Agenda for Today

My goal for today is to sit at this desk and GET STUFF DONE!! Apart from lunch, laundry, and bathroom breaks, I am glued to this thing! Wish me luck... Hope you all are doing fun things this Saturday!

Currently listening to: The Format

Made it!

I was a happy girl when my package came in the mail yesterday! Woohoo to finally getting a camera! It didn't happen the way I thought it all would go down, but I am very thankful and very excited to be able to say I officially own a new camera.. WOot!

It should be a relatively busy weekend. I have laundry to do tomorrow and I really should get around to a redesign of this blog & some code writing for my site. I feel the weight of these projects looming over me, and it has started to stress me out. Getting out and about to test out the new cam is a priority as well. I'm so thrilled!

Anybody have any projects that take the backburner but still weigh heavily on ya? It's rough isn't it?!


focus focus focus focus! Here's to a productive weekend, all!

Cheers!

It just clicked.

Me, circa 4:45PM Thursday, 26 February 2009


I'm sending flowers to some of my favorite blogs:

A Cup of Jo
The Drifter and the Gypsy
Cannelle et Vanille
Kris's Color Stripes
Color Me Katie


Thanks to these lovely blogs for their creativity and talent. And thanks for the inspiration it brings!

Piano Camp

I've been to piano camp. Seven times. I've spent around 7 weeks of my life in Kingston, Ontario at a Suzuki Music Camp - and it was some of the best memories I have of my teen years. I started playing the piano when I was in 1st grade, but my first year at piano camp (that was really more than piano, as it had violin, cello, voice, and even theater) was in 1997 and this photo is from my Grand Recital that year. I made some amazing friends here and I would say that we sort of grew up together. For one week each year we spent every waking moment with each other. It was an experience I get made fun of for but would never ever take back.

So here's some us in 1998:


and some of us in 2000:


And again in 2002:


And our last year, 2003:


So yea.. this one time, at piano camp...

Mardi Gras

Upon arriving home from Fat Fish Blue, I decided to play around with some of the mardi gras beads that I got (innocently) tonight. Look closely!

Boys Will Be Boys

The boy has recently taken upon himself a new project. He put on a tool belt, plugged in the power tools, and started speaking in a lower voice. I have been neglected, and replaced. Sigh.

So while he was grunting and wiping away the sweat from his brow, I ventured down to the "man cave" and brought the cam with me. After all, if he was going to ignore me, I might as well make the best of it.

He's done now with his projects, and has a 'sweet' amp case to show for it. Perhaps I will photograph his pride and joy sometime in the near future, so you can appreciate his new girlfriend.

Sound Booth Sundays

I volunteer to work the song slides at my church every other month, and as this was the last Sunday in February, I am officially off the clock until April. I enjoy working the Powerpoint during the service. To me, it's a test each week to see if I can create flawless transitions in the song slides. I think the ultimate goal is to have the congregation forget that a person is running the slides altogether, and just focus on the songs. It's a small, mediocre personal challenge but it's mine, and I enjoy it.

Obviously a picture of all the knobs and buttons of a sound board is highly more interesting than a computer screen, so that's what you get to see. :)

A Very Messy Tea Party!

Remember a few weeks ago when I mentioned my niece turning one? Well, today we had her official birthday party and it was quite the tea party! Mmm, cucumber sandwiches and delicious chocolate cupcakes - I managed to eat more calories in 30 seconds than I should be eating all day. Sigh.. this is what I call a vacay-day. All for a good reason too, because the food was delicious. Eisley was simply adorable in her birthday outfit. Oh, and she absolutely smashed her birthday cake, complete and utter destruction! That girl can eat!! Takes after her auntie...

Fridayyyyyyyyy

It seems like I have been taking a lot of photos from my car lately. This one doesn't even come close to doing the sky justice but I still enjoy it. I was on the highway, and just happened to look over at the sky and this tiny little bright spot in the sky seemed to appear from nowhere. The resulting rainbow looked a lot cooler (technical term.) from behind my sunglasses - but even without them, it was fascinating. I've never seen such a random, bright sunburst-rainbow-pretty-thing. So look closely, you can sort of see it!

