When I'm in Florida, especially in Florida behind the lens(es) of my camera, I notice things more so then what I do when we are back home in Indiana. My camera always causes me to notice things at home too but Florida brings out even the most mundane of items. Florida has a way of magnifying beauty and that is one of the things I love about being here. I spotted this bush flower yesterday while poolside and right by it was the spider you see below. Yes, I almost laid out all day right next to Miss Charlotte's web. And let me just say, had I raised up and seen that next to me - unexpectedly - I wouldn't have been happy. However, I noticed the flowers and the spider together. I broke out the macro lens and snapped away. What a funky bloom before it actual flowers, eh? Funky, interesting, and oh so colorful.
Check out the hairy things on her legs below. Ewwwww.....!!!
Now do you see why I wouldn't have been happy to lay down beside her? I'm sure she didn't want my big head in the way anyhow.
Then, I managed to find one bloom coming in on one of the branches of the flowering bush...
When they are all finished blooming, it looks something like this stunning bunch below...
Fun, huh? And I say again...why don't we have these kinds of colors in Indiana?
On a side note, I know many of you were awaiting my test results from last week right along with me. I cannot begin to thank you enough for all of the prayers, facebook messages, emails, blog comments, etc. regarding this round of testing for me. I have some good news and some not so good news. I'm not going to call it bad news because I refuse to take a negative approach with it from the get go. The good news is that my MRI (yes, the test from H.E.Double Hockey Sticks) came back normal. I'm so glad about this and am praising God for a normal outcome with that test. These migraines really had me worried so I'm thankful that the MRI didn't show anything at all whatsoever wrong with my brain. (other than I'm totally crazy) HA~! The not so good news is that the test I had done at the cardiologist on Friday morning revealed a small hole in my heart. Hold tight...it sounds worse than it is I think. I knew they fond something because I saw it happen on the Ultrasound that they did. They were looking for bubbles to shoot out from my heart anywhere - indicating pin hole size holes in the wall of my heart. Well, I saw the bubbles and the technician knew it. She was honest with me and told me what she had seen as well but also told me that my cardiologist would need to review the test and give me her findings "officially" later in the day.
I left the doctor's office nervous but again refused to dwell on it. I knew I had a flight that afternoon and wanted to remain excited about the trip rather than let the enemy take over my thoughts and flood my brain with negative assumptions. I started to mention it on the blog Friday and ask for prayers but I decided to wait until I talked to my cardiologist first before jumping the gun. Unfortunately, like I knew she would because God just loves to test my patience, my cardiologist called my cell as we were in flight on the plane Friday afternoon. By the time we landed and I got her voicemail, their office was closed for the weekend. Yes, I had to sit all weekend long and wait until this morning to call her back. Talk about torture. Long story even longer, I left her a message this morning and she called me back right away. In a nutshell, the findings of the test proved that I have what is called Patent Foramen Ovale. (PFO) You can read about PFO, what it entails, its symptoms, etc. by clicking HERE and HERE. My cardiologist told me that I needed to run out and grab some aspirin and begin taking 325mg's of it every day. The aspirin is a stroke preventative. I know, I know...gasp. I've done a few gasps but I'm also telling the good Lord above that I'm done with the gasps. I've turned this over to him and am leaving it all in his hands. Sometimes PFO's are treated with open heart surgery. The positive is that my doc didn't feel that the hole I have needs that invasive measure and that the aspirin regimen is good for now. I'm happy with that. Very happy with that. I'm also happy that this finding is a good explanation for the headaches I've battled and more so lately than before. The cardiologist worried when I mentioned my eye drooping from the one episode because she said that a PFO can lead to strokes or mini-strokes. I guess the fact that I had the drooping happen alarmed her and thus why she ordered that test. In the end, I'm glad she did. She said most people go thru life and don't realize that they have PFO until something happens and it is discovered then. I'm grateful for an incredible doctor who errs on the side of caution and who ran every test that came to mind until God finally lead us to this point. I'm glad to be aware of it and "preventing" any future issue as much as I possibly can.
So, as I'm here in Florida observing the most mundane things in an overly beautiful way - behind my lenses...I'm also thanking God for the beauty of impeccable doctors, an extraordinary nursing staff and overly intelligent ultrasound technicians who know the heart like nobodies business and whom are also honest with their patient when they realize the patient has seen what 'they' just saw. Yes, let's just leave it at the fact that Angie is smarter than the average bear. I know shooting bubbles from the heart wall when I see them. Ha ha!
