I haven't done a "Thru Gods Lens" post in a long time. Therefore, I'm making up for that today. Every now and again, I love to just take my camera out and about with me to capture what we'd normally consider the mundane yet they are Gods greatest beauties. Lately, since trying to stay on my health kick, Kross and I have been hitting the pavement - getting outside and walking. This morning I went to the beach access which is just straight down the street from our house. This particular beach access has a walking trail - a long one - that winds back in and around into the brush on your way out to the beach. I love it there. It's so serene and peaceful. The shot above was one I took as I walked thru the trail. The sun was trying to peek thru the thick brush and reach us. I had to stop and capture its power. :) And the shots below...they are what the walking/jogging trail looks like as you make your way out to the beach...
It takes about 15 minutes to walk this trail until you reach the beach. And then of course another 15 minutes to walk back. They actually have golf carts that run back and forth on the trail - taking you to the beach and back to your car should you not want to run or walk the path. Kross and I need the exercise though so we walk.
I noticed the sap or whatever this was on the tree below as I walking by on the trail...
Then, off in the distance, I noticed the small cob web on the tree below. The top image shows it from my view and the bottom image shows it as I saw it when I used my lens to zoom in on it. I love all the bokeh in both shots. Some small and some large...
The tree below just caught my eye because of the hole in it...
As you walk the path/trail, you cross over a bridge that spans across the back bay area. You can see some of the big high rise hotels and condos off in the distance as well as observe people kayaking in the bay itself. You couldn't pay me enough to kayak in that area but hey...some people love it.
And after you make the trek thru the trail, it opens up into this paradise. Pure white sand. Blue sea waters. Pelicans lingering among the vast ocean. And brilliant blue skies with the prettiest of pretty white puffy swirly clouds strewn here and there.
I took these last two shots below with my iphone so that I could post them to facebook on the spot. (Thus the small size) Love the leading lines of the boardwalk straight into the shoreline. GAW-JUS!!!
There is a tiki hut here - next to the beach. They have an area where you can sit down to eat and drink and just enjoy the sounds of the waves rolling in. It's a beautiful sight.
Needless to say, this is just another one of the perks to living in Naples. They not only have gorgeous beaches but they have stunning walking/running trails too. The only down fall is having to pray the whole way thru them that a snake doesn't drop out of one of those trees onto my head. LOL! I've got issues, I know. ;0)
I shot some images of some flowers recently and thought I'd share. They remind me of Spring, Florida, color, happiness, pink-ness and everything else a girl loves. I added the rest of them to my photography blog. There are just a few but you can click HERE to see the others.
I'm off to play catch up today. I have several things on my to do list that need tackled. Imagine that! Other than those errands though, there is much going on. I'm working on details for my Naples photography workshop here in September, spending my time in the sunshine with my laptop while educating myself on some new things regarding photography via a very awesome DVD series from some pro photographers, and just conquering daily life as usual. The kids are at school, Brent is at the office, my Mom is at the license branch, and I'm soaking up the peace and quiet time before everyone returns back home this afternoon. Speaking of the license branch, I owe a huge thank you to all of you who gave me ideas on facebook the other night regarding the personalized license plate for my car. I was asking for advice on different 5 or 7 letter words/phrases regarding photography and boy did you guys give me some fun ones. I found many that were available according to the Florida BMV website. Now I just need to narrow it down and pick one. YAY! You ladies know how I love those personalized plates but instead of ordering one that has to do with AGD this time, I'm ordering one that centers around photography.
Lastly, the seats are filling up fast for my next online beginner photography workshop. It begins March 1st. Should you wish to register for it, the details can be found HERE. I've had many questions about when I'll be offering the next class after that. Truth is...I never know when I'm going to do another one until I look ahead at my schedule for the next couple of months. Right now it is tough to say when I'll offer an additional class because we will be coming back to Indy soon for a quick visit, Spring Break is also approaching, my shooting schedule is picking up due to the vacationers coming down, etc. So...if you want in on a class...now is the time to jump because it is the only date set in stone at this moment.
