Day Thirty-One: Pure Joy

Olivia and Luke. I'm not sure anything else needs to be said. :)

Day Thirty: Puppy face

I have to admit, I've been a little lazy in my picture taking lately. I just haven't had the gusto to go out and seek pictures; I've been waiting for them to come to me.  Today was certainly an example of this. It was 10:30 p.m. and I still didn't have my picture.  But there she was...laying on the floor, all cute and cuddly.  I couldn't say no!  So, once again, Lucy is the subject of my picture...but I think this one is even cuter than the ones before. 

She still has those puppy dog eyes-- the really droopy ones-- that remind me a lot of this Hanah Barbera cartoon.  I can't decide if i like them...when they come out, she often looks so sad...but so darn cute at the same time.

  Some people say she'll outgrow them...only time will tell. But even if that day comes, I 'll be able to remember her this way forever with this (amongst many other) pictures. :)

Day Twenty-Nine:Twelve Days of Kansas - Kansas Day!

On the 29th day of each month, (and probably on the 28th day in February), I am going to take this same picture.  Why, you ask? Isn't that violating the rules?  Not at all!  I came up with the idea that I want to watch how the seasons change around one particular item.Each month, I'll take a picture of that item from the exact same spot, and at the end of the year, I'll put it all together and see what happens.  Since I work directly across the street, and it's nice to look at, that "item" ended up being the Capitol building. 

I've actually had this idea for a while and have made several attempts at starting it, but I always end up finding something better (such as yesterday and the sunset).  I think providence had a hand in having the 29th day of January be the start because yesterday was the State of Kansas's 148th Birthday. Additionally, it was a beautiful day with blue skies and just a few clouds to give you another interesting piece to look at.   All in all, a nice shot (or so I think). So, Happy Kansas Day and be ready to (continue) to watch the year unfold.

P.S. Pete is doing somewhat the same thing, but it going to do it seasonally, rather than monthly. His subject: South Park (in Lawrence...not the TV show.)

Day Twenty-Eight: Orange Colored Sky

I don't if it's that it hasn't happened before, or that I simply haven't noticed it, but the sky coming home from work has been exquisite lately.  Several times I haven't had my camera with me; other times it has simply been too cold to go out and capture the colors splashed across the sky.  Still yet other times, I'm deterred simply because in past attempts, I have never been able to capture the scene as I desired.

But yesterday, none of those factors came in to play: it was warm (enough), my camera (and all necessary parts) were with me, and I decided to throw my inhibitions to the wind.  My camera soaked up the pink, purple, red, blue, and orange tints that painted the western sky and left me with a variety of pictures to choose from.

I ended up selecting this photo both for it's composition (with the river being framed by the bridge...thanks for the suggestion, Pete!), because of the sunset behind the trees and the colors and trees that are reflected in the river. I really wanted to make this picture sepia because I feel like it captured the "winter" mood better than the color version, but then that would negate the whole sunset thing.  Maybe I'll have to post both versions later and let you decide which is better. :)

Day Twenty-Seven: From the hands of the Potter

More later. I promise to update my files without commentary this weekend. Until this, meet Evie, and her beautiful hands.

Day Twenty-Six: Belief

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

In this day and age where the definition of freedom, hope, justice, and love seem to vary from person to person, and our definitions of what is right and wrong are as different as the day is long,  it often makes me wonder if there will ever be a time-- or ever has been a time-- in which things are more black and white.  Although dissent certainly existed, one time in history where  more definite lines  was during the civil war and the campaign to end slavery.   Minds had changed; people were no longer counted as partial, or 3/5 of a person, and they belonged to no one except themselves and God.   

The Gettysburg Address-- the principles advanced in the infamous speech--  given by President Abraham Lincoln on November 18, 1863-- lasted only two minutes.  But it seemed to capture the essence of where as Americans have come, and where we sought to go.  The sentences and phrases have hence been recited more times than one can conceivably count, and each day, someone draws inspiration from them. Lincoln's words of steel are appropriately memorialized in steel and have been implanted into the wall of Memorial Hall in Topeka and are the subject of today's picture.