Life will undoubtedly be different from here on out for me. I've been keenly aware of my body and it's normal and not so normal issues lately and now I'll be even more keenly aware of them than ever before. The good part is that all of these medical issues make a bit more sense now. Most importantly though, I'm so humbled by the BIG God that I serve who takes care of me and looks out for me. I'm so humbled by the fact that months and months worth of testing lead to an answer and that it is through his Grace that I arrived there. It is via his peace that kept me sane up to this point and assured me that I was not going crazy. It is via his love which will carry me thru the future years with comfort and faith that he is always ultimately in TOTAL control.
PS...One of my best friends from highschool recently found out that her Mom has bladder cancer. Her Mother is undergoing surgery today to remove that cancer and make sure it hasn't spread to her liver or lymphnodes. Please pray for her and her family in general. My heart has been aching for all of them since I found out. I grew up with her Mom and have always loved her dearly. Such a trendy, spunky, fun woman. It is yet another confirmation that we are getting older, our parents are falling ill, we are experiencing our own medical problems, and that we NEED OUR GIRLFRIENDS! Praying for you guys today K...please call or text me ASAP once the surgery is over. Big hugs...love you, Ang
Hi all. I'm here. It's Sunday about noon - and we are enjoying a lazy, lazy day. Before we head out to sit pool side though, I thought I'd share some extra pictures from our last trip to the beach - back on Mother's Day weekend. I just remembered last night that I still hadn't posted photos of our friends who were here with us. Somehow those last couple of shots got mixed up on my laptop and I failed to post them. Therefore, I thought I'd share them real quick. This is Joe and Tamara. They are the friends of ours that came down with us during the last trip. Their son is good friends with Brennen. They were in class together at Brennen's old school.
Unfortunately, we found out the night before we left that Joe's mother passed away. She had been ill and in the hospital but the family hoped for a recovery. She lost her battle and the visitation and showing are scheduled for today and tomorrow. We are so saddened that we are away and not able to go by and give their family a big hug today. Please keep Joe and his brothers and sisters in your prayers as they prepare to get through one of the toughest moments of their life. Joe, Tamara, and Derek, we are thinking and praying for each of you today. Please know that we are there with you in spirit and we are only a phone call away if you should need anything at all.
The above shot was Tamara with my kiddo's...Brennen and Kenidi. They were not wanting to be cooperative for my picture but she helped by jumping in there and keeping them corralled. Luckily, I got a good one of them with her. It turned out cute even though Kenidi is looking straight at me.
For now, we are out to the pool for an afternoon of sunshine. I'm working on new pictures and will blog them once I get them uploaded to the lap top. In the meantime, I just wanted you to at least get a blog post with images today - even if they were of our trip a couple of weeks ago. Better late than never, right? :) Stay tuned for current images to come. I won't let you down. I promise!
What a beautiful sight - even though this photo was taken via my iphone - which takes horrific images. I wish I could've had big papa out at this moment and taken the shot with him but he was gently stowed away in the above overhead compartment above me at the time. Either way, I thought I'd share. The clouds were incredible today when flying in. We made it and touched down around 5:20pm. Some of you already saw this picture because you are friends of mine on facebook and got the sneak preview before anywhere else. Ha ha! Yes, the cool news is that AIRTRAN airlines has inflight wifi now. Therefore, I was facebooking amongst friends at 34,000 feet. Technology today is just incredible! I'm now vegging out on the couch and about to chow down on some Carrabba's Italian carry out in a few minutes. We thought we'd eat in tonight beings that everyone is so wiped out after the flight, last day of school, cardiology appts. today, etc. (more on the medical appointments later)
So...I'm going to rest up tonight and will start sharing photos soon. In the meantime, I hope all of you have a phenomenal weekend. Talk again soon...
