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While I’ve had my kahuna for two years now, it really didn’t click until about seven months ago.  And that’s really when I started carrying it everywhere, not worrying about what other’s thought.  And then I started the blog and started taking even more photos to share with the internet.  My photography is still hit and miss but I’m more satisfied with the outcome these days. 

With 2009 coming to an end, I went through all of my photos from the year and selected my Top 10.  These are my favorites.  I did not choose them just because of the finished product.  Or because other’s had provided positive feedback.  But they are my favorites because the feeling of triumph that came with capturing these photos.  And that’s a feeling only the photographer knows.

1. New York Subway

This was luck.  Pure luck.  The subway came shooting by and like all the other trains we waited for, I started snapping.  Only this one had the reflection of our neighbors on the platform.

2. Chasey Bear

My first good shot with the 50mm.  I finally figured out that I had to step away instead of stepping into the subject.

3. Black Eyed Susans

I’ve fallen in love with this photo about 20 times now.  The flower bokeh is perfect and the depth of field tells a story… all time favorite.

4. On The Midway

Carnival rides were the reason I toted my dSLR all day at the State Fair.  And this has been a favorite ever since.

5. Rachel & Fire

The right marriage between ISO, aperture and shutter speed made this perfect.  And the tripod.  That helped a lot.

6. Amy in Red

Taken for the Weekly Photo Challenge.  I had taken about 200 red photos already and the idea to use this hat popped into my head.  And after three shots, I knew I had it.

7. Patterson and His Baby Girl

Emotion is the reason this is a favorite.  The framing is off and the focus could be better but you don’t always capture love in pixels.  I feel that I did with this one.

8. Mirror of Time

Also taken for the Weekly Photo Challenge.  And again, an idea that popped into my head.  Focusing on the mirror but using reflections boggles my mind every time I look at it.

9. The Wedding Dance

Experimenting can pay off.  I set the camera on the floor and just held down the shutter button.  The movement is whimsical and you can see how happy everyone is. 

10. My Monkey

This little booger makes me smile all of the time but this photo makes my heart smile.  And I like the fact that you can pay her to do just about anything.

Bonus: Zipper… and More

Another Weekly Photo Challenge entry.  The subject was zipper but I wanted to spice it up.  A definite “I can’t believe I took this” photo.

I love me some color challenges.  You have more freedom when taking your shot.  Do you like the entire frame to have the color?  Or something in the picture that pops with that color?  It’s all up to the person behind the camera.

At first, I had a few ideas of where I wanted to take this challenge.  And I tried.  Chocolate candies, leather, wood grain, hair (and boy did I try hair!) but after sorting through them none them screamed Photo Challenge.  I wasn’t challenging myself or thinking creatively with the set up.  Lame, I know.

Here is my brown:

And though the set up is not creative, trying to get the doggins pixellated can be challenging.  This doggin, my BDD Chevy (she’s a Big Deaf Dog), is a bit easier because the camera noises do not bother her.  And her eyes are big brown globes of trust.  This 70-something pound dog is so trustworthy, she let’s us pick her up.  Not that we really can, but she has no problem with it.  Chase on the other hand, not so much.

Our new game with Chevy involves a red pointer light.  A year ago, she’d have nothing to do with it.  This week, she’s all about biting that red dot wherever it may go.  The BDD may not be able to hear but she has keen eyesight.  And the ability to make us roll on the floor laughing.

Next week’s challenge is “fire.”  I have a feeling that I’m going to be playing with a lot of matches.  This could get messy.  Keep your extinguishers handy, friends!  And don’t forget to check out the flickr pool’s photos or click on the challenger roll to see how the other’s interpreted brown.

I like taking the kahuna (my reliable dSLR) everywhere I go because you never know what you’re going to get.  If the photos aren’t stellar or what you hoped for, you got some practice in.  But sometimes you get to photograph things you’d never would have thought of.

I was invited to join my three amigas – Abby, Kelly & Natalie - for a night of chilling out, stuffing our faces with pizza and getting our hair done.  I am always game for being with these fine ladies and stuffing my face.  And I needed a haircut.  Win-Win.  So I ventured out to the Creek (an area of town) to the hairdresser’s abode.  I toted along the kahuna not knowing what the place would look like or how the lighting would be.  And I am so happy I did because I fired that thing off all night.

