Rainy days = Good pictures

...if you can keep your camera from getting too wet ;)



Here's one of my newer pictures--taken during "Biotechnology and YOU" camp. I took one kid from my county, and I wasn't in charge of anything. So, while they were extracting DNA from strawberries and learning about fingerprinting, I got to walk around in the rain taking pictures of canoes.

what a slacker..

I know, I never post...AND on top of that...I got a new computer and haven't reset my counter to not count me, so my blog looks more popular than it actually is ;) hehe

I don't have too much new going on...I've been working and watching my new Grey's Anatomy Season 1 and 2 DVDs (so addictive...now I can barely watch this season's shows because I'm used to being able to watch 5 or 6 shows right in a row). I went to Ohio last weekend and got to see John and Callie (what a sweetheart, but not so good at letting me sleep in...she'd be wiggling at my feet or standing in my hair at 6:30 A.M. ;) )

I also can't believe that no one commented on my last posts...c'mon, hot guy, adorable puppy...clearly no one appreciates my attempts to beautify the internet ;)


When at first you don't suceed, try, try again ;)

I've also been waiting to post until I had something really good/interesting/deep/inspirational to say...but it turns out that the more meaningful I try to be, the less I actually post

Luckily, other people have lots deep/inspirational/interesting/thoughtful things to say--specifically in the "This I Believe" essays segments they do on NPR. I love it when I catch those segments on the air...they've made me laugh, cry, and given me goosebumps all up and down my arms...You can read and listen to the essays online at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4538138

Puppy pictures

I didn't take that many pictures while I was on vacation, but this was one of my favorites (John is playing tug-o-war with Hero and Bailey in my parents' backyard)




And here's the newest girl in John's life. I'd be jealous but she's just too darn cute! Her name is Callie and she's an 8 1/2 week old Brittany Spaniel. John and his family got her yesterday night, and she's already keeping him on his toes! Even though I can't meet her for about two more weeks, I'm claiming adoptive puppy parent rights right now ;)

Happy Birthday to me!

Yep, I've been awful at posting...but I have an excuse! Earlier this week, John and I drove for 17 hours to get to my parents house in South Dakota (with only two wrong turns by me...State Route 55 towards Chicago is not the road towards my parents house ;) ). We've been playing with the puppies (with my parents' dogs and Erin's dogs here that makes five!), watching movies, eating out, and I think today may be marathon shopping day (yay!!)

And...on top of it all, yesterday was my 26th birthday, and it was just wonderful! We went over to the community center and got to do some rock climbing there, AND the community center also has an indoor pool with a great water slide-so I went down the slide four times =) I even got my dad to try it out! Later, John and I went to Dairy Queen, and checked out the awesome flea market here. Then it was present and dinnertime! =)

I won't go on about my gifts because that seems a bit tacky, BUT I am glad to say that, as long as Best Buy pulls through with some quick installation, we won't be listening to old U2 and Top Gun tapes on the drive home ;)

Back from Louisville

I had to spend three days in Louisville helping set up the 4-H area at the Kentucky State Fair-rough, huh? I had a blast and got to check out a couple cool places in Louisville like...

Lynn's Paradise Cafe which I saw on the Food Network a few weeks ago. So, naturally, being the Food Network junkie that I am, I had to go check it out! Lots of fun, great food! =)

Also The Knit Nook where I bought two sets of needles and drooled over yarn...cute place =)

Let's just pretend...

that I get tagged for things ;) I saw this on Kirsten's blog and I feel like writing about books, so here ya go. I'm a BIG book person, and I picked my college major (English-and just English, not English Ed or anything that actually translates to a job) because I wanted all my homework to be reading (with some pesky writing every now and then). Then during all that English coursework, I actually developed a perverse love of editing and proofreading (not always evident in my typo-laden posts), but that is another post entirely...

Books that changed my life
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
Desert Solitaire - Edward Abbey
Illusions - Richard Bach
Lord of the Rings (I LOVED it, and finally reading it prevented me from being a total outcast in my family)

Books that I read more than once
Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
Far Appalachia: Following the New River North - Noah Adams
From Beginning to End, The Rituals of Our Lives - Robert Fulghum
Many more...

Books that I would want in a desert island:
Honestly, on a desert island, I'd rather have a HUGE supply of magazines (Cosmo, Glamour, Health, etc.)

One book that made me laugh:
Tim Cahill's travel books make me laugh out loud no matter where I am (I think I've frightened people in airports before)

One book that made me cry:
I tear up reading "From Beginning to End" by Robert Fulghum

One book I wish I had written:
The Harry Potter Books

One book I wish had never been written:
White Noise by DeLillo


One book I am currently reading:
Harry Potter and the Socerer's Stone (again)

I'm back

Gosh I love vacations

and that pretty much sums it all up ;) I've been vacating in Ohio since Thursday, and I may actually be relaxing a little bit. We've been to an outdoor concert, went to see a really fun blues band at a bar, went out with friends, went swimming, visited camp, went out to eat, and yesterday, I managed to find two birthday gifts for John at the mall...amazing! I figured a procrastinator like me would be stuck with something crummy...BUT I found exactly what I was looking for, on sale!