Have you ever seen a rainbow that arched all the way across the sky? When I was a freshman in college, I lived on the 6th floor of Blanding Tower at the University of Kentucky. Blanding Tower had a twin, Kirwin Tower that stood just across the way. One day, this rainbow (and a faint twin of one) reached all the way from one side of the sky to the other - right over Kirwin. It was breathtaking. I'll have to see if I can scrounge up the picture from that day so you can see it too! :)

A fake engagement!

No, no, you didn't hear it here first! Eric and I are NOT engaged, but we did get to take part of a fake engagement photo session at my work this afternoon. My co-worker Lyndsey thought that I should have played it out and made you all think I was engaged, butttt I wouldn't do that to you!!

Gotta run, might have another photo for ya tonight.

Over n Out

Work.

There's just something about being able to go out on a "school/work night" with a few new friends and just unwind after a long work day. I hope you all had a fabulous Wednesday.

Lingering

On my way home from the gym today I thought about winter. Particularly, February's winter. It lingers. February is full of what I like to call "crunchy" snow. It's not the fluffy, pretty stuff of January - it's brown, icy, and.. well, crunchy! On top of that, the days are still short, the weather is still cold, and now we get the added bonus of rain too.

However! The days are getting longer, and if it's raining then it must be warmer! The sun was setting at 6 when I left the gym, casting one of my favorite images in the tree line and sky. It happens in the early morning and again at night while the sun turns the sky vibrant colors and makes the trees black outlines against the changing colors.

And it wouldn't look nearly as fabulous with a bunch of leaves now would it?!

Winter may be wearing on all of us, lingering after the party a little too long, but let's just try to keep our eyes open to what it still has to offer us in the next month (begrudgingly I will rephrase to 'month or two').

I can be thankful for February. I just have to remind myself every now and then. :)

Oldie

This is a really old photo. I took it while on a shooting assignment in a photography class one summer and it was a complete mixed up exposure accident. The thing is, I have always really loved this picture. It's one of those images that just doesn't work for most people, maybe because they can see right through my facade of "This is what I intended to shoot." But I don't care. I still enjoy it. It still makes me smile. I still remember thinking, "Oops.. that was... cool!" And I think that is what draws me to it the most - the fact that I can remember exactly where I was standing and what I was thinking before, during, and after the camera clicked. Having taken thousands of photographs in the last decade, I have only a handful that I can describe like this one.

Do you have any photos that you love, even if nobody else seems to "get it"?

What Were We Thinking!?

A dinner party can be turned into a paper-marker-scissors, camera-tripod-thought bubble extravaganza in these 5 easy steps:

1. Obtain colorful (or non colorful, as that would work too) paper, sharp (or semi-sharp) scissors, and black magic (or the non-magic) markers.

2. Set up camera on stationary object (or tripod, if you will).

3. Color, cut, and tape thought bubbles in a variety of shapes and sizes.

4. Instruct dinner party guests to pose in various ways with funny (or serious) expressions.

5. Click away.
Party on, party people. Party on!


Also, Valentine's Day dinner with these love birds was fabulous. So much food, so much laughter, and so many photos. What did you do this weekend?



I tend to consider myself "above" spot color, but a little shameless spot coloring never hurt anyone, right? And yes, those hearts were really taped to the wall.

Googly Eyes

Googly eyes make everything better!

Goof Troop

Sometimes it's fun to be goofy and remember to not take ourselves too seriously. Hope you all have a great Saturday - whether you acknowledge Valentine's Day or not! :)

x's and o's - rach

Hearts n Such

Have a Happy Valentine's Day! Do something spontaneous!


I know I haven't been very talkative, just not feelin it lately. I hope to get back into the swing of things soon.


x's and o's,

rach

Fun House

These are my steps and this is my door and the whole place looks like a funhouse.

Carsick

Yes, it was

Schmucker's. Great Pies. Tasty Coffee (according to Eric). Cheap prices.

And yes, Good Food.

Today is the first real rainy day of 2009 for those who live in the NW Ohio area. It's gray, dull, wet, and .. WARM! I'll take it!

Real D!

First we...

Waited for a table at Outback Steakhouse! Yum.

Then we...

Couldn't finish our delicious meals. Leftovers for tomorrow, double yum!!