Shannon (the hairdresser… is that the appropriate title?) let us invade the lower half of her home for something like five or six hours.  I don’t know how she put up with us for that long but she did.  And we made the best of it.  Of course, most of our time was spent trying to convince Kelly, my little skipper, to chop off her hair.  And then tease her because that’s what love is.

Each one of us spent time with Shannon the Expert and she transformed us.  Well, most of us.  I don’t really consider Kelly to be transformed.  More on that later.

Natalie

Natalie didn’t want too stray to far from what she had going on upstairs, so Shannon polished her up. 

And then showed her how to wear her hair wavy.  Nat has the thickest head of hair I’ve laid eyes on this side of the Mississippi but Shannon got it to wave.

Hello Sexy Mama with the beachy (aka jbf) hair.  How you doin’?

Abby

One word: Fearless.  This chica has worn her hair long, her hair short, her hair curly, straight, up, down, sideways… she has no fear when it comes to hair.  Except maybe being brunette.  Well, I think that scared me more than her.  How the hell am I supposed to recognize her with brown hair?  She’s been blonde since we were eight.  Thankfully we do not need nametags as she did not go that route.  Yet.

By the way, I just love this picture.  I have absolutely no idea what Abby is talking about but this face… this face is hilarious. 

This night, she chopped it off.  And it was cute cute cute.

Hello little darlin’ with the cute hair.  How you doin’?

Kelly

One word: Fearful.  Little skipper is attached to her hair like velcro is attached to… velcro.  Don’t get me wrong, she has beautiful, thick hair that looks good all of the time.  It’s just been this as long as I can remember. 

As much as Abby changes her hair, Kelly doesn’t change her hair. 

This is how much hair was removed.  What is that?  An inch?  Two inches?  Can’t complain though because she looked good when she was done.

Hello Rapunzel.  How you doin’?

This is her “thinking face”.  And she’s fixing her collar, not popping it.  But it makes me warm and fuzzy inside.  I love this little skipper.

I, too, got my hair done.  I put my faith in Shannon’s hands and she gave me a bob that is cute.  But this was the weirdest haircut I’d ever gotten.  How is that, you say?

When a lady gets her hair done, she’s usually with other ladies.  Your head is wet as a mop, it’s flipping and flying all over the place, you’re vulnerable under that plastic curtain.  And then walks in three men that you don’t know.  Oh, Shannon and Abby knew them.  Kelly knew a couple too.  But I was the one with the wet head with strangers looking on as my hair was falling to the floor.  Oh, and this was at 11:30 at night after a full day of work.  Can we say bye-bye makeup and hello darkening circles under my eyes.  Yes. Yes, we can.

So when one of the fellas took the seat when I was done, I couldn’t help myself.  I picked up the kahuna.  Mind you, I don’t even remember this fella’s name.  He could have been cursing me under his breath.  But Shannon worked her high-and-tight magic on him.  Sucks when you know people are watching, doesn’t it?

Like I said, a fun night.  And I had a blast sticking the kahuna in my friends’ faces.  Love those girls.  And a big THANK YOU to Shannon for letting us squatters hang out and talk your son into putting stuff up his nose.  OK, only I did that but it was still funny.  Nine year olds are awesome.

As you know, I’m new to knitting.  I’ve got my scarf done and I have yet to start on the matching hat.  I’ve enjoyed knitting so far.  I go to “class” with my Mom and her knitting friends but my PodMate, Susan, also gives me tips along the way.  She encourages me in my new craft that I find fun and relaxing but complex.  When it comes to sticks and string, it can be very complex.

I look at my beginner level scarf – and I love it – but then marvel at the stuff PodMate creates.  She’s really good at knitting.  So she shared a secret.  Well, maybe not a secret but something special nonetheless: her first knitting book.  Which, thanks to her, happens to be my first knitting book too.

Stitch’n Bitch.

Groovy title.  Cool quips and sayings on the inside.  With drawings and easy-to-understand directions.  This is my kind of book.

I haven’t dived into yet but have flipped through it several times.  This will be an excellent resource for when I get stuck again [and again].  And there are some cute patterns too.

Like this one.  Pretty much the same pattern for my scarf only mine has 22 stitches and this one has 32 (making it wider).  I can’t wait to start telling people “This is my ‘ribbed-for-her-pleasure’ scarf.”  I didn’t say that to my Granny though – I have manners ya know.