With the help of God and open hearts and minds, hopefully someday we can once again see right from wrong, live in a time when the lines are unforgivably apparent, and again work together for something that is bigger than ourselves and more important than any of our individual souls.

Day Twenty-Five: Strings and Chords

Day Twenty-Four: Das Boot

Day Twenty-Three: Pasttimes

Mom.

Lucy.

Ping-pong.

(More later.)

Day Twenty-two: (wo)Man in the Mirror?

This week, the powers that be have not been on my side in capturing great pictures. An abundance of photo opportunities unfolded in front of me today: the Knights of Columbus in their full regalia at the Right to Life mass, the crowd at the right to life mass, the sunset, dogs at the dog park, etc.  I had my camera...but my camera battery was charging on my kitchen counter.  So, come 9:30 p.m., I still didn't have a picture, and had to one again get creative.

Today's picture is of the "Nerd Lady". I think, in some way, it's supposed to be me. :)  Pete made this little creature for me for Christmas.  Now, unless you know the background, that's not really a compliment.  So, I will explain. (WARNING: If you're not in to sappy and sentimental, I suggest you view the picture and check back in tomorrow.) Nerds are both of our favorite candy; since we've been dating, I seem to have at least one box with me at all times.  This usually isn't  a conscious choice; we just buy each other nerds, and they end up being everywhere. :)  Well, several (if not all) of the boxes are boxes we've shared, including one that we "won" together at GameWorks (a Dave & Busters type place) for which Pete had to sweet talk the prize attendant to spot us a couple of tickets.  Since we were short tickets, I'm not sure where he got the tickets for Nerd Lady's feet, but they are also memorabilia from that outing.  The "Alaska" sash is a reference to my Halloween costume from this year---Sarah Palin. And, as you can see, Nerd Lady is holding a camera; I received Nerd Lady shortly after I received my camera. 

This weekend should provide a few more photo opportunities that will hopefully result in great pictures...and I just have to remember to bring my battery along.

Day Twenty-One: Where's Lucy-o?

Okay, I promise, this is the last day (for now) that I will use Lucy as my picture of the day. But she's just so cute and fun and is the newest exciting thing in my life. (Plus, it was 10:15 p.m. before I took my picture and I was running out of options.)  Although this picture doesn't show it quite as clearly as another one I took, I think it's fun how she blends in with the floor....it's like playing "Where's Waldo?" with a large dog. Okay, almost like that....

Day Twenty: Lucy Applebee

Meet Lucy Applebee. She's the adorable 5 month old golden retreiver/ yellow lab puppy that joined my family tonight.    I've always been a dog lover (except that one that took a chunk out of my calf in 1993), and have been telling myself I'd get a dog ever since I graduated law school.  But the bar exam, then the new job got in the way and here it is January and I am (was) still dog-less.  Last week, opportunity struck when a lady at Pete's school sent out a notice for a free puppy.   Sunny (Lucy's name until today) was this family's second dog and one dog more than they wanted.  After an e-mail titled "temptation" entered my inbox, I was done for.

Pete picked her up for me this afternoon and we got to play all evening (the three of us).  She's still a puppy and was somewhat an outdoor dog, so we have some training to do, but all in all, she's great. She's a quick study-- she leaned how to sit and "come" here tonight, only peed on the floor once (and waited to go outside after I yelled at her for the incident), and inherently knew how to fetch.  For a 5 month old lab retriever puppy, she's not very hyper and is all around just perfect.

I MUST be off to bed, but if you want to see more pictures of Lucy Applebee's first day with Pete and me, here is a link to a Picassa album.  And if you're not intrigued by the dog, there MIGHT be some pictures of some "as seen on TV" items and, in particular, THE item of the season.

Commentary

Hey everyone-

Here are the pictures I took over the weekend. I'll write more commentary later, but I wanted to get them up so you can start looking at them now!  Have a great day!

