31/365 - Books can be deceiving.

January 31, 2011

I look professional... don't I? ;)

This is an area of my art room/shelf. An area that is so junky right now, I couldn't sit down and paint in less than a few hours if my life depended on it. Every weekend I say I am going to "clean the office" or "organize the office" or whatever, but we all know how that ends up. That's right. I go in there, move a few things around and get distracted. 

I want my art room to be in such a state that if I decided as soon as I got home that I wanted to paint a picture, I would be able to sit down and do it, no questions asked... or, no junk in my way.

30/365 - My Date with Diana

January 31, 2011

I love these. That is all.

I made a grab button!

It's so cute!

<a border="0" href="http://belowe.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://duotone.smugmug.com/photos/1172980444_qRmZC-L.jpg" /></a>

I want to make more! With color. And photo backgrounds. And maybe a larger option.

But now I need to focus on editing today's photo... and then go to bed. Even though I just drank 2 yummy cups of Dunkin Donuts coffee that I got on sale from Walgreens the other day. It's so delicious.

29/365 - the things kids steal

January 29, 2011

I understand. When I was little, the smaller the toy, the more I loved it. Here, look at me talking about how kids steal things, and somehow these things ended up coming home with me. By accident, of course. At least that's what I'll tell the cops when they charge me for counting bear larceny.

This was kind of funny, because the little girl was getting picked up and was so excited about the toys she'd lifted, she started taking them out of her pocket and showing them to the lady who was picking her up right then and there, infront of me. "Look what I got!", and then her guardian is like, "Where'd you get those?" and I'm all.... I'll take those.

Sticky fingers.

28/365 - painted lantern

January 28, 2011

My kids painted this paper lantern I bought sometime last summer, I believe. It turned out great and hung in the middle of the classroom for a while. They loved it, especially during lunch when they'd ask for the lights to be turned out so we could turn on the battery operated light and let them eat under the cool light. Until one day I left for lunch and left it turned on and came back and it was dead.

Woops.

Another art project we did recently, "Seasonal Silhouettes"

27/365 - melted

January 27, 2011

downpour (down poor)

I did take a daily photo today, but I really don't feel like transferring/editing tonight, so instead I will refer you to my new "About me" page that I just poured out in the last half hour... it ended up being more of a personal journal entry than a cutesy-witty about me that I had intended. I guess that happens late at night when your trying to get your bills paid, take stock of where you are financially, and trying to figure out how in the hell you are going to fix things.

So, I'll probably take it down in a few days, but I'm okay with sharing it for a little while, just to make me feel better.

I just can't wait until I can look back on this, and speak with experience and guidance to those who are in my shoes. I hope I can help others out of situations like this by getting myself out of this one.

I feel like I could already give past me advice.

"Don't wait. It only gets worse. Be proactive and get it over with. Make the calls. Be brave."

....even if it does cause you anxiety and panic attacks just to even write down the phone numbers you need to dial.

26/365 - woodpecker

January 26, 2011

Spending some QT with my little fairy tonight. There is a direct correlation by how little time I spend with him and how much he bites me. More time = more kisses = less biting. Obvious answer, but sometimes when  you don't spend time with your bird and he bites you, it makes you less inclined to stick your hand in there. Sometimes you just have to brave the bite to restrengthen the relationship.

25/365 - flower power.

January 25, 2011

Crap. The battery's going bad in my laptop. This sucks. It usually lasts me 2 hours unplugged, and it's barely made it an hour.

Anyway, here's yesterday's photo. That's my journal.

24/365 - classic crew

I haven't taken my photo for today yet. It's 11:30 PM and I have to be at work at 8am tomorrow. Ugh. Grunt. Sigh. Complain.

Anyway, I'm going to go take a picture. Be right back.

January 24, 2011

Yes, that just happened.

*Just in case you've wondered or haven't tried, you can, in fact, click on my photos to enlarge them. Just so you know.

23/365 - perfect pancakes!

January 23, 2011

This is probably the earliest I've ever taken AND posted my daily photo. I'll probably regret that considering we are about to take Ben for a ride and I'll get a much better shot, but hey. LOOK at these perfect pancakes I made this morning! (Todd helped. ;))
Thanks Mom for the griddle! It was sooo much easier to use than a pan.

22/365 - all Scott-ed out.

Well, we had an interesting evening last night. Todd had to cover a Robert Burns dinner in Warsaw. I'd never been to (or heard of) a Robert Burns dinner, but apparently it's sort of a big thing. This was the Country Squire's 10th annual one. It was a neat experience. Definitely wasn't on my Bucket List, but I'm glad I can say I did it.

January 22, 2011

(This guy was kind of scary.)