Have a 'fantabulous' Tuesday and be careful for those of you traveling those roads in the Midwest. I hear it is messy there again. Thank God I don't live there for this pounding you guys are taking this season. I'm there in spirit though... LOL! :)
"What the catepillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly." ~Richard Bach
"The catepillar does all of the work but it is the butterfly who gets all of the publicity." ~Attributed to George Carlin
"Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you." ~Nathaniel Hawthorne
"If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies." ~Author Unknown
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
Well, first off...I MUST, MUST, MUST start off by telling all of you thank you so very much for your incredible compliments regarding our kitchen/home in the post below. I was overwhelmed at the amount of blog comments, private emails, new facebook and twitter friends, etc. that came in off of Kelly's "Show us your home" blog tour. You guys are beyond sweet and paid way too many undeserving compliments on things like my decorating and such. I love all of the new "friends" I've met off this post. Kelly's blog alone drove over 1000 new hits to my site in a day and over the past 3 days is just unbelievable. I must thank Kelly herself for the fun and for getting this blog tour going. She'll be featuring different rooms in the home in the coming weeks. She has announced that this coming Friday will be 'living rooms.' I hope to try and participate in that one as well even though I'll be out of town. I might try to schedule an update to automatically post for that event while I'm away.
I also have to thank fellow bloggers such as Edie (life in grace), Rhoda, (Southern Hospitality), and Susie Harris (Bienvenue) for their sweet comments and compliments on my blog as well. They along with Kelly drove more traffic to my blog. When I saw their comments come thru, I about fainted. Literally. Yes, I was blog star struck! Along with Kelly herself, these three women are like true celebrities in the blog world. Talk about talent...these women combined have more talent in their pinky fingers than I would in my entire lifetime. They are amazing at decorating and crafting. Fierce forces to be reckoned with! You women made my day with all of your visits and your compliments. I'm so thankful to have had you here and am officially stalking each of you. Ha ha! And Susie Harris, Yes...I'd be honored to be a guest blogger for your blog girl. What a privilege that would be. Anytime sista' - anytime. You just say the word! For now, I must pick myself up off the floor and refrain from looking and acting like such a "groupie" for all of these amazing women. They are going to end up filing restraining orders against me eventually - you watch. Wink wink! ;)
So tonight...I wanted to share these images of some of my glass bottles within our home. I had several of you email me within the last few days asking me about my love for glass vintage bottles. (mentioned in one of my posts below) A few of you were wondering what I meant by "vintage glass bottles" and asked for me to share pictures of a few of them. Not a problem!
These are a few of my favorite bottles because they house some of the best beach accessories on top of them. Each bottle was an older bottle that carries a story with it. I love the shell, starfish, and sand dollar that are housed on these. They are the epitome' of my love for the beach. The shell bottle even has some sand inside it. You can no longer open these bottles because they are sealed closed with the toppers on the caps. They are made more for looks and to accessorize with.
I keep this particular trio of bottles on our hearth room mantle - just above our fireplace. They go best in here because of their coloring and because of the other beach related items I have in this particular room. Oh...and have I mentioned how much I love my 50mm 1.4 lens when photographing still images such as these? LLUURRVVVEEE it! The sharp, crisp, image that it produces is just amazing. Not to mention the "bokeh!" Don't even get me started on the bokeh it produces. WHEW WEE! I believe I've died and gone to heaven.
On other related notes, Kenidi got the clear from her pediatrician today to fly this week. As most of you know, we are flying out Thursday morning and I was fearful that her ears wouldn't be clear enough in time to put her on that flight. Thankfully the doc thinks that she is good to go. I had him check Brennen's ears though because he has a deep chest cough going on and oddly enough, his left ear was inflamed they said. He told me to give him some sudafed and mucinex in hopes of drying up anything that is trying to transpire in there before we leave. Please keep him in your prayers for a painless flight. He says that his ears are fine and haven't bothered him one bit. I'm hopeful that it is the tail end of something he never even realized was there.
Secondly, I just have to send a HUGE congratulations out to Kenidi's teacher, Mrs. Alison, on the birth of her new baby girl. Ironically, she had her baby on Brent's birthday - April 28th. She wasn't due until the end of May but apparently she decided to come early. Brent is pretty stoked that she made her grand appearance on his birthday. I think his words were something like..."Important people are born on important days like April 28th." Ha ha! We are so excited for her teacher and their family. Baby and Mom are home and resting well after a long labor that ultimately lead to a c-section. Both are perfectly healthy though. What a praise! And let me just tell you that she is STUNNING! I can't wait to pass off a little something from Kenidi to her. You know...one diva to anotha'! Ha ha! CONGRATS Alison!