PS...Will you please keep my step-mom in your prayers? She and my Dad were supposed to fly down with us today and stay here for a few days with us but they had to cancel their trip. She was dianosed with diverticulitis earlier in the week and was actually admitted into the hospital today for it. We are praying that she has a quick recovery and heals up like new. I hate not being home to help out while all of this is going on. It's hard to be away when she is in there. Thanks in advance for the prayers! Blessings, Angie
OK well...I survived the MRI. I am home and so very glad to be out of that machine. Up until today, I wouldn't have normally considered myself a claustrophobic person. Beings that I tan in a tanning bed, I thought I'd be OK with the MRI machine and its size. However, I didn't realize that they strapped your forehead down as well as placed a mask type thing over your face and nose area while undergoing the test. On top of that, they place bars up on the sides of your temples and cheeks so that your head can't move about. Apparently if you move even the slightest bit, it jacks up the entire test. At least while in a tanning bed, you can still move, breathe and stretch out. The radiologist told me that I could listen to music while in there but at the last second I opted not to because the head phones were old school headphones with the big puffs that went over your ears. They ultimately constricted me even more and I just couldn't take it. Therefore, the tech gave me ear plugs instead. Those helped but they hurt ferociously. The MRI tunnel (as I call it) was very small. I couldn't stretch out my elbows - it was such close quarters that my elbows were crammed in at my sides. They roll you back into the tunnel and then you are literally inside that thing, unable to move whatsoever, for about 35 minutes. At the 20 minute mark, the radiologist rolled me back out just far enough to put a needle in my arm and inject some contrast dye into my body. Then he rolled me back inside for the remainder of the test. Apparently some of the MRI scans during the test use contrast dye to see certain parts of the brain.
When I finally got out of the thing, I asked the guy if he ever has anyone freak out while in there. He goes..."ALL THE TIME." He said most people don't realize that they are claustrophobic until they undergo this test. I could totally see why. The entire experience was far from pleasant. The good thing about the time I spent inside there, I was able to go thru my entire prayer list and pray for those around me that I had on my mind. I literally had to talk myself out of a panic attack on three different occasions while being confined inside there and the only thing that seemed to help was praying. Imagine that! So...know that if you've asked me for prayers recently, I prayed for you while in there. I prayed for some who hadn't ask for prayers too. I had time to make it thru my prayer list twice while enduring this God awful test. In the end though, I feel Gods master plan and his comfort as I await the test results. Ironically, Brent and I saw a special on the news tonight about not ignoring headache signs. They had a 40 year old woman on there who had a headache for three straight days at one point and then later on down the road ended up having a stroke because of a blood clot in her brain within her basal stem. Praise God she survived. 90% of patients die from that type of brain injury. However, she lived. She talked about how she ignored initial signs and symptoms and mentioned the 3 day headache that was not normal for her. I had a headache that lasted for 4 days which then lead to my eye swelling up like someone punched me, etc. That all landed me in the ER with a CT scan and then treatment from a neurologist. She is the one who sent me for the MRI today. Like this woman on the news mentioned, no amount of aspirin or medication would kill the headache and that wasn't usual for me. I'm hopeful that the test results prove to be healthy and nothing more than the onset of some simple migraines (if migraines are ever simple). Unfortunately, I probably won't know the results until Monday (per the radiologist who conducted the test). Therefore, if you could just drown me and the MRI results in your prayers over the next few days, I'd greatly appreciate it. I've been flooded with messages of prayer and wall posts wishing me well on facebook from many of you. I can't begin to thank you enough. Your thoughts and prayers really helped keep my worries at bay and my mind at ease today. You guys R-O-C-K!!!
For now, I'm off to bed. I've got to finish my packing tomorrow morning after my cardiology appt. Yes, I'm that behind. We head out for the airport around 1pm tomorrow so I better kick it into high gear. This week has really kicked my butt! I'll be sure to touch base from the beach once we arrive. Stay tuned. Lots and lots of new beach pictures to come over the coming weeks. Much love, Angie
PS...A big shout out to the gals working the ER desk at Clarian North today. What fun they were! By the time they were done registering me and checking me in for my MRI, they had pulled up my website on their computers, taken some business cards, talked to me about fashion and design, etc. The entire staff at Clarian North is always superb and today was no different!
PSS...And before you girls yell at me, I "AM" participating in Kelly's home tour again this week. However, the theme this week is kids bedrooms. Therefore, I just linked back to Kenidi's bedroom post from back in March instead of reposting the same thing again. Therefore, if you haven't seen it before, click HERE for the post and pictures.