Also, a cell phone picture of last night's menu:

I ate Haggis, Neeps and Tatties. (Yes, that sounded dirty to me.) Haggis is sheep intestines and others things, cooked inside of the sheep's stomach. It was actually very good. 

(Neeps and Tatties are turnips and potatoes)

don't get jealous. get better.

I like to stalk other photographers. Well, their work. And when I come across a photographer who's work is clearly better than my own... I can't help but get a little jealous, but I try to backtrack, and instead I tell myself: "Don't get jealous. Get better."

And then I look forward to the day when I will be that good. But it's hard, because I'm perfectionist to the core and I want to wake up tomorrow and be the best. I want our photography business to be the best ever. I have no patience, and this is probably why I abandon so many of my passions because... if I'm not the best, then why bother?

I guess in the words of Heather Armstrong, I want to be the valedictorian of everything. However, I was like, 9th in the my graduating class, so I guess I'll just have to settle for being 9th in life. Because no one's perfect.

I do wish we had updated camera equipment and some new lenses, though. But that takes money, and to get money, we need more clients. :) So I guess we'll start small and slowly work our way towards big and envious. Because I'm not giving up on this.

bangers & freaking mash.

Not in the 365 Project, but here are some photos from tonight's (and Tuesday) meal. It was so delicious, I was actually craving it hardcore on my way home from work and stopped to get another package (or two) of sausage and gravy mix so I could make it again.......and again. I present you, my new favorite meal:

BANGERS & MASH

Of course I never have a picture of the finished product... haha. But here's the recipe I use. There are others out there that are much  more complicated, but this one is just so quick and easy, even though it calls for making real mashed potatoes... which I had NEVER done before last Tuesday, believe it or not. I mean, REAL potatoes are my favorite, but I had never taught myself to make them. I just used the boxed kind. Well, the entire meal came out absolutely divine. I mean, it's not exactly classy, but it is beyond delicious. Thus cooking it 2 nights in one week. I also had the leftovers for dinner Wednesday, and I'll probably eat the leftovers from tonight's tomorrow! Ohh yeah. Bangers & Mash FTW.

Ingredients

• 8 large baking potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 2 teaspoons butter, divided
• 1/2 cup milk, or as needed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 pounds beef sausage
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 (.75 ounce) packet dry brown gravy mix
• 1 cup water, or as needed

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place potatoes in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain, and mash with 1 teaspoon of butter, and enough milk to reach your desired creaminess. Continue mashing, or beat with an electric mixer, until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the sausage until heated through. Remove from pan, and set aside. Add remaining teaspoon of butter to the skillet, and fry the onions over medium heat until tender. Mix gravy mix and water as directed on the package, and add to the skillet with the onions. Simmer, stirring constantly, to form a thick gravy.
3. Pour half of the gravy into a square casserole dish so that is coats the bottom. Place sausages in a layer over the gravy (you can butterfly the sausages if you wish). Pour remaining gravy over them, then top with mashed potatoes.
4. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until potatoes are evenly brown.

21/365 - primary/secondary

January 21, 2011

Decided to take some "real" paint colors to school today. We don't just have... plain red/blue/yellow/white/black, so I took in some bottles I hadn't opened yet. I'm keeping them in my teacher bag of course, because otherwise I'd go in Monday and somehow the entire bottles would be empty. On a plate. Or on one picture. Next to an empty bottle of glue. That I just filled up yesterday.
I'm all about encouraging creativity and letting them do all kinds of arts and crafts... but some of the kids are like, "Miss Becky, I need to glue this" and I look and they literally have one piece of paper infront of them. They just want to... glue the piece of paper to itself. Over and over again.
Or, "Miss Becky, I need to cut this" and it's a piece of string. Being cut into a million pieces.

This sounds trivial, but I swear it drives me up a wall. And I hate paper airplanes being made out of expensive construction paper. Am I this anal?
Yeah, I am.

20/365 - yum, chicken chilli

January 20, 2011

Thanks Linley for the lovely recipe! (You can find it here.)

Todd *loved* it. :-D It was quite delicious.

Oh, I forgot to mention, I also made Linley's Parmesan crusted pork chops, and they were also wonderful!

19/365 - movie buff.

January 19, 2011

Just playing around in Photoshop. Not sure if I like it or not, but I'm trying to learn some new tricks. I used to have a whole bag of tricks when I was a graphic designer, but it's a different ballgame when your working with photos and not advertisements.

I'm tired. Time to go to bed.

18/365 - alive since july.

January 18, 2011

Don't let the yellowing leaf fool you. This is a peace lily that was given to me after my Nanny passed away this summer, and believe it or not, I've taken good care of it. Probably the first plant I've been able to keep alive this long.... or at all.

