Wordy Wednesday {Changes}

Remember my long hair? Here is a picture I took back in November of 2012 for a mirror challenge (which I never finished):

As you can see, my hair is long. Well, last Saturday, I had it cut. Chopped. At least a third is gone if not half. Here is me today:

Much better, huh? And yes, I intentionally tried to reproduce the same pose and all; but, I did not succeed. Anyway, I could not decide on a hairstyle. So, I just got it cut off. I wanted it long enough to put in a ponytail because I do not like my hair falling on my face while crafting, sewing, cutting fabric or even doing minor yard work such as pulling weeds. I also decided I did not want bangs because my face is small and bangs would make it look even smaller. There is nothing wrong with wrinkles anyway! They are a fact of life just like my grey hair.

There is another minor change; but, nothing different for most of you family and friends. For those of you who do not know, I have had a pair of holes in each earlobe since the early ‘80s.

Well, last Christmas, I wore earrings (in the second upper hole) I had purchased from Wal-Mart that claimed to be gold. Never, never again will I purchase earrings from Wal-Mart. I will stick with Kohl’s (along with their coupons).

The posts (from Wal-Mart) turned out to be cheap metal. My ears could never tolerate cheap metals. I can wear hypoallergenic earrings for a short duration; but, gold is best for me because I can put the earrings in and forget about them. Anyway, my ears got infected from the Walmart earrings. I ended up having to leave earrings out altogether and they finally healed.

When I tried to put a pair of good earrings in after they healed, the posts would only go in about halfway. The holes had closed up and I was very sad. I thought that I would not bother getting them re-pierced – I am too old and stuff. However, I missed having the ability to pair up earrings in each lobe. So, after a bit of thought, I decided to get the re-pierced.

I went with nice simple white gold earrings. Let me tell you, getting your ears pierced the second time around hurts like the dickens! I am happy that I have two pairs of earrings in each lobe once again even though I cannot take the white gold ones out for two months.

Memories, Dreams, & Reflections: 2011

Template used to create this post.

{All pictures taken by me in the year 2011 unless otherwise noted.}
{Text in bold is the subject of the picture}

Me! This picture is part of a self portrait challenges and I really like this one; although, I like the "material girl" shot too. It is so hard to decide!

Even though 2011 had tons of crappy moments, I'd like to think I have improved in the areas of writing and photography. At least, I shared a little more of my writings this year. And, a DIY project, the trash-to-treasure nightstand, was completed. So, something was accomplished (finished) this year. I have sewed up a bunch of blocks and finished quilt tops even though a quilt haven't been completely finished yet. I have done a few other crafty projects. And, we did make bread until life hit me with a ton of bricks. I am planning to pick up the bread making once again in the New Year.

So, I guess I did okay with my New Year goals for 2011.

I Love You! This is a "old" self portrait Dan took for me back in February of 2010 at my request. I wanted a picture of him before he trimmed up his "rugged" beard for the summer. This is the most current picture I have of him. Yes, I need to get a new picture of him. But, this will have to do.

This man is the love of my life. He is so supportive in all ways including when I'm very sick. He doesn't like for me to take long road trips by myself. So, he does not hesitate to take day(s) off from work to rush me back home if I'm needed. He listens to my infrequent passionate rantings and often smiles at me in amusement. He is my BFF (Best Friend Forever) and my rock on this earth.

source: Dan

This subject of this pictures is suppose to be Still Laughing; but, for the life of me, I cannot remember such a moment. However, I'm still experiencing Quiet Joy over one of the newest member of the family. So, "quite joy" replaces "Still Laughing". She is growing up too fast!

Winter Wonderland: It snowed on February 4th and it was quite an experience for me living in the south Texas as we do not often get snow down here.

What I got for myself on My Birthday. 'Nuff said.