As a surprise for all of my readers following the incredible holiday weekend, I thought I'd share with you a ROCK STAR in the blog world. Most of you already know her but for those who don't, you MUST get to know her. I love her southern flair and her ability to turn anything into fabulous and chic'! Meet Rhoda of Southern Hospitality. She has a knack for decorating but also a knack for decorating on a budget. She enjoys garage sales and thrift shopping and manages to find the most amazing things thru both. Her and I switched places today so she is guest blogging for me over here on the ol' AGD blog and I was asked to guest blog for her over on her blog. She asked if she could feature our great room over on her turf so that is what my guest blogging topic is about over on her blog today. But for now, stick around and read up on Rhoda and how she has a big passion for white dishes. Beings that we all love those white pieces, I just know you will love her topic here for today. Take it away Rhoda...
RHODA'S BIO:
I’m Rhoda, a woman raised in the South who loves life and enjoys all the blessings that God has given me and I enjoy sharing my creative endeavors. I’m originally from metro Atlanta, GA and after my hubby and I got married in 2005, we moved to Birmingham, AL at the end of that year. I’m step mom to my husband’s three 20-something young adult children and they are all living out of state, in school and working.
I worked for 30 years in the Corporate world and now I’m a stay at home wife, with a small decorating business from home and I absolutely love what I’m doing. Join me as I share my creative ideas of decorating on a budget, while I hunt down yard sale and thrifty bargains, pass on those tasty recipes, dig in the dirt a bit, as well as enjoy many excursions around town and especially in the South.
With a little creative thinking, anyone can have a pretty home without breaking the bank. That’s the main focus of what I talk about on my blog. This is simply my life in the South, sharing what I do and how I do it. This is real life living, with real projects and real results.
Collecting White Dishes
Over a year ago, I decided that I really wanted to collect white dishes. I had seen several other collections of these in magazines and on blogs and figured that would be a good collection for me to start and it would work in my home. So, being a yard sale fanatic and thrifty shopper, I set about seeing what I could find at yard sales and thrifting without breaking the bank. Fortunately, there have been many pieces to be found and now my collection has grown tremendously. I especially love white soup tureens and have managed to find several of those too, along with odds and ends of other pieces that all mix together very well. The best thing about these white pieces is that you can mix them all up. . It does not matter what shade of white they are. Some of mine are creamy white and some are darker, some lighter, but they all look good together.
I changed out my everyday dishes to a set of white dishes and then hunt was on. Amazingly, it did not take long for my collection to really grow. I have got them displayed on white shelves in my dining room and really enjoy them. My dining room was red for a few years and I recently changed it out to Antique White and the dishes look right at home in that space. I really enjoy old pottery pieces like vases and planters in white and those are pretty easy to find too.
I really enjoy decorating on a budget and this is one of the main focuses of my blog. How to have a pretty home without spending a fortune. I have seen expensive English ironstone out there at the antique stores and those are simply out of my budget. But, these pretty cream ware pieces can be found anywhere, from a yard sale, to a thrift store or antique store for not much money. And they all work beautifully together. So, if you’re looking to add some personal touches to your home, think about a dish collection. It does not even have to be white. It can be whatever color YOU love.
Thanks, Angie, for letting me come and guest blog for you. I have so enjoyed getting to know you and look forward to more fun in the future. And for the rest of you, feel free to visit my blog HERE should you have any questions. ~Rhoda
Well, I have gotten in a ton of trouble for not participating the past few weeks in Kelly's "Show us where you live" home tour. If I had a dollar for every email or blog post I've gotten asking me when I will be participating again or why I'm not participating now, I'd be rich. We've been so incredibly busy, were out of town over Mother's Day weekend, and have just had the hectic chaos and craziness of trying to pack and head South for the summer. Therefore, I really have had zero time to participate. However, better late than never, eh? Kelly did dining rooms this past Friday so because I already had some photos of our dining room taken earlier, I thought I'd throw a few of them together today - on this rainy day in Indiana - with a couple of new ones. So welcome...the first three shots are of our entry way/foyer...
Immediately to the right after entering our front door and then thru these glass pocket doors (shown above) is our formal not so formal dining room. Oh and as a side note (because I always get asked this...) the carpet on the floor is not a rug. It's actually carpet built into the hardwood floor. It is not movable.