Day Nineteen: AARRRRRRHHHHHHH!!!

Day Eighteen: Rosy Cheeks

Day Seventeen: Song for a Winter's eve

Day Sixteen: Daring Daylight Escape

Road trip!  This weekend: to Minnesota and Wisconsin (with short detours in Ankeny and Albert Lea) to visit Pete's family.

One site along the way: the Kansas City Marriott where we caught both the time and the temperature:

I'm exhausted, and we're getting up early to finish the first part of our journey.   Thus, I am going to bid you adieu!  Good night!

Day Fifteen: Kid in a Candy Store

One of the bright spots in Topeka (if that's not an inherent contradiction in itself) is the Hazel Hill Chocolate Shop.  It's conveniently located downtown and although it's bright clean windows and perfectly manicured sugar blocks have lured me in several times, I have yet to actually enjoy a piece of Hazel Hill candy.  Yesterday, it lured me in again (and almost got me to purchase something).  But while I was deciding what to ge

t, I was distracted by this adorable little boy who was lucky enough to get a sweet treat.  Although this picture isn't REALLY sharp, I love it. It portrays his excitement, and they

 way he buttered up to the camera just perfectly.  We can all relate to this excitement. Whether it was about getting a chocolate covered Oreo or a new bike or petting a dog, we all remember the pure bliss that came in anticipation of, in receiving, and experiencing such joys.  As an adult, they don't seem to come nearly as often, but getting to observe moment like this hopefully take us back every once in a while. If the other pictures of the Hazel Hill's delectable goodies don't take me in now, I'm sure that they will sometime in the very near future.

Two other notes: 1) I'm getting a puppy!  She is a 5 month old Lab-Retriever mix who is currently named Sunny.  I'm looking to change her name before she joins my family on Tuesday, so I'm open to hearing suggestions!  Be warned, you'll probably be getting a LOT of pictures of her in the future.

2) I'm headed out of town this weekend to visit Pete's family. I don't know what my internet accessibility will be, so I can't promsie updates by noon each day. I will do my best when it's possible, but otherwise, look for a copious amount of updates on Tuesday (since it's a long weekend and we won't be back until Monday.)

(I'm having major formatting difficulties...thanks for bearing with me. :))

Day Fourteen: A penny saved is a penny earned

Right now, it is one degree outside. One degree Fahrenheit...not Celsius.  The wind chill makes it feel like -14 degrees.  Needless to say, it is COLD.  The bone chilling temperatures not only freeze my nose, but freeze any desire I have to go outside, or take pictures out there.  For those of  you who don't know, I am always cold.   I will sleep in flannel pants, a sweatshirt, use three blankets and I will still be cold. In my office, a space heater is always on.  Even during the middle of the summer, you'll find me in a sweatshirt some evenings.  I am always cold. Thus, the sub-zero windchill causes me to avoid the outdoors at all costs.

What the heck does that have to do with my picture of the day, you ask?  Not going outside--whether to venture out to go shopping or simply to a friend's house-- significantly limits my photo taking opportunities.  I stay at my house (or hang out at Pete's) as much as possible to reduce my exposure to the winter elements.  Some days it is possible to find great pictures of things "happening" inside. Other days it is nearly impossible; the creative juices are 100% inhibited by the lack of fresh oxygen. 

Yesterday, however, I apparently had enough of the gas to help me find something moderately creative.  Pete has the jug of pennies in his kitchen. As I'm writing this, I realize I forgot to ask why he has these pennies or what the story behind the jug is. (Pete, care to comment an fill us all in?)  As we (Pete was) were making dinner, I took the jar, dumped a few out, turned it on its side, and VOILA!

Come next Wednesday, it's suppose to be 53 degrees (Gotta love the ever fluctuating temperatures in the midwest).  Hopefully I'll get outside and the creative juices will once again flow free.

