Look Away

Unveiling

Shutter Sisters is live! And I am thrilled.

Shutter Sisters is a photo blog/community/resource site for women with a passion for photography. I will be one of 8 regular contributing women and am a little star struck to be included amongst some of my favorite bloggers. I must admit I am having a little trouble describing the awesomeness of the site, so I'll just let you click on over and take a look. Pay special attention to the banner, which was designed by me!

There may be glitches because the site is so new, but otherwise it's ready for visitors. So go check it out and tell me what you think!

(The normal url of www.shuttersisters.com isn't working yet, but you can click  the link below until then)

Shutter Sisters

Exciting Stuff

There's something big in the works, and I am lucky enough to be a part of it. In a couple of weeks Shutter Sisters will be launching. I don't want to reveal too much now, but I can tell you that it involves some amazing women and all things photography. Tracey (formerly of Picture This) is the creator of the project which means it will undoubtedly be a smashing success.

I'll let you know when we launch! Exciting stuff!

I put together these little candy jars for a few people for Christmas (you know who you are!). The candy is from a cute little store down in the Old Market and it is sooo good. The jars contain dark chocolate mocha beans. They are shaped like coffee beans but don't actually contain coffee beans. But I think they might contain crack, because they are seriously addictive.

I'm Back

I have a bunch of photos to post, but I'm still getting back into the swing of things after a nice long break.

Merry Christmas

John and I are driving to Chicago this morning where we'll visit with friends until Monday. Then it's off to Peoria to spend Christmas with my family. We'll be heading back to Omaha on Friday. Even though I'll be gone all week I am scheduling a few posts of the kitty to pop up throughout the week. So if you get bored, stop by!

Sing, Choirs of Angels

Well...that was interesting

John and I went to Kansas City this weekend for a little weekend getaway. We stayed in a little shopping district in which we had visions of a relaxing trip where we would stroll along merrily and get all of our Christmas shopping done. Hmmm, not exactly.

The trip started out with freezing rain. weeee!

The defrost couldn't keep up so John had to stop and scrape a few times. Weee!

When we finally got to KC we turned onto a side street and slid right into a curb (and then onto the curb I believe).  We checked out the damage and the wheel rim was bent, but the tire didn't seem to be punctured. So we headed to the hotel, checked in, and then tried to find a tire shop. Ha! Nice try silly tourists! After about 1.5 hours of calling and driving around looking for someone who would fix our rim John dropped me off to shop while he went to a Honda dealership. They told him they could fit him in on Tuesday and that the suspension was messed up too so it would take a few days to fix. Obviously that wouldn't work for us so he left and we decided we would just try to drive it home on Sunday. By the time John met up with me it was about 3pm.

BUT! We did not let it ruin our time! We skated around to some stores and stopped for some coffee.

(We were a little tired and cold at this point. But still having fun!!)

We checked out the lights

After buying approximately 0 Christmas presents and some paper (for Christmas cards) we headed back to the hotel for a couple of hours.Then we braved the icy weather again and went to dinner.

We drove back this morning without incident, although the roads were pretty slick. The trip wasn't exactly what I pictured but, in the end, we had a good time and just enjoyed each other's company.

I leave you with this thought...always make sure your goose is wearing a scarf before he goes outside.

(all photos courtesy of our little Canon point and shoot.)

Cardinals

Last week I ran to Michael's (the craft store) to pick up a few small items but I left with the makings of a wreath. I couldn't help myself! Everything was so festive! And all our Christmas decorations are being stored until we have a house (hopefully next year). So I figured we could use one piece of holiday decor. Here's how it turned out:

I went with the cardinals because they reminded me of these Christmas cards I designed and sent out last year. They looked much better in person and each one had a tiny Swarovski crystal glued in the center of the snowflake.

Spark

I recently did a photo shoot for John's sister's family and some of my favorites are up now at Spark Photo. I have two more sessions to post later this week so check back!

Opposites

Guess which one is mine (the graphic designer) and which one is John's (the music guy)? Okay, now switch them and you have your answer. The craziest thing is that John just drew that right on his pumpkin and started carving and I sketched mine out on a piece of paper for 10 minutes before starting. Ridiculous.

