had a hard time of it, so he'll be pretty groggy, and for longer than Bonnie."
The (slightly funny) truth is that Clyde has a condition called cryptorchidism. Crypto: Where is it? and Orchid: testicles. (I just lost my G-rating right there.) That's right, Clyde has a missing ball. It never descended like it should have, which meant that his surgery would be as extensive as Bonnie's. The vet would have to make an incision in Clyde's abdomen to go searching for the missing...orchid. Well, as it turns out, it was quite a hunt, and Clyde's incision ended up being about 4 inches long, compared to Bonnie's half-inch incision. Poor guy!
When we made it home, we had two ravenous kittens, with the disadvantage of still being slighty drugged. They swayed and wobbled their way to the food bowls, and proceeded to make a huge mess of everything! Food and water were everywhere as the cats pushed their noses into the bowls and snarfed away! Most people would probably laugh at their antics, but I just can't. Maybe I'm too sensitive. I've never found drunk people to be funny, or people doing crazy stuff under the influence of something other than themselves. It's just sad to me. I do, however, recognize that I'm the exception, so if you find yourself giggling over my sad story, I'll forgive you. :)
Then Bonnie would not settle down. She carried her jingle ball around for about 30 minutes with no stopping. She never put the ball down, and she never actually played with it; she just did circles around the house. Now we know Bonnie does not handle drugs well! :) We tried to hold her to get her to settle down, but she would have none of it!
Clyde was fastidiously cleaning himself. Thankfully, he was staying mostly away from his incision, but it did start to bleed again for a short while.
Needless to say, Jon and I were basket cases. Coming out of surgery is one of the hardest things to see, I think. You think the hard part is surgery, so you expect things to be right back to normal afterwards, and it's always a shock to see that they're not.
Today, things are much better. Both cats have slept the entire day. Bonnie expressed slight interest in a string, and Clyde tried to pick on his sister once, but otherwise, they've just traded off who got to sleep in my lap (and at one point they were both in my lap!). I finally moved to the bed to work, to let them both cuddle up to me and still enable me to get stuff done.
I must say, in the past I've only had male cats with no shy orchids, and that surgery is a breeze. They usually come home a little wobbly, but are running and playing by the end of the day. This has been no walk in the park, and it's been as hard on Jon and I as on the cats, I think! We take them back on Thursday for their checkup, and I'm sure they'll be back to their crazy selves before then!
The cats still waltz straight into the cat carrier when we bring it out. At some point, they'll start associating it with the vet, but for some reason they still do not. (Even after yesterday, they've gone in it several times.) So, there they go into the carrier, and off we go to the vet. We drop them off and feel very guilty about the pain we've left them to.
By 2:30pm, I was ready to know how the cats were doing. Poor kitties. After our own doctor's appointment (about 5:00), we called to see if we could come by and pick them up. No, we had to wait until 6:00 for a consult with the vet. Oh, okay, we didn't know about that. So we went home for 30 minutes, then back to the vet, where we waited.
Finally, someone brought B&C into the exam room. They were in the carrier and pretty frantic. They pushed their noses into the wires and would never settle down, which made the wait for the vet that much longer. Jon even broke into his own rendition of "Love is a Many Splendored Thing" hoping to remind the people outside our room that we were still there! He always makes me laugh!
The vet finally came in, and his first words were, "Well, Clyde really had a hard time of it, so he'll be pretty groggy, and for longer than Bonnie."
The (slightly funny) truth is that Clyde has a condition called cryptorchidism. Crypto: Where is it? and Orchid: testicles. (I just lost my G-rating right there.) That's right, Clyde has a missing ball. It never descended like it should have, which meant that his surgery would be as extensive as Bonnie's. The vet would have to make an incision in Clyde's abdomen to go searching for the missing...orchid. Well, as it turns out, it was quite a hunt, and Clyde's incision ended up being about 4 inches long, compared to Bonnie's half-inch incision. Poor guy!
When we made it home, we had two ravenous kittens, with the disadvantage of still being slighty drugged. They swayed and wobbled their way to the food bowls, and proceeded to make a huge mess of everything! Food and water were everywhere as the cats pushed their noses into the bowls and snarfed away! Most people would probably laugh at their antics, but I just can't. Maybe I'm too sensitive. I've never found drunk people to be funny, or people doing crazy stuff under the influence of something other than themselves. It's just sad to me. I do, however, recognize that I'm the exception, so if you find yourself giggling over my sad story, I'll forgive you. :)
Then Bonnie would not settle down. She carried her jingle ball around for about 30 minutes with no stopping. She never put the ball down, and she never actually played with it; she just did circles around the house. Now we know Bonnie does not handle drugs well! :) We tried to hold her to get her to settle down, but she would have none of it!
Clyde was fastidiously cleaning himself. Thankfully, he was staying mostly away from his incision, but it did start to bleed again for a short while.
Needless to say, Jon and I were basket cases. Coming out of surgery is one of the hardest things to see, I think. You think the hard part is surgery, so you expect things to be right back to normal afterwards, and it's always a shock to see that they're not.
Today, things are much better. Both cats have slept the entire day. Bonnie expressed slight interest in a string, and Clyde tried to pick on his sister once, but otherwise, they've just traded off who got to sleep in my lap (and at one point they were both in my lap!). I finally moved to the bed to work, to let them both cuddle up to me and still enable me to get stuff done.
I must say, in the past I've only had male cats with no shy orchids, and that surgery is a breeze. They usually come home a little wobbly, but are running and playing by the end of the day. This has been no walk in the park, and it's been as hard on Jon and I as on the cats, I think! We take them back on Thursday for their checkup, and I'm sure they'll be back to their crazy selves before then!
Friday, August 01, 2008
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