There was no school today....

So I did this:

which really could only be improved by this:

(that's two more loaves in the oven, in case you couldn't tell)

Yep, thanks to my new mixer, I can make 6 loaves at a time. I've got enough dough for two more loaves in the fridge. It's going to be the wrappings for a freezer meal I've got percolating in my brain.

Snow you say...

If you noticed the new banner, then you noticed that it snowed here in Albany. This is a big event. The last time it snowed like this was about 4 years ago. Of course, it never lasts....but that's how it is here in the Rainy Northwest...

I took advantage of the snow to practice a little shutter priority. I've been going through the 12-week Camera Course on 2peas. Great course--well-written, and easily understood. I'm glad to have found it. Download the pdf's!

Here's one with some "stop-action" on the snow:

And with this one, I was going for a blurry look with the snowflakes.

The 2peas blogger prompt was about what skill do you wish you had....well, I want to be a better photographer. I know that I played with shutter priority for these, and my white balance, and my ISO...but it's still mostly guesswork. I don't have all those numbers straight all the time in my head yet. I'd love to be able to size up a photo-op and get all the f-stops and shutter speeds right the first time, without having to keep checking the picture to see what happened. This is coming along for me, but it isn't a skill I have yet.

If you want to see more of my stuff, go HERE. My favorite shot of the day w/my neighbor's daughter is there.

TTFN!

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Let me start off by saying that if you live in say, Minnesota, our Oregon idea of cold will make you snicker behind my back....

But for me, it's COLD! We've been averaging high teens to low twenties at night, with the highs in the mid-to-high thirties. That's pretty dang cold for the Willamette Valley! At least it's bright
and sunny outside. And the "normal" did have a chance to subside a bit before everything froze. And if that wasn't enough to brighten your spirits, we have these:
Nothing really brightens the spirit like the sign of Daffodils coming back. That's truly something I look forward too every year. It really makes my day. I feel like I can suffer through the gray rainy days, the "normal" flooding, and all the cold because I know that daffodils are coming.

And that's the other side.

Love is in the Air!

These are my new favorite stamps. Of Course, they are my latest stamp purchases, and that makes them my favorites! I sense fun valentines in my future.....want one? Leave me a comment and tell me how to get your snail mail addy and I'll mail you a valentine!

I'm sure it'll arrive sometime before the 4th of July....

Enjoy!

LINK-y to the Book!

HERE is the link to my MiniBook on 2peas. Enjoy!

A Resolution Update

The blogging challenge on 2peas for Monday is about how your resolutions are going. Here's a recap:

Exercising more---not sure about the eating less part! (which means probably not!)
*I've been good about Sunday School
*I haven't written any more in my book, but I did name a few characters. That 5 0'clock club is lookin' serious people!
*My "No Caffeinated Soda" (since I only like my caffeine cold!) was going well, but I succumbed on Saturday. WARNING--POSSIBLE TMI AHEAD!!! For the last 5 years I've suffered from really clammy nasty night sweats. Interestingly enough, when I went cold turkey from the Sauce last year, they pretty much stopped. I didn't think much about it. Now I notice, however, that when I have the soda, I have night sweats again. Coincidence? I think not. Just goes to show you that drugs really are bad for you!

I did try to post my "This Year I Will" book in my 2peas gallery, but apparently 2peas didn't have enough memory to do it. I'll have to resize the pictures first I guess. There are a lot of pictures, so that's a lot of time. Time I'm not sure I want to spend right now. But I want to share the book, so SOMETHING will have to be done!

TTFN~!

Counter's Back!

YAY Sitemeter! But this means I have to start from zero again....so if you read my blog, go ahead and hit me several times a day!

Just kidding, (no really, go ahead and do it!)

Well, I have a busy couple of days ahead of me....I just found out that my Scrap 101 class at Stampin'Cat had people sign up for it TODAY--the LAST day that you could have signed up for it. I don't have a lot of samples ready, so I'll be getting that done asap. Luckily it's a class I've taught many times, and really enjoy teaching, so that'll be fine!

My "This Year I Will" Paper School class SOLD OUT!!! (Well, really it just filled up---in less than 24 hours! And I have 5 people or so on the waitlist, so Lisa (the store owner) and I just scheduled it again for March. Yippee Skippee! It's a terrific little book---a pop-up book of affirmations. I've been looking for the right kind of mini-album to offer her customers (it's more of a rubber stamp/paper arts store than a scrapbooking store) and I think I've found it! I'll put my pics of the book on 2peas later tonight or tomorrow for you to ogle and ooh and ah over. All kidding aside, this is a book that I'm really proud of--something that I really loved making and love the finished product. I'm working on a version of Craft TV Weekly's "Memories Cubed" (look for it in the archives) presentation for February. I'll let you know how that goes as well!

See you on the Counter! Smiles to you!

2peas Thursday Blogger

Well, it's not really Thursday here yet....but I'll answer the question anyway.

I back up my pictures on my laptop hard drive, my external hard drive, and once a year, I back them up on to discs. I'm hoping to get a dvd-burner someday and back them up onto dvd's.

That's it. I also make sure to print the best of the many, many pictures I take so that at least they are printed somewhere. I know that no digital solution is foolproof, and that there may come a day when I lose everything (knock on wood!) but having already lost some one-of-a-kind, eventful, never to be repeated photos and lived, I think I'll survive if that happens. I'll cry a lot, but I'll survive! Then I'll take more pictures!

Thanks 2peas!

New Year

and I'm still here! I've had a dozen thoughts floating through my head.....

but right now, I think I'm too sleepy to type much out!

A recap on my goals:
the usual eat less/move more (I'm back to my Pilates 2-3 times a week, plus my playground workout, plus I'm working to walk the dog more...)

Sleep more (I suffer from chronic/inherited insomnia. I sleep sporadically, and where other people just move into a cycle of lighter sleep--but still stay asleep, I always wake up all the way)

Avoid caffeine as much as possible. (I've learned that my chronic insomnia improves exponentially when I am caffeine free. This is hard 'cause for a long time, a diet pepsi was a big treat for me. It's also kind of a huge WELL D'UH!)

Go to Sunday School (instead of socializing in the foyer)

Some of my do's for the year:
Take more pictures

Sew more stuff

Put things in my etsy shop

Learn to use Photoshop CS2

And.....I'm writing a book! I'd love to be able to post bits of it here for you to read, but this is something I'd really like to pursue publishing and making a "real" book. I've thought about writing a book my whole life. I love to write! It's one of the reasons I started this blog in the first place. I will tell you that it's a work of youth fiction, and it's a retelling of the Snow White Fairy Tale. I'm pretty consumed with it. I have the whole thing mapped out in my head. When I take the time to write, it just flows together. Now to find the time to write....that's easier said than done. I'm actually considering getting up at 5am to write for a few hours when the house is quiet. When I was COMPLETELY ensconced in the pink MK bubble, I scoffed at the whole "5 o'clock Club" idea; now I am ready to embrace it wholeheartedly. Kinda ironic, I know.

My "one little word" for the year is FOCUS. By keeping my focus on what I really want to do, and what's really important, I'll achieve what I'm working for.

That's all for now! Go sleep!