119/365 cheetah boy

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cheetah boy

along with the pto meeting thursday night -
the first grade class presented a play
IT'S A JUNGLE OUT THERE

and thus my photo a day features my nephew Levi
i normally have objects in my photo a day shots -
but i did not have a good option for that on day 119.
i should probably focus on people some...

118/365 backlit worms

img 4370

backlit worms

not real worms -

but that is what we call these green strands on the pecan trees

they are MESSY when they start falling

especially when they fall from pecan trees like this:

my parent's yard has 5 big pecan trees and 1 smaller one

and the neighbor has one close to the property line also...

an abundance of pecan tree issues for sure

117/365 uprooted

uprooted
img 4362

i am cheating again -
my camera did not come out of my bag tuesday 4/27

we had some kind of storms blow through
(after a tornado in a neighboring county Sunday)
an official said that a tornado caused this tree damage above
but the news just classified it as a storm

so anyways, we had some issues with power outages
and with all the wierdness, i forgot to take a photo
so i took photos in the AM and PM the following day 4/28
and counted this AM shot for 4/27

116/365 fence line debris

 

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 fence line debris

another before shot at my house -

raking is in progress

and piles are accumulating for a day when we can drive the truck

115/365 american flag

img 4332
american flag

house project: smell better cont.

to continue the project: smell better

my sister Andrea gave me this: 

 and my other sister Allison brought me this: 

yeah - the house really smelled bad.

however, it does smell a little better now.

opening doors and windows has helped.
i also use Bath & Body Works room spray.

hopefully, painting the interior will eliminate

any remaining unpleasant odors...

114/365 iris

purple iris

img 4318

and a collage of other photos I took Saturday afternoon of my mom's flowers

loving the lavender iris - plan to transplant to my house

dianthys growing quite well

and some new potted plants

sad that the gerber daisies are not coming back...

time to buy some more? ;)

week 17 {smiles}

week 17 challenge is for a "smiles" theme.

A smile is one of the best day-brighteners!

Several hundred day-brighteners are waiting over at:

113/365 room spray

room spray

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112/365 pink buds

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pink buds

without any blur - this is how the flowers look....

everything that blooms in the yard will probably

end up in my camera's viewfinder...

K&W - today's photo shoot

just a few of my favorites from this morning

 with these sweet children

thankfully the rain quit so we could finish

111/365 hydrangeas

 

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lovely hydrangeas

taking photos in the Lowe's garden center

i loved these hydrangeas

so very pretty

but i bought a cheaper one

at least i have a photo to remember :)

110/365 rafters

 

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 rafters

the photos i take every day will most likely include house scenes

because the house project trumps the photo a day

this is an after photo in the attic - quite a difference from the before shots...

109/365 cinnamon sq

img 4109

cinnamon cream cheese squares

the full dessert post here - including the recipe

108/365 christian flag

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christian flag

some days i do not think about composition like i should...

this is one of those days

and that is the only photo i have from day 108

recent sweets

last saturday i went to one of my family reunions

and my mom and i made dessert that morning...

an oreo delight trifle

made out of a non-oreo brand cookie

i prefer the oreos

but the bowl came home clean,

so it was obviously not too bad

and we also made

strawberry delight

yummy - i could se eat some of this right now

i dropped off the last few servings of this at work

and wished that i had some the next day

because those desserts disappeared

i decided to make more Monday night

i really wanted something chocolate

and this satisfied the craving

just a box dessert

but extremely tasty

and then i also made cream cheese squares the same night

served warm, this is a fabulous dessert

i sprinkled too much cinnamon mixture in a few places

so, i might use less cinnamon next time

needless to say, i am not on a diet

it does not seem right to go through a day and not have dessert =)

House Project: Smell Better

saturday, april 17th

finally a chance to work at the house some

the first time since closing march 30th

(besides a photo walk though, trash pick-up in the yard,

 and my daddy cutting the grass)

before working at the house,

wedding photos to finalize and tax returns to file

were on my agenda

one of the first issues to address at the house:

the former owners smoked

leaving a terrible smell

and a yucky film on everything

(combined with some orangey spray finish that is uurrgglly)

for phase one of project: "smell better"

we opened the door - some windows

and I used some dryer sheets to put around the house

along with some scentportables

i did not want to spray overpowering amounts

of lysol or air freshener scents

my wallflowers are at home in use

and i do not have refills for my empy scentport plug-ins

so I worked with what I had

i needed the cans of spray that they use at work

designed to cut strong scents in cars

these photos from this project show the need for many other projects...

removing baseboard vents

painting panel

removing/painting trim

replacing dark doors with white

cleaning windows

painting walls

replacing blinds

replacing closet shelving

updating the bathroom

that is just a small list though

we worked on some more projects saturday and monday

a lot of progress in just two days

more photos to come later...

week 16 {collages}

This week's photo challenge

is to create a collage...