First, I don't consider this dining room a "formal" dining room. I'm not real big into showey formal dining rooms. Meaning, I don't like buying expensive formal dishes that sit - unused - on a formal dining table - just for looks. I'm not big into spending a ton of money of dishes or good china. Quite frankly, I don't understand it but that is just my personal opinion. If people have good china, they rarely use it. It's typically stored away somewhere or in a buffet cabinet left untouched. I'm all about cheap, bargains, and functionable. My Dad and Cathy gave me some family china that was handed down from Cathy's grandmother. I absolutely treasure and adore it. Guess where it is, in our butlers galley behind glass cabinets. I'd never use it because I'd be scared to. Therefore, as far as our personal things, we purchased everything you see in this room either from Ballard Designs (dishes), Crate and Barrel (napkin rings), Home goods (place mats, napkins, and table runner), and Target (floral arrangements). I have yet to find the right side board table or hutch for under my mirror in here as of yet but I'm hopeful that I will. I'm looking for just the right antique, beat up, old, and green piece. We are still on the hunt but I know without a shadow of a doubt that it is out there. Next...if you remember from our kitchen tour, the shot below is the butler's galley that leads into either the kitchen (left) or the formal dining room (right).
I was going for a simple, non-formal, Bombay-esque, style in this room. The window treatments had a tinge of browns and greens in them so I just decided to run with that idea.
All of you know my obsession with animal prints - mainly zebra. When I saw these dishes, I knew I had to have them. I also bought two separate sets so that I could mix and match the colors rather than go with just the carmel brown or just the apple green. I thought it would be more exciting if I spiced it up a bit with two different color combo's. I used a chrome colored plate charger under each setting with chrome napkin rings because the lighting fixtures are all done in a shiny chrome design. I was trying to tie that in somehow with the Bombay-esque feel.
Don't ask me how apples (shown below) came to be in the Bombay-esque theme. I'm guessing it was just the green that jumped out at me. I knew it would match the dinnerware. Notice how I don't call it "china" because it isn't china? They are just insignificant but oh so ROCKIN' zebra plates.
The floral arrangements from Tar-jay (below) are just there to lighten up all the green a bit as well as the dark decor from the bamboo runner and table itself.
I will have to say that the bamboo table runner is probably my favorite accent piece to the whole table. Definitely bombay-esque. :) Somehow it all ties back to my love for the beach. I'm sure you figured all that out by now though. Hee hee!
Below you will see the mirror. It sits in between to lights - one set on the right and one set on the left. The sideboard or buffet table will eventually go right underneath this mirror. I just haven't found the perfect piece yet though. Stay tuned...it's out there. I'm going for an old vs. new look and definitely want an antique style buffet table underneath that mirror. I want it ugly and beat up. Totally distressed!
Below is just one of our extra chairs for the table. We keep them in the corner near the window treatments should we need seating for 6 instead of four. There is a leaf that goes in the table should we need it. Again, notice the brown, cream, and green in the window treatments?
We've only sat at this table and eaten in this room a handful of times. We normally eat at the vanilla white table in the hearth/kitchen area or at the island in the kitchen itself. So, this room is generally for when guests are here. It's been fun sharing again like usual. All of the dining rooms on Kelly's home tour are sure to be a beautiful sight. I unfortunately, have not had the time to get on there and peruse the tour yet but I plan to soon. You should go have a looksie for yourselves and take part in the fun as well. Click HERE for Kelly's tour. Thanks again for always hosting this Kelly. It's great fun!
xoxoxo, Angie
PS...Check back here on the blog tomorrow for a guest blogger surprise. YAY! :)
Today is one of those "Keepin' it real" days for ol' Angie. Today is one of those days where I've cried non-stop since 9:30am this morning. The tears are big and flowing as I type this. Today is one of those days where you get to read about my heart breaking. I'm sad, I'm mad, I'm ticked off, I'm hurt, I'm a mess. Just a mess! In a nutshell, we confirmed this morning via Kenidi's principal that her special needs class will be moved to another school within the district next year. Yes, dejavu' - we've been here before. One year ago actually. A small part of the reason why we moved from Center Grove up to the north side of town was because the CG school system was doing this same thing to her class down there. Most of you remember it well. I'm sure. We fought the district as well as the hard headed superintendent that everyone loathes down there until we couldn't fight it anymore. They wouldn't budge - aside from offering Brennen a spot in the school where Kenidi would be attending. Why would I move him as well when I didn't even want Kenidi moved in the first place? Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Bottom line, their school this year said that they didn't have enough special needs kids enrolled in the area to compensate the need for two life skills classes right now. Therefore, they are downsizing to one class and moving the kids to one school - a different school for Kenidi. I cried on the phone to Kenidi's principal and vice-principal when talking to them. I'm sure they are thoroughly convinced that I'm a nut job now. However, I just couldn't hold back the tears. Brennen will still be at their school but Kenidi won't. Kenidi is the one who has adapted so well there and who has become a different child since being there this year. The teachers, principals, staff, aides, etc. have helped her to make such huge strides and we just crumble at the thought of loosing all them in her life.