Day Thirteen: Nothing Else Like It

I've always enjoyed sports--playing them, watching them, making up wacky variations in rules, and, analyzing team's (to a certain extent) strategies.  I'm not a girl who can sit down and watch the 400 hundred hours of Sportscenter shown every day, but I know enough about the games and the players to hold a decent conversation.  My interest in basketball has sparked over the past couple years.  The combination of coming to a school that is one of the winning-est teams in college basketball history where they inventor of basketball coached combined with my brother's growing talent has elevated me to a level just short of basketball fanatic.

As every school does, KU has some substantial rivalries.  The biggest game of the season is always against Missouri.  The angst between the schools stems back to the Civil War when Missouri was a slave state and Kansas a free state.  The "free state" sentiment still lingers around Kansas activities, as is evidenced by both the name of a high school in Lawrence and an uber popular  downtown restaurant.  Kansas's other rivalry, although it's more of a rivalry for them than us, is with Kansas State.  The K-State game is the second biggest game of the year, and one which certainly causes us to hang our heads low should we lose. (It happened last year...one of the National Championship team's few losses.) 

Every year there are two of these KU v. K-State games during basketball season, and the first took place last night. Pete's friend Joe has the hook-up with tickets and invited us to attend the game.  As always, the atmosphere in the fieldhouse was electric.  It was the first game of the Big 12 season, the first game back from Christmas break for many students, and a chance to win big over a rival after a disappointing loss at Michigan State last weekend.  Needless to say, the crowd was excited. The cheers emitted at the fieldhouse are unlike any other;  it's not unusual to hear screams and whistles that sound like we've just won the national championship, despite the basket putting us up by 20 over a no-name team.  The aforementioned contributing factors forced the decible meter into the red last night resulting in yet another fantastic Allen Fieldhouse experience.  Fortunately the excitement resulted in a win over K-State, and despite KU going on an 18-0 run to start the game, and winning by 16 points, it was actually a pretty interesting game.

I could go on and on and on about how much I love everything about KU basketball, but you're probably getting bored and I have over things to do,m so I'll talk about my photo of the day. :)  Today's shot is obviously a shot of the fieldhouse after all the excitement has dwindled. I love it because I feel it captures the history of the fieldhouse, while making it clear that KU is a team of the modern era.  The colors are deep and rich and warm, and the spilled popcorn makes tells us a good time was had by all.

I used Pete's camera-- and telephoto lens-- to get nearly all of these pictures, and I got a BUNCH of good ones...including some action shots.  Here is a link to a whole album of other basketball pictures. I'll try and post a few of my favorites on here later.   Pete took a stellar picture at the game for his shot yesterday as well. Check it out on his blog.

My final comment (for you, Ted-o): Aldrich played beastly. :)

Day Twelve: Tingles on the Taste buds

It seems that through every stressful period in life, people find a comfort food. For me, it's often sugar-- eating the first stages of the chocolate chip cookie dough or making some other divine baked good for others.  During the bar exam prep period, however, my taste buds turned to something a bit tangier, and thankfully for my waist line, something that was also much healthier: Mango and Blackbean Salsa.  Both of my former roommates can attest that there were few days in June and July 2008 that a bowl of the salsa wasn't found in our fridge, and if there wasn't a bowl, it was likely that I had just finished a batch and didn't have time to make more just yet.

Since the bar, however, I've neglected my friend, the Mango Blackbean Salsa, having become wrapped up in work, and friends, and family, and just life in general.  On Sunday, Pete and I were at the grocery store when I saw a mango and suddenly remebered my summer love affair.  Depsite the numerous times I made the tasty treat, its absence in my life caused me to forget the ingredients. So I promptly caused my all-too-internet savy 11 year old brother, had him look up the ingredients and we were on our way.  Our plan to make it on Sunday, however, was slighty debunked by taking down my Christmas tree and decorations, and the night drawing nigh much more quickly than anticipated.