 Click the link above or the icon to visit week 16 entries. My entry this week is simple -just two photos that I am working with for a Mother's Day gift. 

my nieces and nephews from March photos - i love these kiddos! The girls' stripey tights and the overall matching color scheme tie in two different locations. For the technical info:I have a few collages where I placed photos without a grid, where I used the PS grid -but I read about something easier in the blog world.Yesterday, I deleted this item from my wish list - the moirai compositor. After work, we spent hours working on the project list at my new house, I baked, and then I opened my email late.The moirai purchase arrived for download and I just had to install and practice.Many options to choose from - but with limited time.Ending the edits in the am hours - it will have to do.Collages will show up frequently in blog posts now! =)And this purchase definitely makes my plans for birthday collages (end of the post linked) easier this year.

107/365 yard pretties

yard pretties

img 4085/4086

My mom and I worked at my new house today -

finally starting to make "some" progress on the project list.

The brick wall at the driveway entry and the

yard light are two of my favorite things outside.

Some problems though -

on the other side of the driveway,

the brick column near the road

needs some masonry work.

It is on the ground right now.

That is going to be a before/after shot.

And this house process is definitely full of before and afters.

106/365 fence posts

 fence posts
img 4003

 and what about the field behind it?
the sour weeds make me smile...
a country girl can remember sucking on these as a youngster

these are photos in my new hometown...when I stopped by to see my sister.
she is a salesperson - for these:

look for the G - it's a Graceland building.

dear IRS and DOR

to overworked employees:
i am happily mailing in a federal return and state return to the respective locations
yes, I waited until the deadline
my mom is going to the post office today to mail my two envelopes
so, please be so kind as to process my refunds without any delays
thank you!
sincerely - me



hahaha!

i did not want to wait until April this year to file tax returns
but procrastination - a very bad habit - pops up again
the parent's taxes are e-filed, monday's to-do list checked off
i would much rather e-file, but paper filing is required for me this year
after working on mine tuesday, I finalized everything except for a few numbers
because I had to wait on a HUD from the lawyer's office
form emailed on Wednesday, numbers entered and copies made
envelopes addressed Thursday morning 4/15
thank you Jesus - that is behind me!!!

i am sure the tax preparers, accountants are ready for this day to end
then the extreme pressure can subside
life can return to a more normal schedule
i am just thankful that I did not choose the tax route...

105/365 lil pink flowers

just some lil pink flowers
img 3974

some groundcover in one of the flower beds
a quick photo because I am trying to catch up on editing...

104/365 lily

lily

img 3958

i love this flower - waiting on some color enhancement for this green

103/365 ants

the black ant
img 3955  

the other ants
img 3951

trying to work on macro photos - but these ants are just too small
i need a better lens obviously.
but it was still fun to try...

102/365 white cat

the white cat
img 3901 edit

101/365 pew books

pew books
img 3880

Church Hymnal and Holy Bible

100/365 sash

sash
img 3824

Shopping for wedding dresses -
Just one part of the planning for a September wedding.

Also...this is the "100 post milestone" for this photo-a-day project.
I can see the improvement in some photos.
And I definitely know more about my camera.
So it looks like the project is worth the time and effort.

99/365 dogwood

dogwood
img 3732

a blossom from the tree in my new yard  =)

week 15: { i heart desserts }

ummm...Hershey Bar Cake

this is actually before the SLR days

just a point and shoot Canon

a photo of one of my favorite cakes and I had the baker's job

then snapped a shot for Mother's Day 2008 memories

I could have found quite a few more recent dessert photos

since I am learning how to use a more advanced camera

and I take photos of food quite often too...

but I am trying to finish my taxes this week -

in the process of finalizing first time homebuyer info

I hope to have many more baking photos after using my own stove =)

the theme is desserts

for the weekly challenge theme over at i heart faces

click on the link or icon for other entries

uploading now: Tabitha & Nathan's Wedding Day

Tabitha & Nathan

established 2010

Some of my favorite black and white shots:

my favorite "guest" shot

So thankful that these photos are finished.

I see a lot that I can improve, but for now - I am happy.

I plan to unlock the albums on my website after their reception today.

(and whenever my slow internet connection will allow the upload to finish.)

Now it is time to get ready and go to Florence for some wedding prep shopping. =)