I wasn't even sure if this was a peace lily at all, or even how to take care of it. I've basically just kept it near a window and made sure the soil never got completely dried out, giving it a good shower in the sink every now and then. I try to pick off the dead leaves and stems, which I read somewhere is called "dead-heading" and helps keep your plant healthy, because the plant doesn't have to do all that extra work trying to keep dead leaves alive. Makes sense. Kind of like cutting off an appendage that doesn't work. ;) No need to have blood going to it, right?

Right. Anyway. Where was I?

Googling Peace Lilys, so I can make sure to keep this one alive. I want more house plants.

17/365 - he's snuggalicious.

January 17, 2011

Isn't my husband so sexy in my snuggie? It has little doggies on it! Haha! (Thanks Mom!)

16/365 - counting blue cars

January 16, 2011

I just finished rigging this up for my necklaces. I have a small jewelry box with only 6 hooks for necklaces, and they would all get tangled up, and even worse, the doors close magnetically, causing the necklaces to be drawn to the magnets and tangled more. Ugh. So I started looking up DIY necklace organizers, and came up with this. It's 3 pieces of colored string, braided together for some strength and then simply tacked on the wall. It looks pretty sweet.

I also hung up one of Todd's pictures that had been sitting on the floor for months, meaning to go in this very spot. It's just so hard to put a nail in a wall sometimes...

15/365 - Vanilla & Cranberry

January 15, 2011

If it looks like I'm struggling with photo material..... well, then, I probably am. ;) I'm sure by time this year is up, you will have seen everything in my home. I don't go out much. ;)

14/365 - Fire & Dragons

I'm having trouble picking my photo of the day for yesterday! Soo, I'm going to post two. I make the rules.

Musashi's - January 14, 2011 

Plato - January 14, 2011 

Went out last night with some friends for Adrienne's birthday and it was a ton of fun. :) I'd never been to Musashi's or played Mad Gab, so it was a night of firsts for me. I got to meet a bunch of Sheresse and Tim's furless pets, which was also interesting. Can't wait for more fun times! :)

13/365 - Paint me up

January 13, 2011

Thursday at work I was taking pictures for labels in my art center. All I really want is a nice bottle of red, blue, yellow, black and white and then teach the kids how they can make ALL the colors from just that..... but they like sparkly hot pink much better anyway.

12/365 - ah ha, hush that fuss

January 12, 2011

(everybody move to the back of the bus)

Is it at all unattractive that I drive a school bus? Not just a school bus, but a short bus?

11/365 - Maps (they don't love you like i love you)

January 11, 2011

I've been having a bit more fun with my 365 project this time around. Granted almost all of my photos have been taken inside the house thus far... I need to get out more. I took my camera to the daycare today to get some shots but just stayed too busy doing art stuff with the kids. My room is a mess and it's driving me crazy. I still haven't done a board for January! It's killing me.

I might just get started early on Valentine' decor. That'll be fun. Oh yeah. It's almost my 1 year anniversary at the daycare!

I resolve, too.

Oh, come on. Who doesn't make some sort of goal for themselves come the New Year? And if you don't, you're probably just afraid of setting yourself up for failure. (Don't be.)

I keep a journal. You may not have known that. I've always kept one, but never quite successfully until I started dating Todd, I believe. It had nothing to do with that, per se, it was just the timing of when I got a journal to document my thoughts, filled it up in a few short months, and bought another. Filled it up, bought another, repeat. In all my life, I don't think I'd ever actually filled up a journal. Just... eventually gotten bored of it and found a prettier one. All of this was the segue into the fact that for the past 2 years, I have managed to time it so I am starting a new journal at the start of the new year. I write my goals/resolutions/glorified To-Do list in the front of it, and continually check it throughout the year. Some get marked off, some don't. I celebrate the ones that get marked off, and put the ones that didn't on the next list.

(This year my list of goals made it into the back of my new planner, but it will be with me on a regular basis so it's the same general idea. Don't make your goals and forget about them. Keep them with you and continually remind yourself of what you expect of yourself. You have the whole year to get it done.)

I guess I don't make resolutions as much as I just have "things I'd really like to get done and out of the way this year".

I always want to lose weight, so I don't know if that counts...

This is year that I want to STOP living paycheck to paycheck, once and for all.
This is the year that I want MONEY TO BE LEFT OVER after Pay Day and all the bills are paid.

This is the year I want to start a photography business. We've already had one client/job and it was a big success. I want this to lead to others.

This is the year that I want Todd to be able to work from home. By the end of the year, I want us to have enough income from photography jobs that Todd can quit his job.