But last night, after much anticipation and build-up, we made the salsa.  The smell of the cilanrto enlivened my senses, almost negating the onions that brought tears to my eyes. (Okay, Pete really chopped the onions, but it was so poetic, I had to go with it.) Adding the seasoning and the lime juice brought the project nearly to completion...all that was left to do was wait for it to chill.  Finally, at around midnight, I had my first taste of mango blackbean salsa in approximately 5 months...and it was nothing less than perfect.

If colors could replicate tastes, I say this shot captures the essence of the salsa pretty well.  I hope it makes your mouth water almost as much as mine did while writing this entry. For those of you who wish to try this piece of heaven, here is a link to the recipie.  Taste it. Try it. Die happy. :)

Day Eleven: Shades

Today came close to a day like Wednesday...a day where i just could not find a picture to take, or liked.  At 10:00 p.m., I was jumping in frustration around my living room trying to figure out what to do.  Finally, I spotted this lamp shade that Pete was taking home to fix for me.  My mom and my sister "made" this lamp for me during a very difficult juncture in my life. Although I don't currently use it, it's pretty special to me and I'm excited to have this picture of it. There isn't a whole lot more to say about this shot, except that even in my last minute desperation, something turned out.  I'll have to keep that positive thought in mind the next time one of these seemingly picture-less days shows up.  

Please excuse my lack of commentary on this post...it's late and I should already be in bed.  I'll try and review it again tomorrow. Until then...

Day Ten: Hey Baby!

I would really love to take more pictures of people.  The people in our lives are the most important things in the world, and as I develop as a photographer, I want to learn to capture people in the moment.  But that's often hard because of poor lighting in many locations, and when the people aren't necessarily excited about getting their picture taken.  I was, however, able to get a good shot of an adorable baby today. This is Emily, and I caught her in a moment where she was quite annoyed by the flash of my camera.  Emily is the daughter of one of Pete's good friends, and  I met her on Saturday afternoon.  This picture doesn't quite capture Emily's spirit (see the other two of her), but it's just so cute and funny that it had to be my picture of the day.

Farley (Pete's dog) came with us to play with Emily and Emily LOVES Farley.  She would watch him wander around the room and laugh and laugh and laugh; her parents said they've never seen her laugh that way...stimulated by something she's watching. And she has this incredibly cute gut laugh that are reminiscent of the "laughing baby" videos on YouTube.  Her laugh put all of us in a go

od mood.  Here she is spending a moment with Farley in a picture I feel more fully captures "her" (or what I know of her in the hour I spent with her. :)).    I hope to visit Emily again and watch her love for dogs flourish.

Day Nine: (Title to be determined)

Today is one of those days where I have  a million things to do and not nearly enough time to do them.  I would like to write a lot about this picture, but I simply don't have time to do so right now.   I also want to stick with my promise of posting the day's picture by noon, so here you go! Check back later...there will probably be a runner up picture and commentary tomorrow.  Until then, enjoy this Lawrence classic.

Day Eight: Stairway to....the fourth floor

Compared to Wednesday, today seemed to bring an abundance of picture opportunities. The picture above is my favorite. I work in a building that is relatively old, and used to be the State of Kansas's Historical Museum. Because of that, there is a lot of delightful architecture and embellishments; craftsmanship, skill and time not often put into modern architecture are abundant. Unfortunately, much of what I assume was the building's "glory" has been minimized by the addition of walls and structures that allow for offices, and budget cuts that prohibit the spending of funds on things like polishing railings. But, the railings of the stairs, and the stairs themselves for that matter, have survived the transition to modern day office space, and they are the subject of my photo today.

I love the different "parts" of this photo: the sunlight leaking through the window highlighting the upper part of the railing, the shadow the sunlight creates on the elevator door behind the railing, the part of the rail where no sunlight hits which allows you to see the intricacy of the iron. Mmm...I could soak this one in for a while. :) Pete suggested taking this again some time with a wide angle lens. I'm not sure how all of the lenses work quite yet, but I may just have to try it.