And Miss Wendi, this is the difference between a knit and a purl.  I couldn’t have said it better.  Actually, I didn’t.  I kind of failed at that.  But now we know. 

And knowing is half the battle.  I kill myself.

PodMate, I really really like my new book.  You know you didn’t have to go and do a thing like this but it is very appreciated.  Muchas Gracias, my amiga!  I can’t wait to break in the binding.  And still bog you down with crafting questions.

For the past few years, we’ve gone over to a friend’s house for a holiday get together.  I look forward to it because many of my favorite people are there.  A bunch of friends from college that are busy living their lives but make the time around the holidays to be with each other. 

Making time to eat together, drink together, laugh together… I love these people.

Spending time like this – with people like these – makes me happy. 

We forget about what’s going on at work and get another scoop of guacamole. 

We forget about our shopping lists and sit around the table to tell dirty jokes. 

We forget about cleaning the house and stuff our face with cookies.

Bad cookies.  You’re making my waistline expand.  Boo waistline, boo.

The hubs and I had a great time.  But instead of talking about all of the shenanigans that went on, I’ll just share some photos with you.

Hope you all had a merry holiday like we did.  Now I’m looking forward to the New Year.

Chase, my super smart dog that can hear, hates the camera.  She usually darts away when I start firing.  I think the noise bothers her.  Whereas the BDD could care less about the noise.  She was so sleepy last night, she didn’t bother moving.  For anything.  Well, if I had said “grandpa” or “frisbee” she’d shot up from her spot on the couch.  But I didn’t.  I took advantage of it.

After paying attention to me for 30 seconds and deciding the camera wasn’t a threat, she curled up.  Into a cuddle bug.  That’s what the hubs and I call it.

She becomes a ball of fur.  Like a Popple.  Man, I loved my Popple.  He was white with a blue belly and orange hair.  But I like this furry Popple much much better.  Because she tucks her nose in her tail.  For warmth?  For the heckuvit?  Because she can?  We’ll never know.

“Food Lady, can’t you see I’m trying to get some rest here?”  She means business.  So I went back to the deaf dog.  Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

It’s Christmas Eve.  Still.  But before I shut my eyes and have visions of sugar plums dancing in my head, I thought I’d post a little bit of this and that.

Little Bit of This

Last night, I went with my three amigos (Abby, Kelly and Natalie) to get our hair did.  I have so many wonderful pictures to share but those have to wait until I can sort through them more.  I got a little trigger happy.  Well, I decided to leave my hair in the hands of the professional. 

Me: I don’t really like fixing my hair.  I blow dry it and sometimes straighten it.  Don’t use products.  Using conditioner is still a big deal… I’m a no fuss kind of gal.

Shannon (the professional): Well. I have an idea.  I think it will flatter your face and it’s no fuss.  It looks kind of like this [shows me a picture].  Only we’ll keep it a bit longer.

I agreed.  I put my trust in her fine salon-licensed hands.  Scissors were snipping, hair was falling to the left, to the right, up my nose and I looked completely different then when I walked in that place.  I like it (really, I do) but it’s taking some getting used to.  I burned myself three times this morning with the straightener.  I even pulled out the hairspray.  Yeah, still taking some getting used to.

The before:

The after:

Shorter.  Much shorter.  Bouncy.  Healthy.

My girlfriends swear it’s cute.  I’ve known them long enough to know that they won’t lie but they will.  God love them.  We shall see if the burning continues tomorrow.  But I feel the need to say again it really is a good hair cut.  Really.  Really really.

Little Bit of That

We just got home from spending the better half of the day with my parents.  This rarely happens. 

My DAd and Mom.  The hubs was completely ignoring our coolness.

But the stars aligned and awesomeness happened: we went to see Avatar in 3D.

Sporting the new do… in the dark.

I’m not kidding, this movie was awesome.  AWESOME.  I could have sat through it again.  I am glad I took Dramamine beforehand – I’ve been having the tendency to get carsick and I didn’t want to take any chances.  But seriously, a really good movie.  Go and see it now so I won’t be the only one braiding my hair and sticking beads in it.

Bravo, James Cameron, bravo.