Kenidi and her teachers/aides made me this set of recipes and this card for Mother's day this year. I have read it and re-read it today. Tears me up - really does.
I love you as much as the ocean is blue! Wow...guess they know how much I love the ocean, eh? They know a lot about us actually. They are all like family to our family now. The worst part - with the move comes a new teacher for Kenidi next year. Not only will she loose the school but she is loosing Alison too. Alison...I can't even type right now. I'm so sorry. We are going to miss you so very much girl! I'm sure the new teacher will be great too but we are totally devastated that you won't be her teacher next year. I'm just heart sick over the whole ordeal.
In the meantime, I got a strange set of exams back from the chiropractor this morning. I was referred to her by our builders wife for my migraine troubles. They ran an xray on top of the scans they did and I hope to get the results of it after 4pm today. In a nutshell, they found some alarming things near the back of my skull on the scan which showed "severe" concerns (as the doc worded it). Hopefully it is nothing and can be fixed. I also hope it is just chiropractic type stuff which might be the result of my recent headaches. Hoping and praying to get some good answers today. So...as you can see, God is calling for me today and I'm leaning on him for the support to get through. With Kenidi's situation, I'm not near as upset as I was last year when this happened. I was ticked last year. TICKED OFF! This time, I'm just so sad! With Center Grove, she got booted out to make room for the honor kids classes. With the new school, they just don't have enough special needs kids enrolled for next year to reason having 2 different schools host the life skills class. I totally get that. I really do. It just breaks my heart that the special needs kids are always the first and only kiddo's to get uprooted and moved whenever redistricting, growth, etc. happens in schools. It saddens me for them and for their parents. I'm glad Brennen has one more year at their current school before going off to the middle school. Her principal made me promise I'd bring Kenidi back there whenever I was in the building for Brennen's activities and I will. They have treated her so well and been so supportive, caring, and compassionate with her. I am beside myself that she is loosing them. I know I've already said that but it just keeps rolling off my tongue.
With all that said, I'm off to meet a blog reader of mine for lunch. Hope she enjoys my "running mascara" look down my cheeks. I'll tell her I'm just pretending to be in the band KISS for the day or something. Ironically, we are meeting to discuss Kenidi and Brennen's school and experience up here thus far. She has a child in a private school and she was thinking of moving them into the district schools after hearing of the great experience we've had. Little does she know that she is getting ready to eat lunch with a nut job after learning of the news this morning. Ha ha! Hope she has some extra tissues on hand. And on another note, please check back later tonight for a new post here on the blog. It's an important one. One that I'd love for you to read and process. Nothing to do with today's events but yet something I'm excited about and would love to have you guys share with Brent and I. And no...I'm not pregnant. HA! Not even trying yet - just so you know fo' sho'!
I know. I know. I'm good! I pegged it from the start. No one believed me but I knew he could win it. Everyone underestimated the amount of votes that Kris had out there. I'm so excited that he won. I liked Adam a TON too but knew he'd end up with a record deal automatically - no matter what position he came in. Kris deserved the title. Not only is he hot and totally talented, but he is humble beyond measure as well. Love that about him! Way to go KRIS ALLEN! Can't wait to buy his album. The entire American Idol finale' was amazing! They'll have a hard time topping this one in years to come. What a great show. I think the best part was watching Carlos Santana rock it out with his pink zebra guitar. Amazing!
PS...How about that song that David Cook came out and sang? The one about his brother who just passed away last week? It was incredible. Downloading now!
Does this child know how to soak it up in front of a camera or what? Ha ha! For my photography class this week, we were given a list of ten words we had to place into a hat/jar. The assignment was to pull out three of them and then take a shoot and incorporate those three words/things into the one image. Yes, all in one image. We also had to make sure the exposure, ISO, white balance, etc. were all correctly where they should be in the photograph. With this shoot, I also got to implement some really cool Photoshop actions (post processing color) in the shot once I was done which added to the "candy/rock star/vintage sock" look I thought. My three words that we pulled out of the jar were "pink, socks, and candy." So...we were told to get creative with those words and make them all into a photograph. Although the task at hand initially seemded easy, it became very clear that it wasn't real quick! Between dodging the mud in the grass from Kenidi's white tube socks and then also getting her to continually lick the sucker (yes, this part was tough), I was really struggling. In the end though, big bro (Brennen) stepped in to save the day. He got behind me and really helped move the shoot along as well as tried to pull some belly laughs out of her. (which was another word in the hat that I was attempting to incorporate for fun)
This shoe shot below is going to get framed and put in my AGD studio. Can I just tell you how much I love it?
