Days 30 & 31 - Lazy

I was feeling pretty photo-lazy all weekend.

We had friends over for dinner and cocktails, on Saturday...and their son fell asleep on the couch next to Guinness. (NOTE: The subject of this is not the dog, it's Sam. Just so my super dreamy husband knows that picking on me is NOT an option.)

Sunday, we had our very first Pampered Chef party, and then I came home...and took a realllllllllly long nap. So, when I finally woke up, it was 7:30, and my poor husband was forced to make his own dinner. I'm such a bad wife. Anyway, I snapped this picture of the oranges that are acting as a centerpiece in our dining room right now.

Day 29 - Self Portrait

I took some pictures today, but none of them turned out as I wanted them to...so, today is self portrait day!!!! WOOOO-HOOOO!!! This is me, and my sweet Kitty, who didn't really want to be in the picture, but, well, she doesn't really have a choice.

Day 28 - Cure

I've kind of been avoiding posting pictures of people. Mostly because while I love those posed pictures with people smiling all over my house, I sometimes think that catching photos of people when they're in a moment will really show more.

I took this picture tonight of my best friend, Jenny, and her husband, Louis. We are volunteers for the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life program, and were kicking off our 2010 season...coming up on July 17! Anyway - I caught this moment of Jen & Louis when they were listening to our speaker, Dr. Sharpless, talk about how the money we help raise through Relay For Life really does make a difference.

Day 27 - Reflection??

In an effort to stay inside today and not be out in the cold, I searched around the house for something to take a shot of. So, I lined the wine glasses that have been on the table up, and got this one. The glasses have circles etched on them, so it seems that there's a mirror, instead of four glasses. At least I see that, you may see something else entirely.

Day 26 - Warmth

What kept me from freezing today. Global warming is a sham!!!

Day 25 - The Eyes

My sweet son, Guinness, resting his head. How could you not love those sweet eyes?

Day 24 - Takhomasak

I'll admit...I had no idea what this sign meant for a really long time after I discovered Steak-N-Shake. No idea. The first Steak-N-Shake was in Normal, Illinois, which is also the town I went to college in. Most of the time when someone asks where Illinois State University is, and you answer "Normal" people laugh...but it's usually followed up with it's claim to fame, the original home to Steak-N-Shake.

When I was in college, there was not a Steak-N-Shake in every other town in the midwest, so when I discovered it in the 90's, I was very perplexed by what this sign was all about. I seriously thought, "Perhaps they have a Native American background??". I thought this for a long time. Then, one day it dawned upon me, that *some* midwestern people call a bag...a "sack"...and put it all together. Take home a sack.

Lord, I'm a total idiot.

Day 23 - Baby

Our friends came over for dinner last night, with their son, Nate. He's a little chunk-monster, and so so so so sooooo cute!! He was super hungry, and ate ALL of these ribs!!! Then he washed it down with a Coors Lite. He's a very advanced one month old!!

Day 22 - Woof?

Who knew that the SuperModelquins had a dog!! Such a good boy! He didn't even jump when Aimee & I walked into Old Navy this afternoon!! He's a good listener too! You tell him to "stay", and he does...I may need to find out who his trainer is, and take Guinness to him!

Day 21 - Big Scary City

I ventured into the big, scary city again today for another interview. I'm pretty sure I have now spent more time on the Metra in the last month than I have in the last ten years. Maybe fifteen.

While the interview went well, the best part of the day was getting to have lunch with my super fantastic husband. I normally only get an hour or two in the evenings to see him, so an extra hour mid-day was a nice treat. We met in the Great Hall at Union Station...which is a GREAT place to people watch, and to get some good shots. There's a ton of intricate work on lamps, columns, and all around the ceiling. I chose this picture for today, I just thought the top of this lamp was interesting.

In other notes...I arrived home just around the time school was getting out. When I drove past the grade school near my house, there were kids out throwing snowballs at each other. I thought it was nice to watch them frolic in the not-so-frigid temps...really, almost a Rockwell moment. Then one of them missed the other kid and hit the bumper of my car. Bastards.

Day 20 - CHOPPING!!!

It's Fajita Night in the Smith House!!!! I decided earlier this week to do a menu for the week, and today is fajita day. I spent a lot of time in the produce section of the grocery store finding perfect peppers and onions, and herbs....I probably looked like a thief with the amount of times I walked around the department. I cannot wait for the spring to come so the local farmers market will open again, and I can get some tasty locally grown stuff. But, for now, I'll be fine with the giant grocery store down the street that has ten thousand peppers for me to rummage through to find the perfect one.

Day 19 - Words

Feeling a little uninspired today, so I just snapped a quick shot of something I was doing today, reading. I am working my way through Jen Lancaster's "Bitter is the New Black". For those of you familiar with her work, you'll know why I find myself laughing hysterically while reading her books. I'm positive the author has been living in my head for the past ten years, which makes me laugh even harder. It makes me happy to know that I'm not the only lunatic in the world.