The cats are My Friends. Sad to say, I don't have pictures of me with friends. And, even if I did, I would not post them without their express permission. My family is different -- they know that I am nuts and will post pictures. However, I do try to respect them and ask beforehand. Anyway, my cats are an ever present source of companionship and amusement. So, I guess they'll do in the subject of "friends". Ha!

I Was Inspired by this DIY Showoff blog post to get me one of these soda crates. It can (and will) serve as a multi-purpose function throughout the year. We are planning to make some cute little wooden drawers for this crate using some Luan.

This represents Spring Fever to me. The honeybees begin to stir when spring arrives and gets busy gathering pollen. I adore honeybees and often wish I had a hive.

A favorite taken on our Vacation at North Padre Island.

{not the best picture as it was taken with a digital water camera while the sun was high in the sky}

Tubing, whether it be at a water park or on the river, is always a reflection of Summer Days for me. I can hardly wait for Garner next year in June. I'm hoping the water will be higher and flowing. Please Lord, let it continue to rain periodically!

A Day in my Life {December 19, 2011}

Seeing this little girl always makes me Smile.

{I do not have any pictures for Autumn Harvest in 2011. Fall was basically shot considering I came down sick and all that -- I just did not feel like taking pictures during this time.}

Some of my Family while bowling -- December 22, 2012.

source: Dan with my camera

My sister-in-law's Power cookies are a reason to Celebrate! anything at any time!

source: Dan

Let's Do It Again. I love cooking with Dan. I love that he's willing to do things with me including photography. I love that he's willing to teach me all that he knows in this area. I love that he gets my weird sense of humor and that he caught on by coming up with this picture all on his own.

{I Miss You is supposed to be the next picture/category. But, I really miss a man (my dad) that passed away almost three years ago. This Christmas was the hardest for me considering my Mother's circumstances and changes. I also really miss a fine lady (my grandmother) who passed away long ago. And, the strangest thing is that I miss a cat that I really bonded with and loved that passed away over 12 years ago. I still occasionally wake up in the night and feel for her at the foot at the bed only to realize she's gone. No other cat was like her before or since.}

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder". I do think this Cicada is Beautiful. Cicadas remind me of the dog days of summer and innocent days of childhood when I did not mind catching and holding one of the buzzing critters.

Dress Up with my new boots.

I think this Sand Crab is the best Macro picture all year long. It's also My Favorite.
Bokeh for the Holidays. I attempted to practice on 12/23 with Dan's fixed lens. I love me some snowmen; so, I focused on them on the Christmas tree. I still have a long ways to go before I achieve what I desire in a picture. But, I think I am improving, am I not?

Don't Ever Change. This is a tough one for me. I know we all change. We all grow up. We all go on our separate ways to lead our lives. We all grow older. We all eventually die. Well, I've gone macabre. The point is that this doll from my childhood will never change. We can all count on that. Ha!

Just Because...So There!
{Original Screw-in-a-Screw post}

My Hopes and Dreams is to live in the sewing room someday. Ha! Seriously though, I'm working on a "Finish Year" list and will share that with you all soon. My word of the year for 2011 is "do". I think I accomplished much more than I ever did before. There is always room for improvement though. I think I will the word of the year "finish" for 2012 and extend the word "do". I am longing to do do much more and finish a few projects. The two words, "do" and "finish", complement one another, don't you think?

Wordy Wednesday

Mine! All Mine! Bwahahahaha!

This was part of the Self Portraits series I did back in May.
'Nuff said.

Pictorial Monday: Self Portraits

There is a site called Digital Photography School that I follow (via RSS feed) and, in general, it has been very helpful. I like the challenges they present once in a while; but, I rarely participate. Well, sometime last week this post popped up in my RSS feed and intrigued me. I decided to go for it as I thought it would be fun.

Let me tell you, the creativity aspect is tough not to mention attempting to take a self portrait is even tougher. My lack of knowledge did not stop me - I was determined to plow through in spite of myself and learn. I learned more about lighting in these exercises. I also learned about aperture and depth of field.

