Saturday, May 29, 2010

139.
Petey was hopping like a bunny (or walking with a limp) so he had to have his little self taken to the vet. He's pretty placid about being in the box.

138. No pic!
137.
I don't stay awake for movies. I try really hard too, but I just can't. This is a reason why I don't see movies in the theater--I know I'll probably end up nodding off. However, I stayed awake for this ENTIRE movie. The movie was really interesting. I'm really interested in pregnancy, birth, and child development, so I really enjoyed seeing how it was different amongst four very different cultures. I wasn't terribly shocked by any of it, but it is really wild seeing what you suspect about child-care practices in different countries on screen.

136.
I made cake-pops for my community group dessert. I made them by first baking a 9x13 cake, whipping up some buttercream frosting, crumbling the cake, adding in the frosting, mixing well (I used my hands), rolling pieces into balls, freezing them to make them firmer, melting some chocolate coating, sticking a lollipop stick into each bite, dipping the cake bites into the chocolate, and letting them harden.
Cause a sugar coma? Yes. Delicious? Yes.
I got the idea from www.bakerella.com, and I can't imagine taking the time to decorate them like she does!

135.
This is from the book "Suburban Safari." I thought it was interesting that they expounded about the font used in the book.

134.
Fabrics.

133.
I read a book called "Suburban Safari" this summer and accordingly, I am hyper aware of most everything associated with lawns and water now. This is a view of the pond at a park in Athens. I'm pretty sure water isn't supposed to be metallic.

132.
I went out to the most amazing farmhouse for a dinner. What made it so amazing? Renovations. This house had all of the charm and quirks of an old farmhouse (it was really old), which means it had so many of the original designs elements in place still; interesting floor-plan, old brick, et cetera. Added to that though, were tasteful and functional additions which kept with the feel of the home that opened up the space (old farmhouses tend to be small) and filled it with light, made it more user-friendly (aka the extra room), and importantly, made the bathrooms and kitchen modern. It's like one of my dream homes (the other would be a beach house).
Beautiful old features, abundant sunlight, and with high-functional appliances...check.
P.S. That isn't the farmhouse in the pic. This is one of the views as you walk outside.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

my happy place

My happy place is the ocean. And one of my happiest places is Charleston, South Carolina. I love it, and I was so blessed to have the opportunity to go for a couple of days, and at a time I really needed a rest. I'm already longing to visit again soon!

131.
Window-reflection pic from downtown Charleston. Inspiration from my friend Katie, who has some awesome shots using reflections.

130.
Monday morning Rebecca and I took to the water in ocean kayaks (pics on FB of that)! For five hours. Seriously. We thought we were going to ride the tide out and back in...not so much. We got out quite quickly; getting in was a bit harder (understatement). We fought the tide and wind for a few hours to get home, but we made it. And, it was so much fun (give or take a minor melt down at points)! After surviving our trek in Charleston harbor, we went to the beach to (try-to) fly a kite. It was pretty windy, and my camera ended up eating some sand (no good). The kite didn't flutter to the ground, no-no, it nose-dived to the ground. Repeatedly. It did get up in the air though!

129.
In true fashion, I didn't sleep that much before leaving for Charleston. And by not much I mean I slept for two hours before it was time to go. Fortunately I didn't have to do any driving, but I couldn't sleep either. However, upon arriving at the beach, I laid down and didn't move for about three hours. I never nap during the day, but at the beach I definitely made an exception. This was the view I saw upon opening my eyes, and reaching for the camera. Happy place.

128.

Rebecca got married on day 128!!! She was so beautiful, the wedding & reception were so fun...so great! The Lord is incredible!
127.

