Booooooo

It's pouring.... (This is the pumpkin I carved. My kids are out in this rain...) I'd better go make hot chocolate and doctor appointments!
Carly(via Blackberry)

Ugh

Here we go again... My least favorite day of the year. Anytime now the carloads of kids will start appearing in my 'hood. We have mostly retired people and apparently It's A Great Place To Trick Or Treat. Eff that. I'm considering a per-car charge. I will go through no less than 500 pieces of candy today.

I'm going to have to try to carve the pumkin this morning, as I've been sick all week. But now I can't really decide WHAT to carve...

(Sadly, there will be no wine to console me as I answer the door again and again and again. Does not mix well with cold meds... Although I did seriously consider letting them all wear off, not taking any all day and seeing if I'd survive until dinnertime and still be able to ...breathe...)

Is it November yet????
Carly(via Blackberry)

Kelby-nated

A week or two ago I came across news that Scott Kelby was going to be doing a seminar in Boston. If you don't know him, let me sum it up this way: he is Photoshop Guru, if Guru stands for Geek Ruler of the Universe. Here's the very official description of the classes:

Kelby Training LIVE has just announced Scott Kelby’s Photoshop for Digital Photographers one-day seminar tour. It includes five classes, covering editing images in Adobe Camera Raw, portrait retouching techniques, shooting and creating HDR images, printing techniques that will help you get what you see on screen, as well as Scott’s very own step-by-step Photoshop editing workflow from start to finish.

I have his 7 points book, which covers the Raw editing he went over in this seminar in detail, and it's great. I texted my photography buddy APB that we needed to somehow convince our spouses that we should be granted parole to cross state lines for a day trip. (Yes, I got up at five, met A. at 6, and we drove to Bean town, attended the classes, and then drove home. Lonnnnnng day.)

I was a little bit annoyed with Scott, because of one phrase in his blog that I had an issue with, when he weighed in about Kelly Clarkson's photoshopped Shape magazine cover ("her battle with weight"... my comment over there, that THAT'S THE POINT THAT EVERYONE'S UPSET ABOUT, THEY MADE HER LOOK 25 LBS THINNER, ON A MAGAZINE WITH A HEADLINE ABOUT LOVING YOURSELF, MAYBE SHE'S ACTUALLY HAPPY THE WAY SHE IS.... brought me the first troll I've had in a while... ) - but I forgive him now, because he's so effing funny. There, I bet he can finally sleep nights.

And I have to tell you, the TomTom (a GPS navigating device, for my two British readers... hi guys!!!) rules Boston. Every intersection that I needed to turn at seemed to have 6 choices for which way I could go, and we made it to the convention center only about 20 minutes past my target, which left us plenty of time to check in, check out vendors, enter raffles we wouldn't win... and see ALL of the presentations.

Here's the thing. We owe an apology to the guy we sat next to. Because we laughed quietly but hysterically through a good portion of the classes. There were SO MANY "That's What She Said" setups during those presentations, we just couldn't believe he didn't know what he was saying. (The whole "ooooh, fingers!" bit for example.... ok, maybe you had to be there but when you're in that frame of mind, it's pretty easy to spot TWSS opportunites. ) The guy is VERY funny. I'm too tired to really do an adequate review and describe how entertaining it was to watch him tweak pictures, but he was hilarious. ("Too sezzy, too sezzy....." as he was moving the edge of a shirt over to be more modest... just little stuff like that made us want to bug his office. )

I definitely recommend the seminar ($99) to anyone who can get there - he's going around to various sites in the country (Philly and Tampa) in upcoming weeks. I learned a great deal... I came home and since I was wide awake from caffeine-ated driving, I started playing around in Lightroom 3 Beta and put some of what he taught us to good use (LR is similar to the Bridge component which he was using in the class to edit RAW format photographs). I'll definitely be using some of the portrait retouching techniques. Just not on pictures of Kelly Clarkson.

Unfortunately, when you put 400 people in a room all day, what do you get? I've got it! A cold.

I've got it.

Sunday Art

IMG_2273
Originally uploaded by carlyq80

A while back (at least a year ago?) I used to post a photo of something I'd done, every Sunday.

Today I was out on what ended up being a rather pointless trip (to a "home show" in Clifton park that was about 20 vendors) and on the way home I wandered around Waterford Rural Cemetery for a while.

You can see other photos on my Flickr feed.

Print it for your daughter

This:

http://www.rachelfitzwater.com/?p=258

was written by a friend of a .... whatever, I know her, and she IS that awesome. It's great stuff. I've saved it for a couple of weeks and just printed it out for my own daughter... she loved it and made me print it for her locker or something. Bingo!

Pass it along to your daughters and neices.... tell rf that Carly sent you. Mwahhhh!

Take a hike

Took a walk today around Peebles Island; beautiful foliage and sunshine on the rivers. I will be putting more photos on my flickr feed (probably tomorrow).

If only I didn't *have* to get a job... I would be quite happy not to! Except for that whole mortgage thing.
Carly(via Blackberry)

Off my Crocker

Today I needed to distract myself from something. And my mom's birthday is tomorrow, as well as a friend of ours at church, and Stanley and APB always likes fudge. So I made the following:

• two batches of brownies
• one batch butterscotch fudge
• one batch of chocolate fudge
• two batches of Margarita fudge (I put 1 oz of tequila in each batch this time and OH MY, that is why I made two batches)
• little pillsbury no-bake mini pumpkin "pies" with graham cracker crust, in individual muffin foils, to bring to my mother's tomorrow
• one batch of my favorite christmas cookie dough... it's flour, shuuugar, butter and walnuts and the dough gets chilled overnight. No eggs. We all sneak into the fridge repeatedly to eat chunks of the dough. If any of it lasts until the next day, I bake little tiny balls out of it and roll them in sugar. Yummmmmy.

