Quick post

I am laying here in bed and just realized I forgot to post today. Spent much of the day today in the Emergency Room and by the time we got done with dinner and things settled down it was after 8 pm. I'm so tired and decided to get to bed early tonight (11:30 is really early for me). I have been having alot of trouble sleeping for over a month now. I stay up late waiting for my body to get tired and when I do finally go to bed, I will sometimes lay there until 3 or 4 am wide awake. I just want a good night of sleep, so I hope I can drift off to sleep and stay that way for the next 8 hours or so :)

Goodnight to you all!

On the go

This posting everyday thing is a lot tougher than I thought lol. I'm posting this from my iPhone which I've never tried before so I hope it shows up ok. I haven't been on the computer much so this will be a good alternative to keep up with blogging when things are busy.

Today went by like a blur. I had an appointment to have my hair highlighted tonight and just got home around 10 pm. It feels so good to have my blonde back :) I love getting my hair done and it was nice to just relax for a little while.


Since I'm posting from my phone tonight I thought I would post a photo taken on my cell phone a few weeks ago.  It's not the greatest photo I've ever taken, but I'm a sucker for sunsets ;)

This weekend...

I'm baaa-aaack  ;)




This weekend I:


* Went shopping with my Dad to pick out an anniversary gift for my Mom.  Not that he really needed my help...he does a pretty good job of selecting gifts on his own!  A couple of weeks ago he came into Yankee Candle with me and while I was paying for the things I bought, he was looking at the new fall collection of tart burners lol.  He was pretty into it too...I went over to him when I was done and he was showing me the one he wanted to buy for my Mom.  He's got pretty good taste :)

*  Celebrated my parents 29th wedding anniversary on Sunday.

* Re-painted a hutch I bought last week off of Craigslist.  It was purchased with the intent of using it in my bedroom to display my collectibles, but I later decided it would look better in our office/computer room.  And this meant that it needed to be black now so it would match the rest of the furniture in the office.  What I didn't know is that you cannot use latex paint over the shiny laminated surface without priming it first. oops.

This was what the hutch looked like before:

* Had a *teensy* meltdown when I saw that I ruined the hutch.  I will spare you by not posting an 'after' photo.  It looks ok enough, but I can see all of the flaws in it and it bugs me.  It will have to do for now until I find something else to replace it (and it will NOT be painted by me!  lol)

* Had to have blood drawn for some blood work my doctor ordered.  I think this was the fifth time being poked in the last month.  I have always hated needles and if you told me I had to have blood drawn, my blood pressure would shoot up.  I'm happy to say that after all these times I am finally getting used to it and it's not as bad as I always thought.

* Found out what Burning Man is.  After reading that two bloggers I follow were going to it recently, I had to find out what it is.  Basically, it's an arts festival held every year during the week of Labor Day at Black Rock Desert in Nevada.  They literally build a 'city' (called Black Rock City) and for one week over 45,000 people camp there and there are art exhibits, music, performances, etc.  When the festival is over, they leave no trace that the city ever existed.  It's kind of hard to explain.  I find it very, very odd....yet interesting at the same time.

* Relaxed and caught up on some blog reading.



I have lots to say, so I'm going to try to post some more this week about what's been going on over the past couple of months.  Stay tuned :)

She's Alive!

I'm alive and well!  I had no idea that it had been almost a month since my last post and I didn't want to let anymore time go by before posting.  I started out taking a break while I was sick and then time just flew by and I've gotten out of the habit now.  I haven't even been taking many photos recently and my Project 365 is still stuck on Day 26 lol.

Wow, so many things to talk about...I don't know where to start!  I'll make a short list below and then talk about things in more detail in the next few days :)

What I did on my vacation (no) sick leave (no, that doesn't sound right either) recuperation:

* DVR'd and watched the Olympics.  The whole thing - all 17 days (well, ALL of the speed skating, snowboarding and figure skating anyhow).  I've never watched to entire Olympics before and I really enjoyed it.  Now I am looking forward to the Summer Olympics!

* Developed a fondness for Apolo Anton Ohno ;)

* Bought a new computer with Windows 7 (which I am loving!  bye bye Vista!!)

* Transferred everything over from my old computer (again!) to the new one

* Went on a mini-photoshoot and finally got the picture I've been wanting to take for a long time.