I have to admit that I've manipulated the photo a bit; the posts probably haven't been polished in at least 10 years, and the colors aren't nearly as vibrant in real life. But that is the glory of the digital photo process. While changing the brightness and saturation levels, I had a feeling that have to imagine is somewhat reminiscent of what James Cameron felt when he was laying the shots of the "new" Titanic over the shots of the underwater sunken Titanic...everything just magically comes to life.

The other pictures are also quite tasty, but I didn't find as much about them that I liked. The one of the capitol was taken from an office inside my building. Some of the other pictures I took at that time made the capitol seem like a painting through the window...the sky was just so blue (and that's not manipulated), and the clouds so poofy and white that they were surreal. It's nice to have a reminder every once in a while that paintings and drawings aren't always how we wish things may be...the world really is that beautiful. The soup can has obviously been manipulated with some of the fun filters in photoshop. My thought was to try and re-create the iconic Andy Warhol piece, but this is what I came up with instead...and I'm pretty statisfied.

Happy Friday, everyone! Thanks again for your comments and checking up on me!

Day Seven: Roadblocks

Well, one week of the 52 week adventure is complete. The first six days went rather swimmingly; I always ended up with a(t least one) shot that I really liked and was more than excited to post it. But, as life goes, there are always little bumps along the way, and I hit my first one in this project yesterday. I brought my camera to work because I noticed a spectacular shot opportunity for several consecutive days, and wanted to seize it. That shot, however, requires the sun, and requires the sun at a certain time of day. Unfortunately, when that time of day rolled around yesterday, the Kansas winter sky was covered in a blanket of clouds that precluded me from getting my desired picture. I wondered around the area for a little bit, hoping to find something else delicious I could sink my photo hungry teeth into, but my hunger was not satisfied. While I took some "okay" shots, nothing really jumped out at me, and I found myself sinking into my usual rack focus shot.

With that little hiccup, I was on the lookout for another opportunity to capture the day. Last night I started studying for the Iowa bar. For those of you not familiar with the process, admission into one state's bar (not go in and get a drink type bar, but the legal bar) admits you into that state's bar only; typically, you must take and pass each state's exam before you may practice in that jurisdiction. The bar exam, and the preparation, are as close to hell as I have ever come. (If you would like to journey back in time and "experience" that anguish first hand, click on nearly any of the entries from June or July 2008, located in my archived entries.) Since I have little siblings, I'm taking the Iowa bar as a precautionary measure so that I may move back to Iowa on a moment's notice if, God-forbid, something should happen to my parents.

How does this relate to my picture taking quest, you ask? One of my two favorite coffee shops in town is Signs of Life down on Mass(achusetts) St. It's a nice clean place that is usually is pretty quiet. Often you see people you know, which provides a nice break. Lastly, it's connected to a Christian bookstore, and usually employs people who are strong in their faith, which is a nice underlying presence. The "usually pretty quiet" however, is not the case on Wednesday nights when the Lawrence Folk Band Jam Society (or some name like that) gets together. They play lots of different songs and usually provide some very nice background music for studying. I took a variety of pictures of the group last night, but this one seemed to work the best. The colors are warm (albeit a little bright), the lights create a nice patter, there is a lot--but not too much--going on, and I think it captures one of the great things about Lawrence-- the good hearted people. It's not a photographic masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but in writing this entry, I realize it's looking for the little things, such as a quartet of guitars in a small-town kansas coffee shop, that makes life sweet and reminds us that God is good. The leader of the band asked me to e-mail her some of the pictures, so if you'd like to see the others, I'll post a link when I upload those to a photo sharing site.

Those of you who know me know I can be extremly long winded. In an effort not to bore you any longer, I'll finish up in a sentence or two. THANK YOU to everyone who is leaving comments. I LOVE to hear what you think and your encouraging words! Please continue to do so, and if you haven't left a comment yet...START! :) Second, I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but Pete is also taking 365 days worth of pictures. A link to his blog is on the left and is called "One Click, One Pic a Day." I know some of you have already found your way there, but I wanted to tell everyone. He has a little more picture taking expereince, has a fresh perspective on some seemingly ordinary things, and is much more eloquent and entertaining in his writing than I. Finally, feel free to share this blog with anyone and everyone you think may enjoy random thoughts and pictures from a fun loving, big hearted, pretty ridiculous midwestern girl.