It's currently 6:05pm here in Indiana and I must sign off for now. I've got suitcases to pull out and begin stuffing. You know I'm good at the stuffing part. Just ask the baggage claim guys who pick up our suitcases and put them on/off the planes. I'm way behind on my to-do list after a fun weekend spent with Brent and the kids this past weekend. Until the next update...enjoy your Monday evening. We'll be routing for Melissa to dance on Dancing with the stars tonight. How about you? Poor thing - fractured ribs - that has to be painful! I'm pulling for her to win the whole thing so I sure hope she can overcome! xoxoxo, Angie
Guess what? Yeap, a whole bunch of randomness again. Two days in a row, eh? I know you guys can tell that I'm just bustin' to be outside. Today it reached almost 80 degrees here in Indy. So...after a very exciting business meeting I had with Brent and a soon to be introduced person/organization, I left bee boppin' out the door today for another photo shoot before the kids got off the bus. I drove around in my car, killing time, and scoping out pretty things to snap shots of. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted these tulips at the entrance of a neighborhood near ours. I did a hard left - then a u turn - and ran back to the spot where I'd seen them. After pulling over on the side of the road and parking up the street, I hoofed my way back to these beauties and captured these shots...
It was smack dab in the middle of the day so there was tons of harsh sunshine hitting my lens which then equals tons of shadows - ugly shadows. However, I just couldn't quit snapping away. Shadows or not, I was embracing the sun.
Love how this little guy (see below) had a streak of red growing inside of it. Nothing like standing out - having an "out of the box" look. Why be normal? Dare to be different as I like to say. Ha ha! Too fun!
(To see more pretty tulip shots, go to my friend NATALIE'S blog. She does Iphoto friday and has a great collection of images going there too. Also, my blog friend, Beki, does Fingerprint Friday each week and thought the flowers would be a good depiction of God's fingerprints this week. Go check her blog out to see lots of other cool photos of peoples ideas of finerprints from God.)
Then, yesterday Brennen had some tutoring at a teachers house in a neighborhood close to ours. As I dropped him off, I saw this stunning little park area inside the center of their sub-division. What did I do? I dropped him off at the session, ran back to the house and grabbed my camera, then took Kenidi back there so we could kill some time while waiting on Brennen. There was an area above my head that was screaming to be photographed at one point. The sun flare was amazing. I just had to capture it. Also, see those lines and angles again? Yeap, love love love them!
In the little park area of their sub-division, I found these brightly colored adirondack chairs that immediately propelled me to somewhere else. Somewhere like Bonita Beach maybe. Ha ha! They were all different colors and just screamed to be photographed. Again, this was smack dab in the middle of the afternoon so there are horrible shadows everywhere (even with my lens adorning its lens hood). However, I couldn't pass them up. Someday soon I plan to go back on a more overcast day and grab some REAL shots of these again.
I'd love to capture a shot similar to this one below on an overcast day and then have it made into a big canvas for our house (minus the shadows). I think it would go great with the beach theme.
These colors are just amazing, aren't they? Sooooooo yummy!
Speaking of Bonita Beach, I snapped these shots (shown below) while there a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to share them with each of you. Ya'll know how much I love my palm trees, right? Well...because of that...I just thought I'd post these here and share. I got a polarizer & some step rings for my camera lenses recently so I can't wait to go back and try them out against the blue skies at the beach in a couple of weeks. They will really help to make shots of the sky like these POP!
Why can't we have palm trees in Indiana? It's so not fair!