For the past few weeks, I've been trying to explain to family and friends how funny Ms. Lancaster is, and most of them look at me with the funny, "what the hell are you talking about?" look. Just pick up any of her books, and you'll know why I'm laughing so hard I've lost the ability to breathe.

Day 18 - Flowers

My sister bought me a cute little plant for my new kitchen, and gave it to me yesterday. I spent about 30 minutes today trying to take a closeup without it turning out fuzzy. I took 34...ONE turned out!! Though, I think this is a good one...I have a lot to learn.

Day 17 - STRIKE!!!

I took this photo today on an afternoon outing to bowl a few games with friends. My hope was to get a shot of the ball hitting the pins, and the pins flying in the air...but I got this instead. I think it's cool how you can see the reflection of the ball and the pins in the lane.

It seems that I've come to the point that I'm actually going to need to read the manual on my camera to figure out how to take the action shots, and how to stabilize the camera so I can zoom AND take action shots. More to come soon!!

Day 16 - Furry Friend

This morning, the dog was staring out the new window in the kitchen, tail wagging, and whining a bit. Neither one of us knew what the commotion was about, until my husband walked to the window, and saw that there were two stray kitties sitting outside the side door of our neighbors house. I've known that we had a stray family of cats living out the winter in our backyard, but I hadn't really been that close to them. I was able to run to grab my camera, and snap this photo of one of them. They're cute little things, but I'm pretty sure our house is full!

Day 15 - Music

Went out with the girls last night to have dinner, drinks, and see a band called Mike & Joe. They're a fun cover band that we've seen in the past. There were actually three bands, the first was...ummm...well, bad. They did a Metallica-type rendition of a Chris Isaak song...NOT GOOD. Who does that? Who they were, I don't know, but I hope to not encounter them again.

I took a lot of pictures, but picked this as my photo of the day, because I was finally able to zoom, and not have a fuzzy picture!!

Day 14 - Cuties!!!

I snapped this shot this morning while visiting one of my close friends and her new baby boy, Nathanial. The cute little girl holding him is Maya, another friends daughter. They're just so adorable that I needed to make this today's shot.

Day 13 - The Return

Our kitchen renovation is pretty much done!! I was able to bring our sweet son, Guinness home to check out the new digs last night. He ran right in, and the first place he went is right to the place that his bowl has been since he was just a little guy. He seems to like the new floor, and as shown in today's picture...he thinks it's dinner time. He starts to get a little crazy around 3. I try to hold out on feeding him till 4, but about 3:30, I can't take his rambunctiousness anymore, and give in. (One the weekends his Dad makes him wait till 5!! The poor boy is actually STARVING by then!) So, today when I said "Show me what you want"...I couldn't help but snap up this picture of him sitting like the good boy he is.

In other notes...I mentioned in my first post that my husband is sure you'll see 365 pictures of Guinness...so if you're keeping track...this is just number two.

Day 12 - Tall Things...

I took the train in to the big, scary city this morning for a job interview...and snapped this photo right outside of Union Station. I love the beautiful City of Chicago...and everything about it. Even though I whine and cry about the ridiculously cold winters, summers that feel like we're in the bowels of hell, and the traffic that looks much like a sit-in at times...I love it here. I loved the time that I lived on the north side of the city...regardless of the terrible parking and reverse commute to the suburbs for my crappy job. I love that when you take the diagonal route on Lincoln Avenue you can see 700 bars, and 800 Chinese restaurants. I love the Cubs (no matter how terrible they are) and the feel you get on a summer afternoon at Wrigley Field (Old Style Light in hand). I could never imagine myself living anywhere else...and even though, we're living in the suburbs, and only getting into Chicago on very little occasions, I still call it my home.

Anyway, enjoy this shot of the Sears Tower...as it will always be known to me.

Day 11 - Light

Playing with some light today...an outed lightbulb, plus some pretty decorative flowers given to me at a shower, equals a super cool picture. At least, I think it's a cool picture....

Day 10 - Progress...

I took this picture of these four hulking men while they were putting cabinets in this afternoon. I'm pretty sure the photo speaks for itself.

Day 9 - Ooopsies!

We are nearing the end of the kitchen remodeling...YAY!! Today, my super fantastic husband grouted the new tiles! Problem is...he opened the bucket of grout on the other side of the kitchen, and when he finished, he needed the top of the bucket. So what that you're not supposed to walk on it for 24 hours, the bucket needed to be closed. I probably wouldn't have noticed, but he came clean anyway....

Day 8 - Scratch, scratch, scratch...

I mentioned the other day that our four-legged son, Guinness, is staying at my parents while our kitchen is under construction...so this afternoon, I went to see him and get a little puppy-love in. He's such a sweet boy, gave lots of hugs and kisses, and let me steal his bone a few times, and chased me around. He loves going to Grandma and Grandpa's, and get sufficiently spoiled there.

Guinness has been with me since he was nine weeks old. His 3rd birthday is coming up at the end of February! He's a very sweet boy, he's very much a mama's boy...I guess that's because I was single when he first came home with me. Sean & I started dating when he was about 8 months old, so he also loves his Daddy, and more than likely he doesn't even remember a time before his Daddy was around, and loves to give him kisses, and smudge his glasses while doing it.