Day Six: Underrated

Whenever I go to baseball games, I always cheer for the mustard in the ketchup, mustard relish race.  I think mustard is an underrated condiment.  It's tangy, yet not over-powering.  It add just the right amount of "umph" to a hot dog or sandwich to take it from mediocre to memorable.  Yet, not everyone thinks so highly of my friend mustard. Lots of people, including myself, enjoy mustard's brothers: honey mustard, dijon mustard, etc.  But they don't always appreciate the original-- accept no substitutes.

For several Tuesdays since Pete and I started dating, I've been able to join he and his friends for their weekly burger night.  I'm not sure how long burger night has been going on--possibly years--but it's one night a week (most weeks...sometimes its just not possible) that they stop what they're doing and get together.  Every week they have the same waitress, who has 

subsequently become their friend. I brought my camera

 to burger night tonight to see if anything would pop up as my picture for the day.  After the meal had concluded and while the KU game was still on, I broke out my camera and just started playing.  This is what I ended up with. I suppose the title to this entry could really be "An Ode to Mustard", but I think "underrated" expresses more of what I feel about, well, mustard. The picture to the left is the picture I thought was going to be my selection today as we were leaving the restaurant, but in reviewing the pictures, the solo mustard bottle won out.  

I could philosophize more about mustard's greatness and how people just don't give it enough of a chance, but that's another story for another day.  Rather, the next time you are at a restaurant and the mustard bottle is standing there right next to the dominant ketchup, I encourage you to take a risk and try a dollop on your food.  Don't forget, if the faith of a mustard seed can move mountains, imagine what faith the size of a bottle can do.  Savoring the yellow deliciousness is just a start. :)

Day Five: So close, but so far

Scrabble has recently become one of my favorite games. It started with playing the facebook version last spring and has evolved to laying as many tiles as possible. Unfortunately, I have yet to be victorious in a game of actual scrabble; I often pull ahead by taking calculated risks that always seem to end up falling on the wrong side of my calculation. Last night, I played the word "walker", scoring 30 some points, but leaving the "w" to be the fourth letter of a triple word score. Normally, I would not have made this move, but it was near the end of the game and there aren't THAT many words that the fourth letter is "w". Much to my chagrin, Pete had the letters "V" "I" and "E", played them to earn about 30 points and once again take the lead, quashing my dreams of Scrabble victory for about the 7th or 8th time.

This is the first picture where I've used the flash. Normally I don't like to use the flash...it creates a sort of "un-natural" look about photos (I'm talking more artsy photos like these, not necssarily snapshots of people. The flash definitely has it's place...I just dont' like to use it a lot), but this one turned out pretty all right. It may be clear by now on the fifth day (or at least clear to me becuase I see ALL the pictures I take, and not just the ones that I post) that this sort of rack focus shot-- where either the foreground is clear and the background fuzzy, or vice versa -- is one of my favorite shots. Two thoughts immediately emerge from that statement: 1) you'll probably see that sort of shot a lot, and 2) I need to push myself to see things beyond the "rack focus world." So while some shots may not be as pretty as a rack focus shot, I'm going to use them to try and expand my abilities as a photographer.

Have a great day!

Day Four: Signed, Sealed, Delivered....

Last year while studying in England, I took a weekend trip to see Kristen Cunningham in Leicester.  Leicester is a small(er) town, north of London where she was studying.  Leicester is also not too far from the town of Nottingham...the famed town from the Robin Hood tales.  The weekend I visited happened to be the weekend of the Official Robin Hood Festival at Nottingham Castle, so Kristen and I ventured over to check it out. (Here's a link to my blog entry from that weekend if you want more info on the event.  Links to the pictures from the festival are on the left hand side, or just clicking here. :) ) I purchased one of my favorite souvenirs of my time abroad at this event: a wax seal.  Kristen also purchased one, and I have to admit, we spent a fair amount of time that evening/ next day simply using our seals. 

