it's been forever

I know, I know...it's been forever since I've posted anything, and for some reason it seems like I don't have time, but I guess I've just been preoccupied with life.

Here's what's been keeping me busy...

• my new camera which includes borrowing other lenses to see what works for me and playing around with all the different settings
• figuring out all that photoshop elements has to offer
• class at work which has me getting up earlier than I'm used to
• sitting on my butt and watching TV because I'm too tired since I've been getting up earlier than I'm used to
• working out
• busy weekends
• family stuff

Can I just say TGIF! This week has been brutal! And holy crap it's windy out right now!

Slippers? Oh that's a seasonal item...

So Jim is in desperate need for some new slippers. Like once a week he pulls one off his foot and sticks it in my face for me to smell. No, I don't voluntary smell his gross slipper...he tends to sneak up on me. So anyway, I bought him a pair for Christmas, size 12. They were too small. So we returned them and have been looking for a size 13 pair ever since. We have some gift cards to use at JCPenney and Kohl's for returns we had made, but we haven't been able to find any slippers.

The other day, this is how our conversation went...

Me: Okay, I really need to find you some slippers
Jim: Yeah. I swear nobody carries them right now
Me: laughing, it's not like stores only sell men's slippers at Christmas

So today I was at Kohl's with my mom, again looking for a pair of slippers for Jim. I finally decide to ask someone since I can't find them anywhere. What did I find out? Apparently they only sell men's slippers at Christmas. Can you believe that? Hilarious.

I did look at JCPenney and they did have a few pairs, but no size 13. I swear...the man is going to have to buy some online because I'm sick of his stinky, sweaty slipper in my face!

A relaxing Valentine's Day

So yesterday marked the 5-year anniversary of our engagement. I know it's kind of a strange thing to actually acknowledge, but I didn't realize it was 5 years until a few weeks ago. I just can't believe how fast time flies! Jim brought me flowers, some type of pink lily, a card and chocolates. I was really only expecting a card, so that was sweet. And I know the whole chocolates thing sounds cheesy, but that's how he proposed. He put the ring inside the box where a chocolate had been.



We stayed in and I made him his favorite, lasagna, just like I did 5 years ago. I also tried my hand at Tiramisu and WOW! The BEST dessert I've accomplished to date! And that was our evening...nice and relaxing. I hope everyone else had a nice Valentine's Day, whether you went all out or stayed in and hung out at home.

cute crunchy candy

While at Meijer yesterday shopping for tonight's dinner, I went on the search for these delicious little conversation hearts. I realize most people absolutely despise them, but I just can't get enough.

All about my bag

My friend Rachel over at American Beauty tagged me with this and it seemed like fun, so here it goes.

1. Post a picture of whatever bag you are carrying as of late. And whats in it? No cheating!

2. I want to know how much it costs. And this is not to judge. It is for entertainment purposes only. So, spill it. And, if there is a story to go along with how you obtained it, I'd love to hear it.

3. Tag some chicks. And link back to this post so people know why the heck you're showing everyone your bag.

Ok, so here's my bag...

I actually JUST switched this out the other day. I've been carrying the same big black leather bag for a few months and needed a change. Plus I wanted to try and downsize and organize. I found this bag online for 60% off, so what was originally $65 was only $26...plus shipping of course.

So here's the inside...

And here's what I carry in it...

• A smaller purse - this is where the downsizing came into play. The larger tote holds everything I MAY need on a daily basis, and the smaller purse holds what I need if I run in somewhere like my wallet, sunglasses, cell phone, lip gloss/chapstick, keys. Plus I can add and remove things as I need them.
• Gloves
• My badge for work
• A compact
• An inhaler
• My other wallet that holds a bunch of cards I hardly ever use and my checkbook
• Sharpie, pens and a pencil
• The bowling scores from the other night
• A planner
• Various lip glosses
• Brush
• Feminine products
• Motrin
• Hand sanitizer
• Right now a banana, orange and some nuts - the food items change daily
• Always some type of gum
• Bottle of water

And now I tag:

Jill at Here and There
Meredith at La Buena Vida
Julie at Simply Me
Julie at ...backto the basics...

What's the point of a Lean Cusine?

As I sat eating my lunch today, I was going over the "nutrition" information on my Chicken Fettuccine Lean Cuisine.

6 grams of fat
3 grams saturated fat
40 mg cholesterol
690 mg sodium

I realize that anything pre-packaged like this is going to have high amounts of sodium. That being said, I do still buy them when they're on sale because it's something quick to grab when I need lunch and didn't make anything ahead of time. But they aren't healthy at all...lol. I realize it's only 270 calories which is way less than running to say McDonald's or something, but I don't really see anything Lean about them.