And finally below...we have her singing into the lollipop. She loves to sing and dance. Last night was no different during this shot.
Oh to be young again and be able to wear kickin' tube socks like those. What fun!
PS...In case you were wondering, it was the very 1st/top image that I submitted for my class assignment. Socks, Pink, and Candy. What a fun shoot and a challenging one at that.
Look closely...does anything look odd about this image above?
Focus in on the cloud in the sky. What do you see? We saw a fish! Does it look like a fish to all of you as well? Too funny, eh?
Above is a close up for you. See it now? Tamara noticed this cloud formation when we were on the boat - enjoying our sunset cruise in the back bay of Bonita Springs one week ago last Friday. It was too perfect to NOT take a picture of. If that doesn't look like a fish, I don't know what does. :) And below, you can see where it begin to break apart as the clouds lost their shape.
While on the crusie, we even got to get right up on some adorable dolphin pairs swimming along together in the back bay. They were so incredible. There were actually two here in this photo but the other went under again before I could snap him/her with its buddy.
One afternoon while on the beach, a scenic tour guided helicopter flew over and I was able to catch a glimpse of them with my telephoto lens. Gotta' love that 70-300mm lens. It has a tendency to make you feel like the CIA in a way. You can watch but people have no clue that you can see them that close. I've managed to capture some pretty fun shots from unsuspecting individuals. HA! This shot below was as the helicopter passed by on the beach and everyone watched in a sort of "amazement" as if it were an alien space ship about to land. Me included. Heck, I even took their photo for evidence. hee hee!
I'm ready for some more sunsets like the one below. This shot was also taken while aboard the sunset cruise that Friday evening.
Although it is sunny here today in Indy, it's cold. I'm tired of the cold. Really tired of it, the rain, the snow we finally got rid of last month, etc. We have 11 more days until we get back to this sunset seen above. Next Friday the 29th, the kids will go to school for half the morning. They get out at 10:50am that day. It is their last day of school for the summer. Freedom reigns come the 29th. Mama is a happy girl! So are the kids! They'll come home from an early dismissal day that morning, I'll get them off the bus, then we'll throw our suitcases in the car and head back to the Indianapolis Airport where we will fly out from that afternoon as we head back to FL for the summer. My Dad and Cathy will be joining us for about 4 days during the start of the trip. They'll then fly back home Monday and come join us again at the end of the month of June for a week. I'm feverishly working hard to get all the laundry done here at home, suitcases re-packed, get painters finished up in our home as they check off things on our walk thru list today and tomorrow, travel to dr. appointments, and meet up with friends one last time before heading out for the summer. It's pretty much chaos here right now. The next 11 days are cloudy for me. Very busy - actually beyond busy! I can't even keep track of my to do list because I'm running so fast. Trying to slllloowwwww downnnnnnn...just a bit at least. So much to do and so little time to do it in.
No matter what, I just cannot even begin to express how excited I am to get down there and take pictures all day long - all summer long. I'm beaming with excitement actually. As a photographer in Indiana, the backdrop just isn't the same. Photographers in the South, or NY, or CA, etc. have no idea how good they have it. Their backdrops are amazing and so effortless. Here in Indiana, we have to look and look far and wide to find a good backdrop. In those tropical states or states with nostalgia such as Chicago, IL or New York, they just fall into your lap and jump in front of your feet. To be a photographer full time in one of those areas would be pure pliss. Instead, I'll keep shooting the yellow fire hydrants while a hoosier. HA HA!
Hope you are all enjoying your Monday. I know I am - even though I'm cold with a zip up hoodie on today. Never fear though...I AM WEARING FLIP FLOPS! It's never too cold for flip flops my friends! NEVAH! And how bout' the finale starting tonight on Dancing with the stars? I'm rooting for Melissa all the way. I'd love to see her win that whole thing. And as for American Idol tomorrow night...GO KRIS ALLEN! I'm faithful that you can shock the world and win! :)
