Archive for Month: February, 2010
Hope in a Necklace
My friend, Lisa, has a gift. She makes the most beautiful jewelery that I’ve ever seen. Along with the gift of being an extraordinary jeweler, she has the gift of compassion and giving. With every purchase of the Hope Necklace, she is donating a third of the proceeds to help the devastated people of Haiti.
A special delivery arrived a couple days ago…
Written on the card:
Creative Cropping
Sometimes you have a picture that is nice enough, but just isn’t one of those jump-off-the-page-and-make-you-squeal-in-delight shots. There is one way to remedy that, after the fact. It’s called creative cropping.
I always advocate composing the shot in the view finder of your camera, but sometimes using this technique of post process cropping is beneficial in producing a really cool final image.
1) Open the image in your photo editing program. You can use any of these popular programs: Photoshop, Elements, Lightroom, or Picnik.
2) Select the crop tool. Remember: if you want to keep the same proportions of the original photo, make sure you are cropping in the appropriate aspect ratio.
3) Drag the crop box to where you want and crop. I know that in Photoshop and Lightroom you can also rotate the cropped area to add another level of creative cropping. In Picnik you would have to rotate the picture first and then crop, or vice versa.
Changing the angle gives a new point-of-view and enhances perspective.
100 Blissful Memories {Part X}
91) A Redneck Mommy, a Busy Dad, and a Secret Agent Mama all walk into a Karaoke Bar:
“Huggin’ and a kissin’, dancin’ and a lovin’, wearin’ next to nothing
Cause it’s hot as an oven
The whole shack shimmies
when everybody’s movin’ around and around and around!
Everybody’s movin’, everybody’s groovin’ baby!
Folks linin’ up outside just to get down
Everybody’s movin’, everybody’s groovin’ baby
Funky little shack! Funky little shack!”
92) Moms Just Wanna Have Fun:
“When the working day is done,
Oh,girls,
They wanna have fu-un,
Oh,girls,
Just wanna have fun….
Girls,
They want,
Wanna have fun.
Girls,
Wanna have”
93) Moms with Cameras:
“I’m your biggest fan I’ll follow you until you love me,
Papa-paparazzi,
Baby there’s no other superstar you know that I’ll be your
Papa-paparazzi
Promise I’ll be kind, but i won’t stop until that boy is mine,
Baby you’ll be famous chase you down until you love me,
Papa-paparazzi”
94) Mama’s Got Back, Yeah Baby:
“So your girlfriend rolls a Honda, playin’ workout tapes by Fonda
But Fonda ain’t got a motor in the back of her Honda
My anaconda don’t want none
Unless you’ve got buns, hun”
95) Mama’s Got Feeling and the ROCK:
“Here we come
here we go
we gotta rock (rock, rock, rock, rock)
Easy come
easy go
now we on top (top, top, top, top)
Feel the shot
body rock
Rock it don’t stop (stop, stop, stop, stop)
Round and round
up and down
around the clock
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
Friday, Saturday, Saturday and Sunday
We keep keep keep keep on going
we know what we say
Party everyday
party everyday
Got a feeling
That tonight’s gonna be a good night
that tonight’s gonna be a good night
that tonight’s gonna be a good good night”
96) The Mellow After-party: Just an intimate group of friends. Sitting in a circle. Drinking wine. Laughing. Smiling. Telling stories and our favorite moments. You see, I am usually the one who suggests we play Truth-or-Dare, but that game just didn’t seem to fit. So, I said, “how about we go around the room and tell our favorite memory of Blissdom!” It was a blissful hour. One I will not soon forget. Thank you, Barbara, Alli, and Paula for throwing such an awesome shin-dig!
“Oh, I want to thank you for so many gifts you gave with love and tenderness,
I wanna thank you
I want to thank you for your generosity, the love and the honesty that you gave me
I want to thank you, show my gratitude, my love and my respect for you,
I wanna thank you
Oh I want to thank you, thank you, thank you,
thank you, thank you, thank you… “
97) Last Morning of Bliss: Amy posed for a few shots in our hotel room. I don’t know how I luck out with room-mates, but I certainly do. I’ll snore in the bed next to you, any day, Turn Sharp!