* Found out that the mouse is back.

* Had a hand in making sure the mouse didn't come back again :(

* Rearranged my room and turned it into a more functional office/bedroom.  The clutter was driving me crazy!


Well, I think that should about cover it for now.  It's good to be back!  I missed my routine and hopefully I can get back into the swing of things with taking my photos every day and posting them here.  For now, here is the photo I mentioned above of the church.  It's a small church in our town and I've driven by it quite a few times and always thought it would make a nice picture around dusk.

Bye bye birdie

Project 365 - Day 9

We had a little snow today and it seemed to bring the birds back out of the woodworks.  We have two feeders outside of the sliding glass doors in the dining area and it seems that when the weather is warmer, they don't come around to eat.  As soon as it gets cold, they come back and have a party! lol

Here are a couple more cuties that stopped by:

By the way, thanks so much for the nice comments about the cake :)  It was a big hit today!

Food for thought

Project 365 - Day 5

Who says God can't get a message to you through a cookie?  I had Chinese takeout for dinner and when I'm finished, I always like to see what little nugget of wisdom my fortune cookie holds.  I don't believe in fortunes or astrology or any of that, it just amuses me how most of the fortunes don't make sense.  The message above came in my fortune cookie tonight and it could not be more appropriate.

I struggle with living in and enjoying each moment because I'm always too focused on 'the big picture'.  I plan, organize, analyze, and prioritize everything in my life, so much so that I often feel like life is passing me by while I'm planning my life away.  I found a quote a long time ago that said "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans".  That has always stuck with me because that is how I feel a lot of the time.  I am so consumed with what will happen in the future that I am not enjoying my life now.  My Mom knows how I am and is always telling me that I need to live in the present and enjoy each day because we are not guaranteed tomorrow.  I guess I just needed a cookie to confirm that message for me :)

Project 365

I joined Project 365 today where you take one photo a day for a year and upload it to the group and your website.  Forcing myself to take photos every single day will not only help me to improve my skills, but also help me to become more disciplined and finish what I start.

Below is my first photo for Project 365.  I broke a glass today and the shattered pieces looked kind of neat, so it became my first photo subject.

Project 365 - Day 1

Buh-bye 2009!

Happy almost-New Year!!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I had a really great day with my family. We had some plans for both Christmas Eve and Christmas day that had to be tweaked at the last minute, but everything was great even so. It was a lesson in flexibility for me lol.

We had a pot-luck style dinner planned for Christmas Eve as well as some last-minute baking that had to be done. I had brownies baking in the oven and my Mom went to turn on the stove to start cooking and when she did, there was a blue spark and then the stove died. Oven and all. We live in a rental, so the first thing we thought to do is call the Landlord. But what can be done on Christmas Eve? We figured he had plans as well as we did, but we still called and spoke to his wife. As we thought, there was nothing that could be done until the day after Christmas, so she offered us the option of using the stove in one of their other rental units a few miles away.

I removed the almost-done brownies from the oven and still had another batch to cook, so we got together a few things we needed the stove to cook and drove to the other house. Thankfully we were able to finish up the remainder of our cooking in crock pots. We had a nice dinner and later on I finished decorating all of the gifts I had wrapped a couple weeks ago while we watched a movie.

In the words of one of my favorite photographers Jasmine Star, a post is not complete without a photo. So, here are a few:

The stove that saved the day!

Our kitchen-away-from-home

The brownies that almost weren't

Last glimpse of the Christmas tree

We had a big breakfast cooking on the electric griddle and then opened our presents. We were all so blessed this year! I got so many great things, one of them being a sewing machine. I was (am) so thrilled with it! I already have a list of all the things I want to make. I had Home Economics in school and remember the basics, but I am definitely still a beginner so I will start with the easy projects first. I will post about my first 'creation' tomorrow :)

Timber's tired from all the gift un-wrapping

For Christmas dinner my Dad was supposed to make a lasagna. Our new plan was to carry all of the ingredients, pots & pans, and utensils over to the other house to cook and then bring everything back for our dinner. But, that would have meant hours for him at the empty rental house on Christmas day with nowhere to sit and nothing to do while waiting. We decided to cancel the dinner until our stove was fixed and we ate leftover pizza strips instead. It may not have been the big meal we planned, but we made the best of it. And, we actually decided that we liked the simplicity of not having to cook and clean up a big meal on Christmas, so we are going to have a quick and easy meal again next Christmas too! Starting new traditions :) 