We seem to be developing pumpkin carving styles.

Spark!

There is a new post up at my other blog. Go check it out here.

Perplexed

My dad was visiting from Peoria this weekend and Saturday was a beautiful day. Amongst many other things we stopped at a park to throw a Frisbee and just hang out. We walked past a group playing some sort of sport which involved dressing up in strange Renaissance clothing, throwing a ball, and poking each other with large baton-like objects. We think they made it up.

Anyway, this shot makes me laugh.

What you can't see is that they are a mirror images of each other and they each have one hand up to their chin and one arm across their stomach. Funny. They stood like that for a while trying to figure it out.

Camera Class

I now know what every single button and setting on my camera does.

New Blog Unveiling

Guess What?! I have another blog and it is ready for visitors.

I am in the process of building a photography portfolio of children and babies. My plan is to make it a part-time business and hopefully someday, a full-time business. So in the meantime, I have been shooting friends and family. But more recently the word is getting out and I am starting to get busy.

Go take a look!

Spark Photo

Three

Thursday's Theme at Picture This is "three". So I present you with...

Three shots of my three year old nephew, Paul

Thursday's Theme

Thursday's Theme at Picture This is "Pretty". This shot is from about a month ago. A couple days after we moved to Omaha we went to my sister-in-law's house to celebrate our nieces' birthdays.

Pretty Mary Ellen and Pretty Elaine with their Pretty birthday cake:

Curious Thing

The other day John brought home an old accordion that was sitting unused at his school. It's such a strange instrument but very beautiful. We'll give her a good home even if we don't have a clue how to play her.

I think her name is Olga.

Taking Care of Business

As you can imagine I am super busy getting ready for the big move. I'm working until next Wednesday and trying to pack in between. Also, there are about a million things to do when moving to another state. So I haven't taken any pictures lately. However, it's time to announce the big winner of My Top 15 Photos of the Year.

Drumroll...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

It was a close race but this photo won by a couple of votes. I had a hunch it would be a front runner because it was the only one that involved a little humor. Thanks for voting. We'll do it again next year!

Top 15

A couple of days ago I wrote this post about the one year anniversary of Look Away. After reading the comments I decided to pick my 15 favorite photos from the past year and I want all of YOU to vote on your 3 favorites. Leave it in the comments and I'll tally up the votes later this week.

The Top Fifteen (in no particular order)

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10

#11

#12

#13

#14

#15

Happy voting!

Family Photos

A couple of weeks ago I took some photos for our friends Tim, Mary, and baby Quinlan. They wanted some family photos and some of just Quin. It happened to be about 95 degrees that day so we stayed inside, but I think we got some good ones. Quin is absolutely adorable and was a trooper with the camera in his face. Here are my favorites from the shoot!

I have a lot to post this week so come back often!

Time Flies

People, I have being doing this photo blawg thing for a year! I started it on June 14th last year. Time flies, but I have thoroughly enjoyed it and I won't be stopping anytime soon. Stay tuned for all the exciting new photographs in the coming months.

Happy One Year Blogiversary to me!

Glee

Thursday's Theme at Picture This is "Glee".

John and I are getting ready to do a little camping this weekend and this makes me gleeful:

Spin

Tracey at Picture This has started having themed Thursdays. This week's theme is "Spin" and here are my entries:

Fruity

Gallery Walk III (and final)

A few portraits of my dad:

(He had a Jolly Rancher in his cheek)

Diagonals

Tracey is talking about diagonals over at Picture This. Including diagonal lines in a photograph can make it more dynamic and interesting. Even though I know this is true, I often forget to break away from the norm and tilt the camera. I dug up two examples that include diagonals but they were accidents and fairly subtle.

(I don't know this kid, but he sure is cute)

I remembered that Tracey talked about diagonals last July when I first started reading her blog. This is the example I came up with then.

Thanks for the reminder Tracey, I needed it!

Deck Decor

Sweet Quin

On Saturday we went to a cookout at Tim and Mary's place with 2 other couples. Tim and Mary have an adorable 7 month old baby named Quinlan and he was nice enough to model for me a little.