And just for fun, I thought I'd post this very candid shot of Kenidi (below) talking to me yesterday while in that sub-division playing in their park. She had me cracking up. She has become really animated with her hands and arms lately as she is trying to verbalize. This was a great depiction of what she looks like when communicating these days. One of her aides sent home a note from school yesterday letting me know how she has made HUGE progress in her gross motor skills since last Fall. I would totally agree. Kenidi has come a long way since enrolling her in their new school back in August. And although I, as her Mom, am totally struggling and missing her REAL teacher (Mrs. Alison) because she left on maternity leave a couple of weeks ago (as she awaits the birth of her first child) and won't return until next January, I still know that Kenidi is in great hands with the aides in her classroom. Did I have a big ol, sobbing baby, cry in the shower the morning her teacher called to tell me? Yes...I sure did. She called me at 7:15am the morning we were set to fly out for our Spring break vacation. Our flight was leaving that morning and she called before we left for the airport to tell us. After I hung up with her, the tears began to flow and I ran straight into the bathroom where Brent was getting ready and just cried like a two year old. We were both extremely sad and were very heart sick in the pit of our stomachs that she was leaving so soon. We always knew she'd miss the last couple of weeks of school due to her pregnancy but now she was not only leaving sooner than planned, but she also wouldn't return until the 2nd semester of next years school year. Like I told Alison, I feel like I've lost an appendage. (nothing like making her feel bad, eh?) Like someone has cut off my arm or something. We miss her dearly! However, I know that she needs this time away in preparation for her new little one. I'm glad that she has the opportunity to be a stay at home Mom as she welcomes her first child. The real test will be whether she will EVER come back though after having that new little baby at home by her side for almost a year straight. I must confess that for my own selfish reasons, I'm so worried that she'll decide to quit her job and become a full time Mommy at home with her new baby. Thus meaning that we'll never have the opportunity to have her in our lives again. I pray that if that should that happen, I'll have the maturity level to not throw myself down on he floor, kicking and screaming, and begging for her to change her mind like a mad woman. I can almost promise that it won't be a pretty sight if it does come up so get ready and be prepared Alison. Ha ha! We love and miss ya tons girl!
Where are you Mrs. Alison? I miss you! Love, Kenidi
PS...A ginormous thank you to all of you caring and oh so loving souls who've emailed me about my new friend, Mr. Migraine. Your concerns and caring spirits never cease to amaze me. I didn't discuss it much here on the ol' blog because I'd been --- well...very frustrated and in total irritation of it all. After not having had to go to a doctor for basically 33 years of my life, I've now seen the inside of an Emergency Room twice in the past 60 days. (the heart related issue and then the head problem) After a week and a half of a severe migraine - nonstop I might add - which I've never had before - along with my eyelid suddenly swelling and then drooping/dropping on a whim due to the migraine, the doctors then thinking it was a massive cluster headache following a healthy CT scan, etc., I'm happy to report that I believe the miracle drug, prednisone, is now working. I hate to speak to soon or jinx myself but for the first time today in 11 days, I'm not feeling the pain as I had before. And although the prednisone prescription threw my heart into a very unexpected and not so fun synus tachycardia rhythm (heart palpitations with the rapid pulse and extra beats) which had to be addressed, I'm glad that I'm at least feeling some relief now from Mr. Migraine. For those of you who suffer from migraines, I feel so bad for you. I've never experienced anything like this and was totally down and out about all of the doctor visits I'd been having. I just couldn't fathom how I could be healthy for 33 years and never have to go to a doctor - to now all of a sudden having to endure multiple doc visits, ER trips, CT scans, heart testing, blood work, and so on. In my own personal rolodex I now have every doctor you can think of at the touch of a speed dial. Cardiologists, Neurologists, family doctors, and so on. Not only that but my measly one medication (birth control) that was the only pill I've ever had to take, has now grown to a full fledged drug house with 6 new bottles of pills. If someone came into my bathroom right now, they'd probably swear I was freak if they saw the amount of prescription bottles living on my counter. It's depressing beings that I'm not a pill girl and don't like to take medicine as it is. I've not handled it well at all. Let's just leave it at that! I've been mad, ticked off, frustrated, in wonderment, confused, stressed, worried, tired, and every other emotion under the sun. Oh and might I add that at the same time all this is going on, I also ended up at the dermatologist with two skin spots that popped up on my chest after our vacation which now have to be monitored and watched over the next two months. If they aren't gone before we head South again next month, they'll have to be removed and biopsied. Although my dermatologist feels that they don't look like anything to worry about at the moment, of course it is hard not to worry. I'm praying and trucking on like normal - knowing that God is in control. Oh and before I get the sunscreen lecture from my friends out there who want to harp on me about lathering up in protection, my dermatologist tells me that this isn't suncreen/sun related. We had a long talk about my love for the sun and believe it or not, he assured me that in his opionion, I was ok to keep soaking up the sun like I always have - even without sunscreen. Yes...I was shocked to hear him say it too. However, he thinks (his opinion only) that sunscreen will not keep you from getting skin cancer. He believes it will help slow your aging process due to sun damage but he said if you are going to get skin cancer, you are gonna' get it with or without the sunscreen in the end. He asked me if I'd rather age with my age or stay indoors with sunscreen on all the time and have the rest of my body look like my butt (no joke - these were his exact words) and then end up with osteoporosis when older from my bones being so frail due to lack of vitamin D. (sun) He told me it was my choice. He is a direct guy - very dry in personality - but I love how he tells me like it is. So...in the next few weeks, will you just be praying that my health gets back into "normal" gear and that I can stop having to worry about these issues? I'm using up a ton of my prayer quota with regards to the big man upstairs in the last 3 months of this 33rd birth year of mine. Guess I'm making up for all of the other years when I wasn't swinging my way in and out of ER hospital doors. I'm sure the good Lord above is about ready to cancel my membership up there if I continue to keep being so needy. HA HA! Nevah! I know better than that. Again...I can't thank all of you enough for your undying support and caring hearts. It means more to me than you'll ever know.