“Alouette, gentille Alouette
Alouette je te plumerai
Alouette, gentille Alouette
Alouette je te plumerai
Je te plumerai la tete
Je te plumerai la tete
Et la tete, et la tete
Et la tete, et la tete
O-o-o-o-oh
Alouette, gentille Alouette
Alouette je te plumerai…”
(but I won’t pluck your feathers or beak off, I swear!)
98) Time to Go Home: But, first, we had breakfast with Dawn, Dawn’s cousin, Laura (who’s a talented make-up artist) and her boyfriend, David (who’s kind of a country star–check him out), Sara, and Amy at Cracker Barrel (yum!) We decided against the photo-walk because of the cold. So the breakfast was a nice way to gather before going home.
“You find out who your friends are.
Somebody’s gonna drop everything
Run and crank up their car
Hit the gas
Get there fast
Never stop to think whats in it for me
or its way to far
They just show on up
with their big old hearts
You find out who your friends are.”
99) Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway:
“Insisting that the world keep turning our way
And our way
is on the road again.
Just can’t wait to get on the road again.
The life I love is makin’ music with my friends
And I can’t wait to get on the road again.
And I can’t wait to get on the road again.”
100) “We do not remember days; we remember moments.” —Cesare Pavese, The Burning Brand
“Maybe I am a crowded mind
I watch your eyes glaze over
Stared down at the floor
You were amazing to me
I was amazing to you
But here we go again
Didn’t you
Love me faster than the devil
Run me straight into the ground
Drowning deep inside your water
Drowning deep inside your sound
Love me faster than the devil
Run me straight into the ground
Drowning deep inside your water
Drown in love and memories”
100 Blissful Memories {Part IX}
81) If There was an App for my iTouch Called “Andi” I Would Buy It: Luckily, I don’t need an app, because having Andi’s smile captured with my camera is more than enough. We met at the end of Blissdom’09 and I can undoubtedly say that all things happen for a reason.
82) Peeping Mishi: The lights were calling my name through the teeny-tiny peep hole. Really, they were!
83) I Spy: I spotted this blogger, taking a break, writing something down, and I had to take her picture. Now I wish I would have walked over and got her card because I don’t know who she is. I would love for her to see this shot. If you know her, please send her this way!
84) Sarah, Don’tchaknow: I loveloveloveloveloveloveloved that Sarah became Sarah! It was just perfect.
85) The Closing Keynote: Informative, intelligent, wonderful and heart-tugging; the closing keynote felt like were were sitting and reading some blog posts together. Of course I had heard of Jennifer McKinney‘s story (you don’t inhabit the blogosphere and not hear about boys like Stellan), but I never really read her. I was moved by the way she told of their plight. And I was especially moved by the outpouring of support. Not shocked. Moved. Because this blogosphere comes together, united, and we support.
86) Case in Point, Our Dear Friend, Anissa: The support that has been seen for Anissa has been life changing. It was a blessing to have Rachel take on the Hope for Anissa video. There wasn’t a dry eye, for we were all thinking of and missing our friend. Our friend who still needs our help, our thoughts, our constant prayers, and always our love.
87) Mini Birthday Party: There’s only one thing that can top eating a Stax burger with Amy, telling your life story in under a 1/2 hour, and loafing around on your hotel bed. And that’s having gelatto with Cecily, Amy, Penny, and Deb (all in honor of Deb’s birthday.) This picture was snapped when we were getting our gelatto. The woman was genuinely interested in Cecily’s body art. I was so wrapped up in listening that I almost missed the shot. Thank God Penny reminded me to click!
88) Sweet Josie: I’d seen her quite a bit over the course of the weekend, and what a wonderful little girl. Apparently Deb and Cecily knew the splendor of that little one, too! (Quick, someone tell me what Josie’s mom’s name is!)
89) Julie and Julia: They were watching the movie. The movie hiccuped. Probably because the Karaoke Gods were ON. MY. SIDE. I was there and there was no need for the movie to finish. We had songs to be sung, ya’ll.
90) Just a Bunch of Redneck Women: This photo was highly reminiscent to me of a photo I took of Casey and Tanis at the Blissdom ’09 Karaoke in Creepy Hotel (as Dawn calls it.)
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