Tonight, I was getting to send out a few cards and used the seal to secure the backs of the envelopes and came upon these pictures. There isn't really a whole lot to say beyond that except that I really like them. :)

Day Three: A common (?) problem

Yesterday, Pete and I took Farley (his dog) to the dog park. While we were out there, we also spent some time taking pictures. He got some really neat pictures of a little-bitty "waterfall", but I wasn't quite happy with really anything that came out of my camera. Except for this one. Pete loves his dog, and I just think this is an adorable picture of the two of them. I also love the camera angle.

But, I didn't really start to enjoy this picture until I looked at them on the computer. Because of that, I left the dog park a little frustrated and still looking for the day's perfect shot. As we were driving home, we passed the Corner Bank (Literally, the name of the bank is "Corner Bank") which had this neat statute with a light on it that projected and even cooler shadow. That is what is below. The statute turns on that little platform, so the picture isn't quite clear, but it certainly will do. (I accidentally held the shutter button down and got about 10 of these pictures. When you view them really quickly,
you can see the statute turning....pretty neat!)

Anyway, my "common problem" is that I have TWO pictures I really like and can't decide which one should actually be the picture of the day. I like the one of Pete and Farley because it tells more about my life and the people and places are in it. But I really like the way the statute picture is composed, and I love the way the shadow dances on the building wall.

So, I'm making BOTH pictures my picture of the day for January 3. I know this is kind of breaking my rule, but I figure OVER committing it probably okay.

Day Two: Christmastide

This year, I finally had a chance to put up all of my Christmas decorations. For those of you who don't know, I have a minor Christmas obsession, have LOTS of decorations. As such, this is a big deal. A nativity scene is central to the whole Christmas decoration scene, and this year it came together better than I could have ever imagined. With Pete's help, Jennifer and I ended up with the gorgeous arrangement you see here. I particularly love the Willow Tree set because of it's simplicity: there are areas of the faith that are so incredibly complex and hard to understand. But underneath it all, it's about one thing: Love. Love of a Father for His children, both of this world and the world above, and the love of a Mother, who sacrificed her life, trusting and believing in something greater. I think that's why we all love Christmas...it's so easy to feel Christ's love this time of year.

Although it seems it's been light years from Christmas 2008, and even longer from Christmas 2009, it's actually still the Christmas season in the Catholic church (until January 6th!). So, I offer this picture as a reminder of the joy that Christmas brings to all of us and to live it out for the next couple days. I ended up choosing this picture over the Nativity pictures because of the angle...and angle at which you don't normally view see a nativity scene. Plus, I had to practically stand on top of my kitchen table to get the shot, so I HAD to use it.... :)

As for the other shots I took for today.... I noticed that sock on the pillow on my bedroom floor and thought it was really interesting in how it landed completely flat like you see in the picture. I did end up moving the pillow to get a little better light and angle, but I didn't touch the sock. In the end, with the way the nativity pictures turned out, I couldn't justify choosing the sock. As for the other nativity pictures... I just really like them. I think they all speak to some aspect of Christmas, but each in their individual way.


A couple of comments and answers to questions about this project:
1) I've been meaning to clarify on the "noon" deadline I've set for posting pictures. What I meant is by noon the following day. It's not practical for me to get a picture taken and posted before noon, especially on week days when I have to work.

2) I've received several inquiries about the kind of camera I received: it's a Canon EOS 20D. So far, the Canon EOS 20D = love.

3) Here is the address to my flick feed: http://www.flickr.com/photos/33864043@N03/

4) Pete has taken up Project 365, also. Check out his blog at: http://oneclickonepic.blogspot.com/

5) Thanks for tuning in thus far!