One Weekend, Two Shots (Sept 11 & 12)

Ashleigh had a car accident yesterday evening. She's lucky to be alive. The photo says a lot about the damage that has decreased my trade-in money even more than the age/condition of the vehicle. She's lucky to be alive. Her dad hasn't seen it yet and he won't for a couple of weeks, as he's on vacation. I took photos and sent them to him. This one shows how the car door no longer seals with the roof.  The full impact isn't seen in this view. Just wait til her father gets home... Did I say she's lucky to be alive?

One a happier note, I've been working in the Krafti Korner. I won't reveal the total project, just an element.  And leave the other elements as a surprise for some of you who will see the end result in just a short 18 days at the Texas Scrap Retreat!

One Weekend, Two Shots (Sept 4 & 5)

Labor Day weekend was busy with shopping for the new office bathroom. I should have photos of ALL the rugs I looked at and returned. Who knew buying a bathroom rug was such a challenge?!  I didn't even think about toting the camera with me.  The weekend slipped by quickly, as I had to work the holiday. It was nice being one of two on the whole floor.

Over the weekend, I came across the most unusual bromeliad with stiking colors in the bloom. Seems like this is my summer of flowers and foliage pictures.

Our front yard is finally looking good this summer. We had major damage a few years ago from a spring storm and our huge trees were old & rotting.  They were both taken down two years ago and we redid the front. This year I waited to prune the hedges along the house and DH was afraid I'd killed them.  Well here's proof that I didn't.  They look healthy to me!

One Weekend, Two Shots (Aug 28 & 29)

I cheated. These were taken while Elena was here from Greece.  Let's pretend they were taken this last weekend.  The point is to actually use the camera and take two shots.  Doesn't matter when, right?  Well, I got more than two shots on this outing and decided these were the best from a photographer's point of view.

We spent the morning in Fort Worth at the Stockyards and played until the heat was unbearable. Riding the mechanical bull was a highlight for both the girls and they really enjoyed the Maze. 

I loved the signs!  Seems the folks in the wild, wild west had a sense of humor.  This first sign was posted inside the maze.  

The second was hanging on an antique display case in the museum.  I'd love to see this hanging outside the office of a psychiatrist...

Hope you enjoyed them as much as I (photograhy skills aside.)

One Weekend, Two Shots (Aug 21 & 22)

Do you know how hard it is to capture a moving go cart on film?  Well, I do!  We visited Speed Zone on Friday night and had such a good time.  Mostly, I played.  However, I did try to get a few photos for Elena to take home. It was very difficult to get good pictures when everyone was actually racing - in fact I only got one that wasn't a blur of motion.  So, here's a shot of the trash talk that occurred before each race started.  You know how that goes. "You're going down! etc... " Paul kept nudging Ash before the go signal was released. She got annoyed. eventually.

We also visited the amazing Gaylord Texan Resort for a fabulous lunch on the river walk. The hotel was a set up like Alice in Wonderland and the garden was even more spectacular. These are metal flowers bursting with color and quite artistic centers that I had to show you two shots to give you the full picture. They were huge too!

I've got a few more adventures with Elena to share. I'll do that later in the week, as they aren't great weekend photography.  And then it's back to normal, routine life at the Hakes home.

One LONG weekend, three shots (Aug 12 - 15)

I took loads of photos during our weekend activities. This weekend actually started on Thursday in Glen Rose, TX.  We took a road trip to Fossil Rim, a drive through, Safari type park and then visited Dinosaur Valley.  The kids really enjoyed both and were even quite daring in their interactions with some of the animals. Here's witness to how they fed some...

I do believe this challenge is improving my skills.  I'm trying different angles, different lighting and really stretching myself to get better shots. The kids really wanted the giraffe to poke his head through the car. That wasn't possible this trip because we didn't take my car.  Granny's van doesn't have a sunroof, so they tempted the guy to stretch over the van to the other side for his treat. This is the resulting shot...

Ashleigh's best friend has an awesome mohawk that she striped last week.  Ruben resembled the zebras and I tried and tried to get a picture of the two together for compare & contrast.  Due to lighting issues it didn't work out.  This shot does however, show off the effects and you can see what I mean with the hair...

Flowers, flowers, everywhere!

The trees and bushes in my yard are just busting with blooms. They thrive in the extreme heat of summer and boy are they getting it this year.  The Crepe Myrtles on the back fence are just gorgeous; however, I keep thinking the Little Gem Magnolia tree in the front is on it's last bloom. I love that it keeps surprising me with more.

The Crepe Myrtles provide privacy to our tiny backyard during the summer. They stretch all across the back fence creating a beautiful 25 ft. screen.

This magnolia tree was planted just two short springs ago. It was pounded by a hail storm last summer and I feared it was permanently damaged. To my delight, it is just fine! I'm glad I went out last weekend and captured a few of the blooms before they fully opened.

One Weekend, Two Shots (August 7 & 8)

My goodness - it has been so hot! I don't want to venture outdoors for anything. The lawn did have to be mowed and the bushes are loving the heat. I got some great photos of the magnolia tree and our crepe myrtles in the back.

According to Elena, it's never too hot to bake. (I disagree!)  She loves to cook and found a yummy recipe for Black Forest Cake in one of my old cookbooks, so we did that. The resulting shot was taken AFTER we had devoured part of the cake. Not so great photography, but the cake was oh so scrumptious!

Vote for Me!!!

So I've entered a photo contest through EFTours to win an iPAD. I'm shamelessly begging you.  Please, please vote for my photo on the following link. (At least I think it really is a cool photo!)

http://apps.facebook.com/eftours/contest/1/233

You can vote daily and tell all your friends to vote too!