Oh and I didn't like this one at all. The chicken was all spongy and gross. I should've known! I usually HATE chicken in frozen meals.

Earth Hour

I've never heard of this, but it sounds pretty cool.

On March 28, 2009 at 8:30 p.m., local time, World Wildlife Fund is asking individuals, businesses, governments and organizations around the world to turn off their lights for one hour -- Earth Hour -- to make a global statement of concern about climate change and to demonstrate their commitment to finding solutions. Turn out. Take action. Be part of this historic event.

Stupid Superbowl!

So Jim and I finally got around to watching the "The Office" episode that was on after the Superbowl. Well wouldn't ya know it...we didn't get to see the end of the episode because we didn't tape longer than an hour. Silly us thinking that the Superbowl was going to end when the guide said it was going to end.

...off to see if I can watch the rest of the episode online...

New Blog

I am starting a new blog to include all my photographic ventures. I hope you'll check it out!

in plain view

A few pics

So here's a few pics from yesterday - nothing to exciting.

Of course one of my cat (SOOC)


And there's the ice - at least the sky was blue
adjusted the levels and bumped up the blue color a little


And the pier
adjusted the levels


And here's a B&W conversion I did in Photoshop - what do you think?
applied a gradient and then played with the levels to achieve a nice contrast

A lot of reading

I think I've read more in the past week than I have in the last year. What am I reading? Books about my camera, photoshop elements 6, and just photography in general.

The first book I read (before I even had my camera) was Understand Exposure. Rachel lent me her copy and it was a pretty good read. Since getting my camera, I've gone back over some of the chapters to actually see what he was talking about. Once I give this back to her I'll probably end up buying my own copy to have on hand.


I've also been reading the Canon EOS 40D Guide to Digital Photography. I bought this book along with my camera after finding out that the manual that comes with the camera really isn't that informative. So far so good - it explains a lot of the functions in detail.


Another book I've been reading is The Photoshop Elements 6 Book for Digital Photographers. Since I'm still not really all that familiar with exactly how Photoshop works, this book has been a little over my head. It does allow you to jump around to find a particular task you'd like to perform in Photoshop so I have played around with a few of the techniques. I can see how this book will come in handy...once I learn Photoshop a little better.


And that brings me to the last book - Photoshop Elements 6 for Dummies. I've had this book for awhile now and I had started reading it, but then it quickly made it's way to the bottom of the pile and was forgotten about. Well now with the new camera and me actually wanting to learn about this stuff again, it has been resurrected. I think I'll be reading this book before I jump back into the previous mentioned book.


And that's what I've been doing this past week. I was able to get outside yesterday and use the camera in the daylight, but there really isn't anything pretty to take pictures of outside. I'm hoping to go out later today, closer to sunset, to take some more pictures. I have no idea where to go though. Everything just looks like complete crap around here.

Global Warming? Really?

So it's pretty effing cold here today...again. I swear it totally sneaks up on ya too. I had NO IDEA it was going to be this cold today.


(crappy cell phone pic)

It's so cold that when you walk outside, your breath gets taken away. And I feel like there's instant icicles inside my nostrils too...very strange feeling...lol. I seriously can't remember the last time we had a winter that was this cold and had this much snow. I'm not complaining, just simply stating an observation.

So anyway, I sent the picture above to my brother just stating the fact that it IS so cold and below is the picture he sent me.


He would probably kill me if he knew I posted this on here...lol.

He goes to college in Detroit, so he does his fair share of walking around. He told me that this look is his response to the weather. He figured that with the weather so ridiculous, he would dress accordingly - ridiculous. The best part is that he said when he walks by people, he watches their eyes and that generally, they are all staring at him. Apparently they don't realize he can see out of his glasses...lol.

Do those glasses look familiar? Well if you've seen Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with Johnny Depp, then that's where you've seen them. Yes...he's an odd bird.

Playing around with my camera

Well I figured I'd post a few pictures of me just playing around with the camera. These are all straight out of the camera (SOOC). I was playing around with aperture settings and whatnot. Kinda fun.



Can you tell I didn't have much to take pictures of besides my cats? lol

So I got my camera yesterday

My camera is here! I had it delivered to Jim's work to be sure that it would get dropped off AND to make sure it didn't have to sit out in the weather. I didn't get home until about 7:15 so I didn't start playing around with it until 7:30-ish. Jim was nice enough to open everything up at his work and charge the battery for me - how sweet :o) Man oh man there's a lot to learn about this camera! I had crappy light to work with so seeing everything I can do in manual was pretty much non-existent. I took a few pictures on auto, but nothing exciting. I'm looking forward to this weekend to actually have some light to work with. It's supposed to be near 50 this weekend, but also rainy. Oh well...we shall see. I'm still waiting for my bag to come in - hopefully today!!