Well, this post is getting a bit long and I could still keep on typing, but then we would be getting ready for the arrival of 2011 lol. We ended up getting a nice, newer stove the day after Christmas so we are having our lasagna tonight and we're going to ring in the New Year at home.  Nice & safe and off the roads with the crazy/drunk drivers. It's also a full moon, so the looney toons will be out too! lol I'll spend my evening working on a new layout for my Mom's blog, and possibly one for mine too (big fun, I know!). I hope you have a wonderful and safe night and a happy and prosperous New Year in 2010!!

Black Friday: Mission Accomplished

Well, my Black Friday shopping was a success.  I got a few really good deals and didn't even have to leave my computer chair!  I can't say what I bought just yet though, my Mom reads this blog and I wouldn't want to ruin her surprise ;)  I kept my word though - I had hot cocoa and listened to some Christmas music while I shopped.  Did it help me get in the 'Christmas Spirit'? Not really.  I think I am still brainwashed from all of the Fall decorations I was looking at around me while I shopped lol.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  Ours was really nice.  A little discrepancy over how long to cook the turkey due to bad instructions I found online, but it came out great just the same.  I had a lot of help this year with all of the preparations, so it brought my stress level down to nada.  I am the type of person that does great cooking, until the very end that is.  I am nice and relaxed the whole time, then at the end while trying to have everything ready at the same time - boom! Stress.  And a very red face.  And when I sit down to eat you might think I just ran five miles on a treadmill because I look like I have been through a war lol.  Ah...the joys of preparing a big meal :)

The photo below is for my friend Pea, who lives in Canada and had their Thanksgiving last month.  Your slice is on the way Pea! lol

A few more photos from the day:

Our table

I took some leaves and acorns from outside and glittered them up

Emeril eating his carrot

Timber posing in my Grandfathers rocking chair after dinner...poor kitty got nothing :(

That's all for today!  Enjoy the rest of the weekend :)

Happy Thanksgiving

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! For me, it is the official start of the holiday season. I decided to skip the Black Friday shopping in the stores this year and will do my shopping online instead. On Friday morning, I plan on sitting at my computer with my hot cocoa and Christmas music, doing my shopping while everyone else is crammed into the stores fighting over the sale items. Long lines, items sold out, trying to find parking spaces.....I don't think I will be missing much lol.

Tomorrow I will be doing most of the cooking. We got alot of the preparations and baking done today so there won't be too much left to do in the morning and everything should go smoothly. It is going to be a small family gathering with only the immediately family so it will be a nice, relaxed day without having to entertain guests. I am really looking forward to watching the parades on TV and, I would be lying if I didn't admit, the chocolate cream pie ;)

I hope you all enjoy the day with your family & friends and take a moment to think about your life and what you are grateful for. It's during these times when you realize just how blessed you are.

BAM!

This is Emeril, my Green Cheek conure. He is almost 6 years old and has been such a great part of our family! We got him for my Dad in 2003 for his birthday and he was named after his favorite chef - Emeril Lagasse. I decided to feature Emeril today because my Dad and I are actually on our way to a book signing for chef Emeril! I am going to pick up a copy of his new book for my Dad for Christmas and I am hoping that we can get a chance to meet Emeril and maybe even get a photo with him. My dad won't admit it, but I know he is excited. He has been watching him since the beginning and loves to quote Emeril's cooking tips all the time lol. I am going to try to take some photos of our day today and I will be sure to post them here!

Happy Halloween

Just a quick post to say Happy Halloween! I don't really do too much to celebrate Halloween, but I did manage to (finally) get around to carving my pumpkin. Then I took him outside for a photoshoot...just kidding! (kind of) lol Here are a few more photos of it...

I know this one is a bit grainy... it's hard to take a nice, clear photo in the dark. I must learn how!

Well, I hope everyone out there is having (or had) a fun night. I'm off to watch the Halloween re-runs of Roseanne. Lots of photos will be added tomorrow, so stay tuned :)

It's gonna be a long night

It's been a somewhat unproductive week. I've been in kind of a slump this week and haven't seemed to accomplish much, right down to taking pictures. I did grab my camera to take a few photos one evening earlier in the week which produced the photo above, but aside from that I haven't had much inspiration to do much of anything. Just an off week I guess.