Dan was my willing assistant. He sat or stood while I focused on him to make sure I would be in focus in the picture. He explained (or attempted to explain) concepts to me. He deserves a lot of credit for the pictures below because without him, I do not think these would have been as good as they are.

Below are the pictures that I came up with for the three different challenges that were presented. I have to say that I do not like myself in pictures – I am not photogenic unless I am laughing. At least, I feel that way. Dan feels otherwise; but, love is forever blind. These pictures were all taken this past weekend.

Self Portrait Challenge #1: Props

Living in a material world
And I am a material girl
You know that we are living in a material world
And I am a material girl

Material Girl written by Peter Brown and Robert Ran
sung by Madonna

I had originally thought about laying among a bunch of fabric; but, that would have been too tough to implement as I do not have a remote switch nor would I have been able to set the camera high enough to get a picture of me wallowing among fabric. At least, it would not have been easy or safe to attempt this scenario.

The above shot was thought of by Dan as I was talking to him while sitting behind the sewing machine. I liked the idea well enough that we set it into motion by piling the fabric around the sewing machine. It took many attempts on my part to finally get the lighting right. The above shot is the one we both liked. So, I picked it to use in the challenge.

Self Portrait Challenge #2: Light

Instead of cursing the darkness,
Light a candle for where we're going,
There's something ahead, worth looking for.

When the light of time is on us,
We will see our moment come,
And the living soul inside will carry on.

Light a candle in the darkness,
So others might see ahead,
Light a candle in the darkness, when you go.

Light a Candle by Neil Young

When I received the #2 challenge in the RSS feed, I immediately knew I wanted to do something with candles. I love candles of all kinds and am addicted to the Yankee Candle brand. However, the candles I used here were cheap ones I had purchased specifically for this challenge from Walmart. I envisioned using dark candles so that only the candlelight would be evident and this one came out very well.

I had a problem with lighting and shadows. I ended up with one candle sitting just outside the right of this picture on a chair. Dan held another candle on the left and I finally had an acceptable shot.

Self Portrait Challenge #3: Mood

My soul is weak
My heart is numb
I cannot see
But still my hope is found in You
I’ll hold on tightly
You will never let me go

Clinging to the Cross by Tim Huges

This was the toughest challenge. It is extremely hard to convey a mood through the camera. I had a hard time imagining something that conveys a particular mood of any kind through the camera. My mind was working really hard and then I thought of something that might be doable. I had envisioned a cross in the background blurred with me a distance a ways to convey the feeling of "lost" which I sometimes feel due to depression. At the same time, I am holding onto the Bible to convey that I am clinging to my faith. I also felt that a black and white photo would be best in this situation.

I had to make the cross that you see in the background. I made that prop almost entirely by myself with the guidance of Dan (who is into woodworking). I even used power tools - a duel-beveled, sliding compound miter saw and a router - and did not hurt nor kill myself in the process. Also, this did not cost anything as I used scraps.

It took a better part of a day to finish the prop as priming and painting takes time not to mention allowing time for the wood glue to dry before painting. I'm quite pleased with end result. It just needs one more coat of paint, which I will give it someday. I'm planning to keep this prop. After all, It is my very first woodworking project that I have completed from start to finish.

This time, Dan helped me immensely because I had an idea and every shot I took just wasn’t cutting it. He finally understood what I was going for and helped me in the process.

A lot of credit goes to Dan for this photo because he put his 50mm lens on my camera and explained some details to me. I took one shot at f/4.5 and it wasn’t what I was going for. I took another shot at f/1.8 and the shot was very close! Dan had taken the time to explain to me that the bigger the aperture, the smaller the depth of field. I wanted to understand the why of it all. He smiled and said that he did too - this is just one of those things you have to accept. Ugh. However, I see that it is true. It works. So, it is just one of those things I am just going to remember and accept.

I hope you enjoyed reading this long winded post and viewing the pictures. Note: all the lyrical quotes I added were an afterthought - not the basis for the pictures themselves.