Today we're making a trip to Athens (yay!), doing some mountain biking, and celebrating John's birthday (one day early since I have to drive back tomorrow). Hope everyone else is having a good week (and Bren, that your move is going smoothly, I can't wait to hear about your new place!!)
=)

Another flower picture...

I'm not sure what these flowers are...but I really like them. I had to move all the flower pots up to the front so they aren't getting baked by the sun. I just hope my neighbors will (please please please) remember to water them while I'm gone.

And Christina asked me a question in her last comment, which actually isn't too awkward to answer in a post (especially since my blog is mostly visited by a few friends and family members). My photographs are for sale. However, I'm still in the process of figuring out prices, frames, etc. If you go back to the post I made before the Mushroom Festival (April 2006), and would like your pictures to look exactly like those...the cost for a 4x6 (framed size = 8x10 I think, I don't have one left to measure) would be $35, and for a 5x7 (framed size=almost14xalmost17) would be $60, plus shipping. Different sizes/frames are possible but will probably take a fair bit of emailing back and forth. If there's something you're interested in, leave a comment or email me.

If you just want a print, I'm not sure how much that will be. I'll get back to you ;)

I'm even willing to sell photographs to people I don't know who randomly find themselves on my site, but, since-unlike my friends-I don't have junior high pictures I can blackmail you with, at this point, you'd have to pay by check and then I'd send the picture. I won't feel hurt if you don't take me up on that offer, but I thought I'd put it out there ;)

Eventually I'll have a site with all my pictures and I'll be able to take orders and tell you right off what prices are, but I'm still getting there ;)

Taking a little break...

Yep, turns out that work continues even after the county fair is over...now that doesn't seem very fair, does it? ;) Right now I'm so brain scrambled that I'm forcing myself to take a break, with the hopes that afterward, I'll be 100 times more effective (or something like that...)

I wouldn't have so much scrambling to do, but in just one more day, I'll be on vacation for a week! I'm going up to Ohio and I have big, big plans for the week, like sleeping in, and sitting by the pool, and trying not to think or talk about work (and you can ask John how good I am about not thinking or talking about work...not.very. good.)

But you know what? I'll start not talking about work right now...

So it turns out my chiropractor likes a lot of my pictures and has 6 (!!) that he's interested in. I'm so excited about the idea of having pictures up in his office, just the fact that someone would want to buy 6 of my pictures, and the money that six pictures could bring. =) And once people see them, will they want to buy them too??

I also made a batch of chocolate chip cookies last night...and did my best to be generous with them. I probably should've given more away though, because now they are ALL I WANT TO EAT...exasturbated by the fact that I don't have a whooole lot of other food...I'm going to let myself have just one more, for now ;)
=)

Oh Thank Goodness...

Yes, I have officially survived the county fair. We had exhibit pick-up today and it was amazing to see how quickly all those exhibits disappeared.

I guess I'm not TOTALLY done, because after that was over I put all the state fair exhibits into my car and since it was raining, decided I'd take them over to the office later. It's later now, but I'm still putting it off ;) And I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to move a bale of hay all by myself anyway.

hanging in...

Yep, I survived 4-H Camp (two weeks ago...I'm just really behind), AND the first day of the county fair (today) AND today is ALSO one year of working in my job!

Yay me!

I'm too sexy for this catwalk...

I just found out a few days ago that my sister was in a fashion show in Kansas City (wow!) modeling a dress made by her friend, Martha! Exciting, huh?

Read the article here When they talk about the dress by Martha, and the model with the baby, that's my sister and the baby that she nannies for

=)

A green thumb after all...

Turns out I can grow flowers from seeds! My very first bachelor's button bloomed last night/yesterday...and here's a picture!

A good one...

The Real Work
by Wendell Berry

It may be that when we no longer know
what to do we have come to our real work,
and that when we no longer know which way to go,
we have come to our real journey.
The mind that is not baffled is not employed.
The impeded stream is the one that sings.

abbie attempts to have a more exciting blog...

by actually posting on it ;)

Been kind of busy recently...just bought new running shoes that I love love love...and I'm on week five of the beginner runner's plan from Runners World (click here to see the plan)It's taken me about 2 months to get there...decided that exercising when I can, and cutting myself some slack when I couldn't was better than just quitting when I had a week that I didn't get out enough. I'm pretty psyched because this is the third time I've tried it, and the best I've EVER done...maybe all my amazing running (Yay Heather and Christina!), glacier climbing, triathloning friends have rubbed off on me a little ;)

All the little flower seeds (wildflowers, old fashioned seed mix, and bachelor buttons)I planted are sprouting up...except the ones I planted in my two ceramic pots that don't have draining holes. With all the rain we've gotten, those have pretty much turned into stagnant pools...oops! It's true, all pots need to have holes in the bottom or be placed inside where they can't get downpoured on...BUT I still consider it a personal victory that I could grow plants from seeds. =) I'll post pictures when they look more flower-y.