One Weekend, Two Shots (July 30 - Aug 1)

What a weekend! Hillsong Live was amazing worship on Friday night and the lights were awesome before the band actually began to play. Here's a shot from that night as the opening built up.

It's so hot here in Texas that we tried to escape to the lake for some relief with my sister and brother-in-law.  Their boat had other plans for us, as the starter gave Captain Bob trouble. The girls managed to each get a ride on the tube before he decided not to shut the motor off again. I missed my turn, but I'm so happy we didn't need a tow back to the launch ramp. This picture of Ash and Elena is much better in black and white. Can't you just feel the temperature rising?

One Weekend, No Shots (July 24 & 25)

Okay, so I'm kind of photo-op'd out after the Europe trip. I took 978 shots and didn't pick up the camera this last weekend. So, I'm gonna cheat and show you two more pictures I took on the trip. Still counts, right?

While in Italy, we visited a pottery.  This shot is of cups that haven't yet been glazed.  They were arranged so perfectly, I had to capture it. I also got shots of plates in their various stages of completion, as well as platters and bowls.

The Tower of London was great, but the Flowers of London were spectacular! The flowers in Europe are abundant and beautiful. I took many photos everywhere we went.

One Weekend, Two Shots (July 17 & 18)

So, I've decided to join others in the photography challenge and see how my skills improve with the One Weekend, Two Shots challenge.  I've been in Europe for 10 days and the shots I got were fabulous.  This first weekend was easy because I had loads of photos to choose from! Even using a new camera, I think the trip shots are rather nice.

On Saturday, we visited the Eiffel Tower. After a two-hour wait in line, we were finally on our way to the top.  This shot is taken from level one at sunset.  We actually were at the top at twilight and the view was outstanding. For this challenge, I wanted to capture the perspective to the top, instead of the view from the top.

The next day we took the night train from Paris to Florence. The kids had a blast with the triple level bunks and this shot is of those at the top level goofing off. Again a different perspective.

Special post dedicated to DK...

that's Dear Klutz! No, that name was given to DSS several years ago.  Can't give DH the same nickname.  Like father, like son, eh?  At DH's request, here's an addendum to the Bike Hazard LO I did earlier this spring.

DH had cast removed last week, but he still CANNOT put any weight on the foot, so he's wearing a boot and using crutches for at least another week.  Then, he can put 25% weight on the foot for two additional weeks. Following that, he goes back to specialist for evaluation.  It's going to be a LONG summer.

A bit more of my recent work

Okay, so those nasty spammers are now stalking blogs? I had to change the title of my last post due to the email I was receiving for some quite unseemly products.  Geez.


I've been busy with digital stuff and I'm starting to miss the paper and glue and getting the krafti korner really messy.  So, I spent Saturday taking apart on old box and then putting it back together with Mod Podged paper.  Go to the MMForum to see the results.


Here's more of the pages I created for Ashleigh's high school book.  Continue perusing the MM threads to see how I spent a week in June at Journey.

It's been awhile...

...since I posted anything.  The mojo hasn't left me and I haven't had a dry spell.  I've been busy catching up with DD's high school album.  Since I decided to do it entirely digi, I've made so much progress!  Love the digi world and I can't say that I'm missing the paper stuff so much. Yet.

Here are a few of the LOs...

I've done quite a few more and they were posted on the MMForum in response to various challenges...

And that's enough for today.  I'll post more in the next few days and I'm all caught up!!!

Verses That Speak to Me

For her CJ, Jean asked us to identify four verses that speak to us.  I've chosen four that relate to where I am right now.  These verses I keep close to me and refer to often in my current jobless situation.  I need to focus on the truth that God does provide for all our needs and He will also give us the desires of our heart.  Trust in Him and it shall be.

I have always loved the verse from Nehemiah that states our strength comes from the joy of Lord.  It's been a favorite for a long time.  As she knows me well, Jean will recognize this one.

A Tribute to Biking

Paul has had a rough time of it this spring.  He's slowly taking out his bikes, one by one.  Here's a LO I did yesterday to document the struggles.

He's going to Arkansas for the long weekend.  I'm praying all will go well - there are some very challenging rides in the Oachita Mountains and he doesn't need any more damage - to himself or his equipment!

Ten Things That Make Me Happy

I got another award!  Well, that's what I'm calling it...  Dear Lisa passed this on to me last week.  So, I am to identify 10 things that make me happy.  We've gone this route before in a CJ, sort of; however, I did this again as a LO.  No photos, just the list.

And now, as I am supposed to do, I am awarding three other kreative friends:

• 
  
  Jean
• 
  
  Jenn
• 
  
  Courtney

I really need to get the sign-in tags for all the CJs finished.  Maybe I'll get to them sometime this week.  We're still painting Mom's house and I believe it's my turn to paint.  Again.

Catching Up

So, Ashleigh's junior year of high school is almost complete.  She had such a wonderful time and did many exciting things in these three years.  You'd think she could view at least a few scrapbook pages about her journey thus far.  Well that hasn't happened until recently.  Thanks to "MyBrain," my dear computer (would that be DC?) and digital scrapping, I have finished a few LOs recently.  I am really beginning to like the digi world.  It's not the dark side at all!  Here is some of the stuff I've done this week, in between painting dear Mom's house...

These first two pages chronical the SkillsUSA trip to state competition this spring.  Yes, she did go last year as well.  Give me a break, I'll get to that another day.

And this last one is just a few photos taken of her this year.  I know this only because she cut her hair the beginning of the 2009/10 school year and all the shots have this cut.  I really like her hair this way.  And, I've just realized that the SkillsUSA photo is from her sophomore year.  I'll have to edit that page.  Thanks to digi, that's no big deal.  Except for locating the class photo from this year. 

It's just the beginning of her high school album that will be most likely assembled somewhere at 3/4 of the way into the book.  However, it is the beginning!