After that we...

Tried on our sweet RealD 3D glasses while waiting for the movie to begin.

Date Night. Success!


We also stopped in one of those run down photo booths for some fun. Here we are, $3 and a crappy "black and white" later! (and yes, Eric managed to get his shirt off in the last one. I covered my eyes, hehe)

Spaghetti Dinner

Today I was plagued by some sort of unnatural, unquenchable, unsatisfiable hunger. Even dinner, whole wheat spaghetti and meat sauce, couldn't shake it. But this isn't not about dinner, really. It's about our dinner guests.

Cyrus and Eisley joined us for an evening of spaghetti, meat sauce, salad, and veggie tales. It was during this dinner that I realized I am by no means ready to have little ones of my own. This isn't a startling realization or anything - but it was a confirmation. I love these two, especially when Cyrus wants to give "bebe" a kiss and a hug. When Eisley grins and giggles, it definitely melts my heart. I have some friends who are happily married, and I can see it in them. That look. When they think nobody is watching, and they let their guard down for a moment, it's there. That yearning for motherhood, for diapers and sippy cups and potties and ni-nights.

I certainly don't criticize here, and I probably will get that "look" eventually. But for now, much to my Mom and Dad's relief, I am happily child-less.


...and still quite hungry.


[They are pretty darn cute though aren't they?]

The Little Things

I can't really say when or where it started, but the boy has taken to singing this line of that song to me every now and then. I do remember that when we first were talking about the song, I thought he was messing up the lyrics. Turns out, he was right all along. Now it's a cutesy boyfriend thing he does. This little note was left on my keyboard one day - so I made him pose with it this afternoon. :)

Still playing around with the new lens - I love it! I hope to get some time this week to really experiment. We shall see!

Sound Barrier

I live off of a relatively busy road. It's by no means a highway, but it's not country either. At least, it's not country anymore. Our front yard is more of what you would call a 'wood' than a 'yard.' In the spring, the trees almost entirely block out the view of the road. I used to want the big front yard, with bright green grass - but I've grown to appreciate the privacy that this house has. Over the years that we've lived here, my Dad has slowly built up this log pile to stretch across the length of the yard. I only ever notice it in the winter, when the vegetation is gone and it's visible from the street. Today I trekked through the remainder of the [melting] snow to get a closer look. This is what I saw.

Freaky Friday!

Ahh I'm so glad today is Friday. I mean, it's just wonderful to know that I have the whole weekend just waiting for me. It's absolutely fantas- wait, what?

It's not Friday?

You mean... I missed a day on my blog!? Oh dear. And here I was all ready to talk about the Cliffs of Insanity on this fabulous Friday. All right, all excuses aside - I did miss a day and I feel horrible. I feel like I've let down all two of you faithful fans.

Lucky for you, I still want to talk about the cliffs of insanity. One of my all time favorite movies is The Princess Bride. I'm pretty sure I've seen it hundreds of times (ask my Mom, she'll vouch for a couple hundred of viewings). A few years ago, I was given the opportunity to take a trip to Alaska, which was unforgettable. I remember taking this photo too - I had just stepped off the bus for one of our stretching/photo opp/snack breaks. We were supposed to be ooing and ahhing over an old gold mine, but I had gotten turned around, and saw what I would call my own version of the Cliffs of Insanity. Pretty freakin sweet right?!

Anyway, I'll be right back with Saturday's post.

Little Eisley

Yesterday was my niece's first birthday. I did not get to squeeze her cheeks, or give her a kiss on the head, or even make her smile because she's in Columbus with Bree, Andy, and Cy. However, that is probably a good thing because I was dealing with this monster that is the flu.

But this isn't about me. This is about little Eisley. It's her 1 year 1 day mark and I just want to tell the world that I am so grateful for her existence. She's adorable! She doesn't give her smiles away easily - which always makes you feel like you've won a prize when you are on the receiving end of an Eisley grin. She will stare at you with an unwavering look of utter concentration for minutes on end, making me think she has highly intelligent thoughts running through her head. And she's starting to walk, which is just simply delightful. She still needs help from your hands, the couch, sometimes the dog, and congratulating her on the small steps is so much fun.

So, Happy Birthday Eisley! I love ya!