He's a mix breed, and was told he was a beagle, and blue tick healer mix. I don't see either of these breeds in him, but I'm also not an expert.

He's not one to sit still, but I was able to snap this picture of him while he was scratching his ear.

Day 7 - Snow...and a lot of it!

The weatherman said this morning that we are supposed to get 8-14 inches in the Chicago area today. I hate the weatherman. A LOT! I plan to hate him (or her...don't need to forget the lovely Ginger Zee on NBC5!) until they say it's going to be 70 and sunny for 5 days straight and it actually happens.

Anyway, after I shoveled this afternoon, I took this photo of the giant icicle's that are hanging right outside the front door. I normally freak out about these, and whack at them with the shovel, but after shoveling, a bunch of snow was stuck to the shovel, and I was NOT about to whack at them and have the snow drop right back in my face. I know you're probably wondering why I would freak out about the giant mass of ice hanging above my front door...right? It's simple, you see...I'm pretty accident prone...and if those things are ever going to come down, they will for sure come down when I'm directly below them and stab my eye out. Understandable, right?

Day 6: Moving Things...

Like I said before...I'm not an expert at picture taking. I'm the furthest thing from it, actually...but the point to this project of mine, is for me to learn how to be a better photographer. Things that aren't moving are easy (as long as I can set my camera down, since I shake like a Steak-N-Shake Double Chocolate Fudge milkshake when trying to be still) but moving things are a challenge. So, today, I'll share two pictures with you....

Picture 1) A photo of my feet while walking. Those of you that know me, know this is a bad idea...I should really be paying attention to where I'm walking so I don't fall down. BUT, someone suggested this on another site, and I thought I'd try. Maybe I'll get better.




Picture 2) We'll call "Kitty and the camera strap". She likes strings, and pretty much anything she can whack at. Since the construction in the kitchen is still underway, the dog has been sequestered to my parents house a couple blocks away, so Kitty can't whack at Guinness when he wants to play, and she wants to nap.

Day 5!!

I ventured out this afternoon to the forest preserve near my house to take a couple pictures. I'm not quite sure what I was thinking since it's 20 degrees out...but I thought some actual daylight might do me some good. Okay, so it was only about 10 minutes, but I'm positive that I've picked up enough vitamin D for all of us! I'm posting two pictures today...just because I can.

I've always loved flag pictures...in fact, I probably have more than the state department on my hard drive...but today was just a perfect day to get one of this beautiful piece of history.

The second photo was taken on a picnic table...not sure why, but it seemed like a cool shot.

Longggggg cold winter...

January in the Chicago area means cold. Really cold. I've lived here my whole life, I shouldn't be surprised by sub zero temps...really, I shouldn't...but every time I walk out the door, it feels I'm walking into my freezer. (Yes, the freezer is still in the living room!)

On days like these, I am happy to stay inside and cuddle on the couch. I would normally bake something to add a little extra heat, but with the remodeling, the stove isn't exactly hooked up.

Sooooooo, candles it is!!! I know, they don't really create much for heat...but it's better than nothing.

The GREAT kitchen remodel...

01/02/2010

01/03/2010

A few years ago, I had a fantastic idea...buy a house to remodel, and live in it. I have a few friends that are handy, so this seemed like the best idea I had ever had. I was WRONG. Living through remodeling is never fun. So, last week, my super fantastic husband set out to remodel the very ugly, and not very functional kitchen. Luckily, it's a small room...and luckily, he understands that I am not handy. He is trying very hard to finish this project without either one of us having a breakdown, and I really appreciate everything he's doing to make this small house more live-able for the two of us. With some help from friends, the remodeling is coming along quite well...and he hopes that this week the new cabinets will be installed and the refrigerator will be out of the living room. (Though, access to food is much better with it in the living room!)

The two pictures above are from yesterday, and today. While still working on NOT having fuzzy pictures when I zoom, you'll see that I was trying to get an action shot when the subfloor was being installed. Sadly, this is the BEST of the photos I took! If only he would have stood still for about 30 seconds, I could have made this one work.

The second picture is from this afternoon, when he was figuring out the spacing on the new ceramic tiles. I really enjoy focusing and using the macro function...and the light in the kitchen from the new window made today's picture a good one in my book.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

My New Years Resolution for 2010 is to take a picture a day for all 365 days, and blog about it. It's a lot, I know...and it may seem like a silly challenge to myself, but I think it's a great way to teach myself how to use my camera, as well as document my life.

I took my first pictures last night of the moon. They're NOT good. I have a real problem with stabilization, and I'm not quite sure how to fix it. So, I'm posting the awful picture I took last night, and I'll do a little research on how to make myself not shake when I'm standing outside my front door in 12 degree weather without a coat on.

I'm also posting a picture I took at dinner on New Years Eve...we went to a Greek restaurant, and they had a whole octopus on ice. (Yes, you read that right) I was able to fix my stabilization problems that day by using the ledge on the giant vat of ice.

Like I said...this is a learning experience for me...for you, it will probably be a way to see that I'm not right in the head.