This is the year that I want to learn how to manage a full time job with keeping a house properly cleaned and maintained.         I've always said I simply don't know how a woman, or anyone for that matter, can work all day long, come home exhausted, manage to pull together a decent meal while still keeping the house clean. It's just beyond me. I work 6 hours a day (12pm-6pm), and when I get home I still have some energy, but normally since I go in later, I throw dinner in the crockpot in the morning before I leave and the food is ready when I get home. Cheating?

This is the year that I want to rebuild my friend-family. This may sound weird, but it's very important to me. We've lived in New Bern about a year and half now, and only now am I starting to feel like the beginnings of a friend-family may be starting to form. I guess I expected it to happen overnight, and it doesn't, no matter how badly I wanted it to. I guess it just took people a long time to fall in love with me. ;) hehe. I need close friends to feel whole. I moved away from everyone who was most important to me, and no matter how much you try to keep in touch, it's a two way street and the distance takes its toll.



2011: I am tired of just existing. I want to start living. I want money to stop dictating my happiness, because money doesn't matter. I am not my credit score. I am not the money in the bank. I am not my pay rate.


I am Sunday drives and stopping at a random flea market or thrift store and finding a pair of cute used shoes or a great book. I am making a bigger mess when I try to clean or organizing my closet when I meant to just get a hanger out. I am weekends in bed with my husband, showers at night, and having no idea what it is to spend way too much money on makeup or clothes. I am my favorite painting that I give away to a friend because they really wanted it. I am the girl behind the camera, just trying to capture a beautiful moment.

I am a lot of things, and none of them have anything to do with numbers.

10/365 - lil' jerry

January 10, 2011

Aw. Found this picture in my suitcase while cleaning the house today. Finally put the suitcases under the bed from Christmas. That's how crazy things have been around here since Christmas. I'm only just now opening and putting away some of our gifts. The dinosaur came with our presents from Photojojo; we got 2 of them. Todd got me a Diana lens and I got him a camera bag. We're so hip.
Todd's only tried out my lens once - I haven't had the time - and it is amazing. It works best outside in bright natural light. I'd like to post of some the pics he took, but he might want to go through them first. They are amazing. I love the effect and can't wait to take some pictures myself.

Next on my photo wish list is a new camera strap. We both need one. I'm fond of these.

The Dinner Bell

I have a pet peeve, and it's a pretty serious one. It's right up there with not wanting to repeat myself (not when a child doesn't listen but when someone doesn't hear me and I have to say it again) and being interrupted or being involved in a one-sided conversation.

Todd's pet peeves are not wanting to be rushed, being left alone when he's in the bathroom/shower and being left alone when he is trying to write/work. Mostly he just wants to be left alone during certain times, and it has taken me years to learn when these "times" are.

So here it is:

When I say "Dinner's ready", I expect the people in the house to come to the kitchen and fix their plates while the food is fresh and hot. I do not feel this is an unreasonable request by any means. I feel that if I put forth the effort to cook a meal, I deserve for people to come and eat it while it's hot. I think it's disrespectful to let my hard work sit there and get cold.

Take that for what it's worth, considering there are only 2 people in my household, but when I say "Dinner's ready", please don't finish that chapter in your book or not acknowledge that I have made an announcement. Because I am seriously considering getting a bell to ring when I am finished cooking, and I will RING THAT BELL INCESSANTLY UNTIL EVERYONE IS IN THE KITCHEN.

Don't let my food get cold. Thank you.

9/365 - My Melancholy Model

Today's "photo of the day" is going to consist of a small photo-shoot with a melancholy model. And perhaps a few photo tips, as well.

How about this? 4 photos, 4 tips! Makes sense, right?

• I almost never upload a photo directly from the camera. To me, it's a bit lazy and you're selling yourself short. Every photo I post for public consumption has been pulled into Photoshop and color corrected, at the very least.

• If your photos look a bit dull, up the saturation just a little bit. I usually don't go over 9 pts, because anymore than that kind of over does the color a bit. Also, if you aren't happy with the color tone of your photos, you can mess with the color balance. Adding some red with warm up your photos, whereas adding a touch of blue will cool them down. Pretty simple! :)

• Take photos of the same subject from different angles and points of view. That one is kind of self explanatory, but it's just so easy to stand and look straight on at your subject. Make yourself uncomfortable. Get on the floor or climb on top of something if you have to. Also, it is not illegal to tilt your camera at an angle and take a shot diagonally.

• When shooting with animals, don't set a time limit. Don't get frustrated, and don't keep calling out their names to get them to look at the camera. They pick up on your frustration and it will show on their faces. If the camera becomes normal to them, they will act normal in front of it. (This is also purely my opinion and not solid facts. Haha.)

Hope you enjoyed that. ;)

PS - Ben looked sad because he wanted to go outside and we were too busy playing with his emotions in the bedroom. Poor guy. ;)