Well I am afraid that posting must cease for the next week or so...because my power cord to my laptop fried and it will take that long to get a new one! I would be happy about this forced computer vacation but I am very dependent on that machine for all of the photography and newspaper work I do. I am so glad Suzanne is letting me use her computer but it is sssssssssssslllllllloooooooww, therefore uploading pictures could be a bit nightmarish. Look forward to catching up with everyone (who even reads this?) when I get my new cord.

~So grateful I bought the service plan and backed up all my images yesterday

2008.07.21

Yesterday, after spending much time resting and studying my Bible, I was suffering from a huge allergy induced headache and reading a missionary biography when the tones went off. I had not yet responded to a call since I had been given a pager but I had quite gotten the hang of the routine calls. Last night it was the town next to us asking for a tanker from my town. I figured it must be for real and was probably a house fire. I was right.
I got there and found out that it was indeed a house fire but you could not see the house from the road so I only have a couple images of flames taken from a distance. I found out that I need to work on my nighttime photography but that fire trucks present an interesting challenge in the dark. They were still fighting it when I left after standing around for about 2 hours.

Believe it or not, as nervous as I was this was just what I needed to pick up my camera again.

~fire photographer

Taking a break

For those of you who might actually be keeping track of my daily snapshots and ramblings of my crazy life, I thought I would let you know that I am taking a break. I don't know how long...probably only a couple of days but I am worn out and need to do some thinking. There is just so much clutter in my head that I am longing for quiet...real quiet so I can once again be strengthened to keep "running the race". I won't lie, I am struggling. I need to focus.
I will not be breaking very long however, because prolonged vacations from routine make it harder then ever to start up again. I have learned so much from this challenge that I feel to stop now would be selling myself short. I will keep going. God will give me the strength I need!

And since I couldn't post without a picture I dug this one out of picasa...

Photo of me taken by my youngest brother last month.

2008.07.17

An evening chasing pictures at the van Buren Youth Fair

Me on a ferris wheel for the first time ever

That pizza looked really good...

~c

2008.07.16

We worked hard today, mom and I. And we are sitll going.
Have I ever mentioned how beautiful cherries are?

~lover of gorgeous fruit

2008.07.15

I like this picture.

Who knew that blueberries could look so awesome in black and white?

So just for fun I will tell you a few of the things that crossed my mind to get done today:

Clean and reorganize the entire house
Weed and revamp all of our gardens
Pick and freeze 200lbs. of Blueberries
Back up every picture I have ever taken 3 times and clean the hard drive on my laptop within an inch of its life
Make a plan to do something with just about every picture I have ever taken and do it
Read several books
Study the Bible in depth
Send cards and gifts to several friend
Call all my previous customers
Book some portrait sessions
Catch up on all my work for the paper
Well the list could go on but I think you now understand that there were some fleeting ambitious moments in my day. Needless to say what I did get done looks far more realistic.

~ceg

2008.07.14

I went to the fair today. But the midway wasn't open yet. I was going to take my first ride on a ferris wheel. My heart just was not in the photography. But look at this picture, it actually looks like it was busy! How decieving. :)

~christina

My day at the farm

Have I ever mentioned how much I love this place?

If you haven't gotten your cherries yet you need to hurry.

~farm girl at heart

2008.07.12

2008.07.10

Multi tasking for me could be defined as talking on the phone with my sis to arrange dinner plans while taking pictures one handed as it starts to rain. ISO 1600 since it was getting so dark. Gee, my blog posts leave a lot to be desired this week. :) Maybe next week things will cheer up.

~christina elizabeth

2008.07.09

I got this awesome idea from one of the blogs I regularly stalk. So today, when I was packing up all my fabulous Fiestaware I pulled out my pitcher and headed to the garden for some sunny blooms. It is now stationed on the windowsill to cheer up our now (thankfully) clean kitchen.

~homemaker in training

2008.07.08

I promise these all are exactly how I shot them. No post processing.

Fabulous Weekend...Reality Monday

This picture is from Sunday but I had such a bad day today I can barely get it posted.

Fabulous Weekend...Saturday

I am completely living life to the fullest this holiday weekend and enjoying every minute of it! This morning I had to head out to the air show nearby because I am doing an article on our local airport and needed some cool pictures.

One of my airport contacts managed to get me a ride in this World War II plane!! (Thanks Jim) Would you believe I loved it? Totally stoked about taking Ariel photos!

Me in the mirror. What can I say I love convertibles on the ground, why not in the air. The only time I felt a little shaky was after he did a couple of things like go straight up and then to the side. After we straightened out I was a bit unsure of which way was really up!

After hanging out for a good long time my wonderful Uncle Ron took me for a ride in his plane.

This would be him leaving the fly in after our ride.

And a quick picture of my awesome town from the air.

Later on I went out to eat with Grandma and some other family down in St Joe. It was great and I grabbed some quick pics of my cousin's toddler, they have yet to be uploaded.

~Flying high

Fourth of July

I am in the midst of a fabulous weekend and did not even get home yesterday to post. I left the house at 8am and worked 10 hours at the u-pic. Loved every minute of my time there, considering it is one of my favorite places. Then after supper with Grandma I headed out to the beach for fireworks. I actually braved the crowds, saw friends, and had a great time. My pictures didn't turn out quite like I wanted but I got a few that are okay.

~mustang girl...did I mention my convertible is finally insured? Happiness!

Its My Birthday!

Ok, so I did NOT get all those beautiful dishes for my birthday. Here's the deal: I got 10 place settings of Fiestaware for Christmas a few years back and it has been part of my "hope chest" ever since. (Basically it has been packed away under my bed). But my wise Aunt once told me that it left unused for too long the items in a hope chest turn into a despair barrel! About a month ago I decided that was true and determined for my birthday we would eat on my gorgeous dishes for the first time ever. Now I have to pack them all up again! Ugh.

A cheerful flower I picked yesterday for the kitchen windowsill.

Grandma always makes my totally yummy strawberry birthday cake!

Candles courtesy of my Aunt Cindy. Yep, we pretty much never remember candles and she pretty much always does.

Laughing at me taking pictures of the cake.

Such a fun shot. I love it!

If you want to know how old I am count the compliments on this completely awesome card from by wonderful brother.

~birthday girl