I found a recipe for cinnamon-sugar toast. I had never liked it--toast the bread, spread butter, and sprinkle on cinnamon & sugar...just not a great texture/taste. I have a different opinion now. While procrastinating earlier in the week I came across how the Pioneer Woman makes it and I'm hooked. Basically...get butter to room temperature (or in my case take it from the fridge and pop it in the microwave for a bit), add sugar (not too much for me), vanilla (few drops), & cinnamon (too much), mix well, spread on bread, and put it in a toaster oven.
De-lish.
While eating it I told Mary, "this is like dessert!" to which I got a reply of "well, with sugar and butter it is."
...yep. Noted.
126.
One of my favorite shots of this project.
125.

I. hate. frogs. REALLY hate them. When I worked at a camp there were tons of them because of the large amounts of water, and it still makes me cringe to think about them. I saw this guy when I was out and about one day and...ugh.
124.
I have gotten a couple of really good shots using the car mirror in recent weeks. I really like them!

123.
I forgot my camera at home, so I snapped this with my phone. I went to a choral chamber something- concert which was amazing, and as I was leaving downtown I got this shot.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

I can't think of a title.

122.
Staff Appreciation went so well! I helped with set-up & clean-up, some decorations, and made some stamped seating and welcoming cards (an idea that the incredible Women's ministry at Wesley did). It was a great environment at the event, with a big turn-out.

121.
I got to help with the Staff Appreciation at St. James (and I at one point foolishly wondered if my time at Wesley would equal me not having any projects to work on or events to plan...silly me!). It was so much fun helping with this event. Here the fridge is packed with flowers to be set out the next morning.

120.
Oh, you know. Delilah calmly getting her neck partially shaved while her brother wonders if he's next in line.

Monday, May 17, 2010

119.

The directors really outdid themselves, and planned an incredible Intern Appreciation. I loved it! More pics to be added on Facebook later.

118.
Last group discipleship.
I LOVE/D group DT. For our final meeting we went to a crowd favorite, "Martis at Midday" where the cookies are the size of your face...literally.

117.

The last big baking hurrah involving me and the Wesley Foundation 2010.
From scratch brownie pies (side-note: where does that phrase, "from scratch", come from?!?! I hate it. But I don't know how else to say without sounding long-winded "made from individual ingredients" or the jerky sounding "not from a mix") for our student disciplers. I baked 8 of them, and 5 would have been plenty.
Oops. I certainly got plenty of practice at baking these, which are one of my favorite things to make. Practice makes perfect!

moving along...

116.

Wesley Golf Classic day. When Ashley walked up I said something commenting on the golf-classic-ness of her outfit and she replied with "well, I'm marrying a golfer." Love it.

115.

After Sunday school and church, Alyssa and I headed to the Botanical Gardens for me to snap some pics for a mother's day present (which I still need to make, sheesh). Look to Facebook at some point in the future for more pics from that day.

114.

At Sunday school I had to teach, and this is what the footstool looked like during prep-time the night before.

Last work week at Wesley

113.

An art-student at work exited on Friday night, and her show was incredible. I'm frequently blown away by her talent. I did not get a single good-shot of either the "emergence" sign or any of her work, but I did get this shot of an advertisement for another exit show. It's so fun to be in Athens in the spring--there are so many exit shows and final recitals!

112.

I really like the potential in this picture, that there is both a bloom already fully open, and another not even blooming. Just a sweet little visual.

111.

My friend Ashley came up for a service, and I was blessed to have some catch-up time with her pre-Wesley.

110.
I'm pretty sure I took a picture this day, but I forgot what it was. I am definitely not following through with the idea of making a "last" list for each day. That's not where I want to dwell. And I can always open up iCal to see what my week was like.

FOUR weeks.

I just realized that I am FOUR weeks behind on posting my pictures.

Let's talk about all I'm behind on right now, just in reference to this blog. I can call this post my "to-do on the blog" list, and then hold myself to getting them done (I have taken recently to saying my goals for the day out-loud to ensure their timely completion). Okay, public acknowledgment.

To-do:
  • Post four weeks or so of pictures (I have been keeping up with them, really)
  • Manage the side-bar blogs that I follow (aka, need to add some).
  • Add on books.
  • Pick out a new background.
  • Select a new name.
And...go!