Don't ask me what this post is for - because truthfully - I don't know. I was just so happy to get out for an hour today and take my camera with me that I just started shooting anything and everything that I could possibly get my hands on. It was a sunny and almost 70 degree day here in Indy today. Therefore, I began to notice all of the colors that were popping amongst the sunshine this afternoon. The normal mundane and not so pretty things, were actually pretty for once. Or at least I thought they were anyhow. :) Doesn't take much to impress me now does it? Few red stop signs...
At different angles of course - never head on and straight...
And some pretty lines. I love lines. Love architecture. Amazing how much "leading lines" can do for a photograph. I'm always thoroughly impressed with the simplest of lines. Just the normal everyday - usually way boring - stuff.
Like these typically hideous dandelions that we all detest to see as they begin popping up when Spring hits. I found these in an open field across the street from our house because gosh knows Brent would never allow a dandelion to live and breathe in our yard. Ha ha! They just seemed to scream at me today from across the way. So bright. So vibrant. So cheerful. Even though they are normally known as being "pests" in the spring time, I loved getting down on my belly and snapping these at their level today. Now...my neighbor thought I was nuts as she came by pulling her son in his wagon. But hey...I've never claimed to be normal - let alone sane. ;)
And lastly...you really know that you are itching to photograph something in the Midwest after old man winter has cooped you up indoors so long that you begin snapping shots of none other than...
You guessed it...
A fire hydrant.
I've been eyeing this bad boy out my den window for weeks just dying to get out there in an effort to try & come up with a neat angle or a neat shot for this bright and oh so yellow guy. Today was the day. Again, my neighbor thought I had completely lost my mind. At one point, I even began to question myself as onlookers and passer bys slowed to try and figure out what on earth I was doing with my camera on a fire hydrant. At one point I just began to laugh out loud at myself and shake my head. The whole scene got real comical there for a bit. But hey...at least I had my moment in the sunshine today with Big Papa, right?
On a final note...I just wanted to thank all of you for your blog comments, private emails, and your facebook messages last night and today regarding my post about the book "GIFT FROM THE SEA." So many of you ran out to buy the book today, purchased it on eBay, or had already read it previous to the topic here last night. I'm so very glad you guys are getting your hands on it. Your comments in your emails about friendships and family members really confirmed that I am not alone. I'm thankful for all of you and your transparency. Maybe it is our age - where we are all at in life - who knows. Obviously though, many of us are coming to the realization that it is time to fill our pitchers back up and shed the negative. And on another note, I plan to begin reading the book "Cold Tangerines" tommorow. Should any of you want to read along with me, I'd love to do a book club sort of thing and get your feedback on it when we are all done reading it. Should you have any interest in joining me as I dive into another highly recommended novel, shoot me an email and let me know. OK?
Until then, enjoy your night. We just got in from the park and are ready to enjoy dinner with Daddy. I hope all of you are enjoying your prelude to this stellar weekend we have ahead.
Much love, Angie
PS...No cheap shots at my fire hydrant images either. I know where your minds are going. Sicko's! HAAAAAAAAAAAA!