This next one was taken by Kathleen because I was lifting him up in the air to get that smile!

Sunny Sunday

Joe and Mom

The Lovely Julia

We visited some friends on Sunday who just happen to have the most beautiful baby girl. Of course, I brought my camera so I could practice on someone other than the cat.

The last time I saw her she was only 5 days old!

Creepy or Artistic...You Decide

Apparently my brother Ryan would like my readers to know that he can take just as good a picture with his 3.1 megapixel Kodak as I can with my new Canon.

I'll leave that up to you guys. Compare his self portrait to mine from the last post and let us know what you think. It's a close call.

By the way, I can't stop laughing at that picture. Hee hee.

Wanna See...

THE camera?

Wanna see John with a headache?

Awwww. Sorry baby.

Old Fireplace

When I was in college I took a couple of ceramic classes and ended up with a sculpture that I think was meant to represent the sun. I know there was an in-depth assignment involved and that there was probably a lot of "meaning" behind it at one time. I gave it to my dad and he set it on the old fireplace that sits in his back yard. When I was there on Sunday I went up the hill to look at it. Since it's creation it has grown moss, developed cracks, and I think it looks much better that way. It looks like it has been there for 100 years.

Saturday Night in Peoria

Singer Joe Metzga performing at Copper Works.

Office Décor

Candy Confessions

True story.

The Art of Jell-O

On Saturday as we stood in line at the grocery store, John had the idea to buy blue and orange Jell-O for the Bears game. This is what we ended up with:

Not bad huh? It was John's idea and my execution. We are a Jell-O team. Unfortunately our gelatin efforts did not help the Bears. It was a sad day.

Lean On Me

John bought these little ceramic turtles in Mexico last summer.

Weekend in Peoria

John and I went to Peoria this weekend and stayed with my dad. The following are some of the things we saw:

The Cats (Lucy and Shadow)










Around the House












Glass Show at the Peoria Art Guild








Icy Trees

Obviously it was a lovely weekend.

Things

Two things on my desk at work today:

My favorite coffee mug


My bracelet

New Year's Eve

A large group of our closest friends got together on New Year's Eve and we had a great time.

Pics from Nebraska

I'm back from a holiday hiatus and ready to start posting like mad.

Some photos from our visit in Omaha:

Gilly the Westie

Luke opening gifts on Christmas Day


A visit with the kids:

Mary Ellen and her twin

"If we wear your coats you can't leave!"




Big Fish at Cabela's sporting good's store

Christmas Decorations - Part 2

Christmas Decorations - Part 1

Just When You Think You've Had Enough

Melancholy

Our pumpkins:
Mine is on the left, John's is on the right. He clearly wins.

Wanna see an adorable 5 day old baby girl? I thought so.

She's even cuter in person, if that's possible. Congratulations Kaido and Laura!

Today I will not be posting any photos, but instead am encouraging you to visit CuteOverload.com. I have spent alot of time looking through the archives of cuteness and can gaurantee that it is the cure to a bad day. Just try to not smile. Impossible.

Nine to Five

8:57am - Driving to work

11:00 am - My desk

3:30 pm - View of my office building

5:05 pm - On my way home

5:07 pm - Pass the King Tut Sign

5:11 pm - Nice clouds

5:12pm - Clouds still look nice

5:20 pm - Arrive home

5:21 pm - Greeted by Roxy

Family Traditions

Last night after dinner I made us some chocolate pudding. And no, I didn't just open one of those snack packs. I made it from a box. For the average person, eating chocolate pudding after a meal would be fairly uneventful. But for me, it instantly brings me back to being 5 years old again. When I was little my mom or dad would occasionally make us this dessert after dinner and put it in dishes with Elsie the Cow logos on them. It was one of our family traditions that I remember clearly. I acquired those cow dishes a few years ago and I plan on continuing the tradition.

If anyone can remember a similar family tradition from their childhood, leave it in the comments section. I know I'm not the only one who becomes nostalgic over something as simple as chocolate pudding. Or am I?