So, in conclusion... the art corner... not so much done, perhaps half finished... but I ran for 45 minutes on the treadmill

Help!

You know how, in order to reorganize stuff you have to take everything out and rearrange it, but in the middle of the project you notice that it's a big discouraging mess and you really just want a glass of wine?

I'm in the middle.
Carly(via Blackberry)

Say hello to my leeeetle friend

My father used to hide a mouse something like this around the house from time to time.

My mother would open a drawer, gasp, and then say "dammit, Harold", and we'd all snicker.

I wonder if Bette and Stanley will like it at choir tonight. He is just the type to use a prank like this, over and over. Gotta love Target - four for a dollar.

(Don't look now Poly, but I just might enjoy Halloween this year. The solution involves WINE, I'm fairly sure...)

Carly(via Blackberry)

This

...Just about sums up the day I am having...
Carly(via Blackberry)

Beads

So a month ago I started working on this necklace but didn't like the first version.

The bits and pieces have been sitting on my art desk ever since. After a week or two I came up with twisting together strands of wires with different sections. Then more time passed by while I figured out about how much chain to use and where.

Tonight I finally finished it. I fought with it for about two hours and then when the Yankees got their act together and the other people in my house stopped yelling at the tv, it finally all came together. This is as close as I can get to capturing the greens; they are actually a little tiny bit brighter. And can I tell you how many times I had to try to string that stupid dangling bead on the 'tail' ? I can not do a decent wrapped wire loop. Grrrrr.

It's got a lot going on but as it will be the only jewelry with a (cough cough BORING cough cough) navy suit and cream blouse I think it will be OK.

Choppers

So, this is how I spent my lunchtime yesterday, patiently waiting for these to be yanked out of my child's jaw. Blahhhhh. I had to look at them, so you do too. Mwahhh. And just for the record I did try to wash the blood off.

Smashing

So, I have still been fighting with this sinus infection. Mornings are tough.

Today I was on the couch trying to watch FlashForward on my dvr and I kept dozing off so it took about two hours to get all the scenes. When did I turn into a 90 year old lady?

I went to walk into the other part of my house and there over the kitchen doorway was a GIANT effing dark brown spider. I think if he hadn't been on my lovely white ceiling moulding I might not have noticed him QUITE as quickly, but... This guy could probably spin a web big enough to trap one of those annoying yappy taco bell dogs.

I'd post a photo (because yes I took a picture) but blogger doesn't want to accommodate me this evening.

I didn't want to walk under him, because hewilljumpinmyhair, dammit. So I looked in the garage for spray, but we are all about yellowjackets and not so much with spiders. Plus I didn't want to spray chemicals on my lovely tan walls and possibly wreck them.

I thought about throwing a baseball to crush him but 1) I suck and would never hit him. 2) bouncing? In my kitchen? Near my lovely ceiling light w three globes? Again, not so much for a plan.

Plan C was to climb on a chair and whack the hell out of it and pray he wouldn't fall (or jumponme, ohmygod) or scurry away somewhere only to return to build a web on my face while I sleep.

So I decided to use TWO chairs near each other. I would climb on one, step with ONE foot onto the second, and be able to retreat without jumping down to the floor and killing myself.

I rolled about 20 sheets of newspaper into a MAJOR club. Hemmed, hawwed, and finally thought, "oh crap, I have to do this."

It went pretty well except when I whacked him. I heard myself say "Mohhhhhhm!" as sort of an audible cringe, as I connected with the club and he dropped to the floor. On floor, not in my hair - check. Not moving - check. Me not falling off chairs - check.

I swear to god the word MOM had not been out of my mouth for ten seconds and my phone rang.

It was my mother.

I would NOT lie to you, internets.

Carly(via Blackberry)

Favorite new Funny

Little things entertain me ... stubby arms, waaaay too long fingers...

http://photoshopdisasters.blogspot.com/

Today's project

Brought to you by annoying offspring who don't do their chores and a Mom who left their father to deal with their nonsense.

One trip to starbucks and michael's later, this is what I ended up with. The flowers were a total of $7.49.

The giraffes belonged to my Aunt Helena; she traveled all over the globe and I'm pretty sure they were all made in Africa since one has an ancient sticker on the back saying "hand carved in Kenya" and that it was purchased for $6.75.
Such a deal.

Carly(via Blackberry)

Bones

Really? Am I the only one who thinks these are strange?

Carly(via Blackberry)

Thought for the day

Courage does not always roar

Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day, saying

"I will try again tomorrow"

-Mary Anne Radmacher

Have I ever mentioned

....how much I love, LOVE tomatoes and basil? No fresh mozzarella tonight, how sad. However I did make some italian herb bread....

Carly(via Blackberry)

Frasier's got a new girl

There is an all white crane on the pond at the park now; I had noticed the different neck mixed in with all of the ducks the last time I drove by.

I'm wondering this is the "Mrs" of the Blue Heron I photographed this summer. In my vast knowledge... I conclude yes, it is... and that I need a real camera.

Carly(via Blackberry)

Summer is here

....And it's October....

I have been sick most of the past week. Finally I'm feeling better.

Carly(via Blackberry)