Love always, your aunt Rach.

DogSitting Vinni

The Action:


The Reaction:



I got to dogsit little Vinni for a bit today, and the only one not thrilled about this was Crackers. Especially when Vinni finished up his dinner.

Game Board, the dreaded Flu, & a new lens.

My Mom and my boyfriend have both been really sick lately. They contracted some sort of flu virus on Sunday and both were in terrible condition yesterday. I did my best to take care of Eric... all the while being pretty proud of myself for my awesome immune system. I haven't been sick at all so far this year, not even the sniffles! So I was feeling pretty good...

Until 4 AM. I woke up in a sweat, with my lower back and stomach contracting into a knot. It wasn't long before I was hugging the toilet and I have been miserable all day. So much for my awesome immune system!

Around 2 o'clock this afternoon, there was a knock on the sliding glass door out back. As I was the only one downstairs, I had to jump up (bad idea) to check it out. Great news! It was my new lens!!! I was thrilled, however still too sick to play around with it. So in the coming days, expect quite a few photos with my new lens!

You are probably wondering what the above picture is all about. Well, all day I've been watching tv, and finally Alton Brown's Good Eats came on! I love this show, even though I know many people can't stand it. A couple years ago, for a creativity-based class, we had to create a product. My product was a Good Eats board game. I actually took it all the way to production and officially 1 copy of the Good Eats board game exists. Fabulous!

Anatomy of a messy organized desk

As I was sitting at my desk this morning, I realized that I have a lot of random stuff on it and no matter how often I clean it all off, it jumps back up onto it right away. So here we go, a left to right equation of my desk so I can feel a little better about it. And I'll number it.. just for giggles.

1. My iMac. A purchase from my Mom when she decided that switching from a PC was not going to work. (Score for me!)
2. Sierra Mist. The first non-diet Sprite-like-beverage I've had in a long time.
3. Phillips speaker. A Christmas present from the boy. Now I can rock out at my desk.
4. Little Pink Book. My new planner! Finally received it in the mail today and I'm absolutely thrilled. Now I can keep track of myself.
5. Mighty Mouse. I found a thrilling, step-by-step instruction from Apple on how to clean your mighty mouse. Let's just say it includes the phrase "Vigorously rub." Be sure to check out the video tutorial as well.
6. Pens/Pencils/Markers
7. Broken iPod & a dock for my sweet [free gift from Pa] shuffle. Also, gift cards to Timmy Ho's and Barry Bagels, and the little blue dog who constantly looks happy.
8. Nail Polish. Looks awesome on me.
9. Tablet. The only way I can work in Photoshop now.
10. Camera. Sweet.
11. Receipts that haven't been filed.
12. Thermometer & Thermometer covers. Eric is sick. 101 fever!
13. Blue notebook. For notes.
14. Purse.
15. Chaz the Change Hound.
16. Sock. To hold G9, post losing camera case.
17. Purple Sigg water bottle. [Not pictured]

[right to left]
18. Adium conversation with Liz
19. Cds. For burning.
20. Other Philips Speaker. This time I spelled Philips correctly.
21. Time Machine MyBook.
22. Old MyBook. For backing up.
23. Old Camera. For memories.

So that's not too bad right? I dare you to tell me one thing that is not necessary to my desk's existence. I dare you.

Super what?

Eric had shows both Friday and Saturday night. It was a musical weekend for me, to say the least. I'm not particularly blown away by this photo, technically it's not great. But it makes me feel something. I can't put my finger on it, but I just love the stage, with the curtains and the crowd. It seems trivial, quaint. High school. But those all sound so negative, and I don't feel negative - just... something. Argh, I hate not having words to express my thoughts.

On a side note, the Steelers just won the superbowl. I'm only excited because that means it's over and now the Office one hour extravaganza can air. Ohhh boy!

Also,


I will never buy an overpriced cat toy again. My cat LOVES pipe cleaners. I only found this out after a happy accident during Halloween. You see, I was dressed up as a Letter Person (specifically, the letter L). My costume was going to include some creative use of the pipe cleaners, but they were left off at the last minute - left sitting on my coffee table. Crackers [the cat] discovered his new favorite play-thing. I am thrilled.

Office time!