Umm...other exciting news...I sold one of my photographs at the Mushroom Festival! I sold the rocking chair picture (you can see it if you scroll down). Then the flower picture became a mother's day gift for my boyfriend's mom (it's from her garden). The fence picture is back on my wall where it belongs, and the tree and the pier pictures are hanging out here...because I don't want to pay 30-50% comission for someone to sell it in their store (yeah...no thanks). My chiropractor did take a CD of my pictures today (I put together an awesome power point...I wish you could see it)...he's looking for stuff to put on his office walls...so I'm hoping he finds something that'll work. He wants 11x14s and it'd be so awesome to see my work that BIG! =)

That's about it...oh, and I have tons of food in my house, and all I want to eat is cheese sticks from pizza palace...craziness! I think I'll break down tomorrow and just go buy some, and maybe then I'll be left to eat my chicken (and everything else in the refrigerator) in peace.

mmm...

Ben and Jerry's Oatmeal Cookie Chunk Ice Cream...really, go buy some ;)

A little bit late...

Well I finally read about this contest, and now it's too late to enter but I'm going to write out the places anyway...

Name places other than your house or a knitting store where you have knit...:

In hotel lobbies

During small group meetings for church

In the library during Young Adult Book Club...ah, knitting and Anne of Green Gables, I was in heaven! =)

SO EXCITED!!

So, I went out and got more prints and frames, put the prints in the frames, and now my photographs are all ready to go to the Arts Council booth at the festival this weekend. I'm so thrilled about how nice they look that I'm bouncing off the ceiling (this is the first time I've ever had a group of my photographs in frames and looking all nice)!

Just had to share...














A little about the pictures (because that's fun to talk about)...

Starting with the far left (with the lights and the water), this photograph was taken on a pier in Seattle. It was our second night in the city. It was raining and we were walking to a seafood resturant (which was just to the left of where I took this picture). I thought the lights looked really neat against the water and the gray sky, so I took one picture (got my camera a little bit wet in the process) and then followed my friends into the resturant.

The Flower photograph was taken in my boyfriend's Mom's garden a few years ago, I think. I love it, but I'm glad it's the only flower picture of the bunch--sometimes I get a little flower happy and end up with a TOO many flower pictures. (In college, my friends used to joke that I could have a whole photography portfolio of just flowers) ;)

To the right of that, is the Pack Forest picture, which is described a few posts down. It was a rainy, cold day to be walking around a forest, but I was in heaven (bad weather can make some of the BEST photographs).

The next picture, the fence, was taken last May in Wyoming...I once again had gotten the urge to take pictures in questionable weather (we were under a winter storm warning when I took this one). The picture was taken just outside of the town where I lived, and it's one of my two favorite pictures from my year in Wyoming.

And then the last picture, the rocking chair, was taken during my spring break trip to South Dakota, and, it's true that sometimes you don't have to go far for good pictures...this chair is on my parents porch (I've also got a picture of it covered with snow--needless to say I didn't get much of a tan while "spring-breaking" in SD) ;)

slacker slacker slacker

Okay, it's been a little while...and I don't have much to write about because not a whole heck of a lot has been going on. I do have to get some prints and frames together because there's a local festival this weekend, and I can exhibit/sell my work in the Arts Council booth for free. So tonight will involve a trip to Target (I LOVE Target) where I'll print my pictures at one of those digital kiosk things and then buy frames that already have mats in them--it's all very complicated ;) I'm really excited about having my photography in the booth, and I figure even if it doesn't sell, at least everyone will know what a bad-ass photographer I am ;)

I've also started walking/jogging (I'd like to call it running, but there's actually no running involved). It's a training thing from Runners World that I've tried a few times in the past--good for starting out and getting exercise without totally wishing you were dead. If you're interested, you can find it right here http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/article/0,5033,s6-51-184-0-2201-3-2X3X6-4,00.html
I think I may really stick with it this time...I've actually been looking forward to exercising (gasp!) which is a new thing for me, and the benefits (stress relief, being in a better mood, not feeling like a lazy lump, and actually getting stronger) are amazing. But there's nothing wrong with a little accountability, so I'm on week 2 (jog a minute, walk a minute) and I've only walk/jogged once this week...so I need to go two more times by Sunday

What else...well I had a huge spring cleaning/get rid of stuff fest and I finally got rid of all the bedding stuff that I didn't like (ugly comforter and too small sheets)...so the goal for May will be to find a new quilt/coverlet thing (right now I've got a twin size quilt on my queen sized bed--more than big enough for me but it looks a little funny. I'm going to look at Target tonight and maybe sneak over to Linens and Things too...I'm thinking plain...green, maybe? then then I could get some fun sheets (hmm....Target has fun sheets)...

Maybe going to Target isn't such a good idea when pay day is still two days away... ;)