I did accomplish one important thing though. I went to the Dentist on Tuesday and got my first filling ever...and man was I relieved when it was done! I have to say it was not as bad as I had imagined. Nothing compared to having my tooth pulled last month. Needless to say that I can't wait until all of my dental work is complete. By the end of next month I should be all set and won't have to see the dentist again for 6 months or so.

I'm also making a few changes starting next week; I am finally going to take charge of a few things in my life that need work and changing. Things that I have been meaning to do, finish, or start that I never seem to get around to. Like knitting for example. I have been wanting to start working on my knitting skills for weeks now so I can make an afghan for my Mom. At the rate I have been procrastinating, she will be receiving the blanket as a gift at her retirement party (she's only in her forties now) lol. That's only one thing on a long list of short-term goals.

Another thing I have been contemplating is starting a series of photo shoots. I recently came across the website of L.A. photographer Ian Ruhter (whose work is fantastic!) and he always seems to have a theme or project he is working on. For example, right now he is in the middle of shooting a project that focuses on Downtown L.A. I really like the idea of that; having a collection of photos all related to the same theme. I think it would be great to always be working towards a goal and give a sense of completion each time a project is finished, as opposed to aimlessly taking photos of the same objects like I tend to do now. So, right now I am coming up with some ideas for projects I could work on. If you have any ideas for me, they would be welcomed and appreciated :)

My mind needs a rest for tonight, so I am going to try to relax and maybe get some more photos edited. I have a difficult time shutting off my mind sometimes and tonight is one of those times. I think it is going to be a long night.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks on Bonnie Hunt

One of my favorite daily reads is The Pioneer Woman, otherwise known as Ree Drummond. Her website is great and features multiple sections within the site, one of them focused on Photography. I must admit, Ree is actually part of the inspiration behind creating this website and my wanting to become a photographer. Shortly after I first saw her work, I really started to evaluate my own goals and path in life and realized that my love for photography shouldn't stop at just taking photos of random events and holidays.

Photography has always been in the back of my mind as a 'wouldn't it be nice to do that for a living?' kind of thing. My mind is always filled with doubt about my abilities and the fact that I have no formal training has always stopped me from even considering it. But, when I found out that Ree is completely self-taught and I see how wonderful her photos are, it gave me confidence that I can learn as I go and develop my skills. I did a lot of research and purchased my first 'professional' Nikon camera several months ago and made the decision that I will be a photographer one day. I believe that with practice I can turn it into my career and finally do something that I love for a living.

I just finished watching today's episode of the Bonnie Hunt Show which Ree was on and it was great! She's very sweet and down to earth and it was nice to finally see the person (and personality) behind her website. She was promoting her cookbook on the show and even got to bake a cake with Bonnie. The two of them together were a hoot! If you haven't already visited her website, you can take a peek here. Be sure to check out her photography too, it's pretty darn good :)

Let it (snow??)

I am sitting here right now editing photos, listening to music and, oh yeah - watching the snow fall outside my window.  This just isn't right.  Winter is slowly creeping in and stealing my Fall.  Just when it started feeling 'Autumn-y' around here, boom! Snow!  Hello Nor'easter :(  Now don't get me wrong, I do like snow.  At the appropriate time.  Which isn't October 18th in my opinion.

I don't enjoy watching my pumpkins, mums and all of the Fall decorations in my yard get covered by cold, wet snow.  But what can you do, right?  I will just sit here and pretend it's not snowing out there while I burn my 'Autumn Leaves' scented Yankee candle in protest and finish editing photos.  Which, by the way, I will finally be adding to the gallery shortly.  I've been taking photos almost daily so I am way backed up with editing which has delayed getting them all posted up here. But I'm almost done with the first batch so check back later today if you'd like to see them :)

25 things

I added a section called 'Just for fun' where I will post memes and other miscellaneous things. I've posted 25 random things that most people don't know about me if you'd like to check it out :) Photos are on the way soon!

And so the journey begins...

Welcome to my photography blog, A Bella Sorriso!  I have created this blog as a way to share my photos with people and at the same time create a portfolio of my work.  I also want to document my journey on the way to becoming a photographer so I can look back some day and see how far I've come.  Please have a look around to learn a little more about me and check out my work.