Jobs are a great thing.  A job gives you something to do at leat 40 hours week.  And it gives you money.  That’s about all I can come with for now.  Because I’m off for the holiday now.  Eleven long days of gloriousness that I don’t have to look at Excel spreadsheets.  Pure bliss.

With the holidays comes parties of course.  We had our fair share around the office but we managed to break the chains free from our desks to enjoy some time with some of the people we don’t see often.  Like human resources. 

It was a good time to be had, but all you need to know is that we went here:

They gave us these:

We did this to them:

Beer is wondrous thing.  I can’t get over how some people “don’t like it.”  Yeah, and I don’t like sprinkles on my cupcakes.  Lies.

On another day we had a white elephant exchange (I’m scarred by some of the things that were said that day) and we decorated cookies.  And ate them.  A lot of them.

Yesterday was our last day in the office.  For 11 days.  (I’m pinching myself to make sure I’m not just dreaming it.)  I woke up early and slaved in my kitchen to make the ultimate breakfast of champions to share with these awesome people: Monkey Bread.

If you have never eaten this sweet stuff before, go to your kitchen and make it now.  It’s fool-proof [unless you put too many biscuits in the bundt pan] and it so frickin good.  A girl at work said it best: It’s like taking a stick of butter and dipping it in cinnamon and sugar.  It’s just like that.  Mostly because it has that stuff in it. 

OK, better idea.  Have someone else make it so that you can eat it and enjoy it.  And then you’ll never really know how much butter is in it.  Believe me, it’s better this way.

I’ll miss not seeing my co-workers for a few days but the vacation time is priceless.  I’m looking forward to spending time with my parents this evening.  And the hubs’s parents and grandparents and all tomorrow.  Just know that if I’m not on here too much is because 1) I’m taking pictures or 2) I’m in a deep sleep some would call a food coma.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Talk about feeling like a freak with a fetish.  I didn’t even start on this week’s challenge until Saturday night at a holiday party.  And all I did was take shots of my friends’ feet.  I love y’all but my photos were bad bad bad.  Bad angles mixed with bad camera settings, add a dash of bad camera operator… equals not a good recipe.  So I didn’t use them.

To my friends: Thank you for playing along with my crazy ways.  I mean that.  Love you.

Here is my feet:

Literally, my feet.  After trying to salvage my feet photo-FAILS! from the weekend, I just started over.  Not inspiring but this is the first self-portrait I’ve done for the challenge.  And I like my kickass socks.  The color makes me a happy chica.  I have a drawer full of fun socks – even if no one else sees them I know I have some fun stuff going on in my shoes.

Now please please please go to the flickr pool.  I’ve already been browsing through and there are some fantastic photos this week!  Different interpretations (BTW Frenchie, I never would have thought of crow’s feet) and different looks and feels (Mrs. Rev! *jealous*) and well I’m just so happy it’s Wednesday. 

Moving on to next week: the challenge subject is “brown.”  Bring on the color challenge!  If you haven’t gone to the flickr pool yet, what are you waiting for?  Go!  Enjoy the wonderful photos [and join the challenge]!!

I met up with my friend Mrs. Rev last week.  And to get into the holiday spirit, I watched her make Christmas cookies.  I helped [some] and brought the cookie cutters [and my stomach] but she didn’t really need me.  I did much of nothing but sit on my fanny.  And take pictures.  But I loved the friendly company [and the smell of cookies].

These cookies were soft, sugary and had just enough lemon to make you go “What is that?”  These were some seriously yummy cookies.  Better than the Christmas-FAIL-cookies I made four years ago.   Haven’t picked up a jar of sprinkles since then.

The thing about making cookies like these is that it takes forever.  F-O-R-E-V-E-R.  As in a three to four hours for 48 festive-shaped baked goodies to be produced.  But it was fun.  That’s the point, right?

This is how our evening went:

Mrs. Rev made the cookie dough, chilled it, rolled it out and stamped the cookies.

I painted [some of the cookies] with colored egg yolks.  I did a good job, no?  Best darn evergreen tree I’ve ever laid eyes on.

Mrs. Rev baked the cookies.

And I waited for the cookies to come out of the oven.  Well, so did Mrs. Rev.

And then they cooled.  We only ate one cookie that night.  It broke – a sacrificial cookie for this Cookie Monster.

Because if Mrs. Rev hadn’t been looking, I would have shoveled a few these in my mouth.  They were NOM!-licious.