more senior portraits outtakes and proofs

It doesn't take long for SSD2 to be fed up with me trying to get him to " relax" and look at the camera, he was good after the first 5 shots and I took almost 90 total to find a few good ones!!

See those forhead wrinkles, we call that the begining of being very unhappy camper.

I just had to shoot through lots of eye and head movment hoping for a couple opf good shots - LOL

same photo- different backgrounds ~

More about the parade

This is the Grand Master of the school, master Seo

The Karate group - speacial weapons demo team in the black tops and regualr students in the red tops

This was the Arvada Harvest festival parade ( one of the longest in existance accross the state) - they do this every fall, Hh was required to participate as part of the Karate school and I will post some photos of their grouip here too. you can not see her as she was across the street and holding on to a huge American flag as part of thier display. They got the " largest float award" for the sheer size of the flag- it took about 70 people to carry it the parade route.

We love us a parade

This guy loves a parade - he especially loves it in person !

It's my High school ! all the way from Colorado Springs- Harrison high school marching band and flags

The begining of a long 100 + parade and bands, floats and stuff! - this was Saturday

Hh needed to try out the props for senior photos

Interesting with the green screen we can put her in front of any background! she is cute and was very helpful with the portrait sitting with her Step bro

we are both fighting off a " cold" with runny stuffy nose and cough, I also have a bit of fever. Off to bed early tonight.

Walmart made me sign a copyright -

SSD2- is a senior and I took photos and S photo shoped them, with cool backgrounds, when we went to walkmart to make proofs to give to EX-TC, walmart wanted to know that I had the copyright to these " professional photos " this cracked me up.

S dezitted him, and arranged his coat I took 90 photos on a " green screen" to be able to find one or two with good color and expression! Here is the end, we were done at this point and not too happy!
This on the other hand is PURE SSD2 - a crack up he is very interested in telling knock knock jokes at the moment, he has quite a few he knows and can remember all the punch lines. Love this kid an can't get over his seniorness!

National Payroll week!

National Payroll Week to raise awareness of payroll-related benefits September 7 - 11

Tomorrow we are having a potluck for our Payroll people ( the other side of my working team) benefits is hosting it and payroll is coming. We are going to bring a couple of grills and BBQ burgers and things - all other dishes are coming with a " green " theme - I am bringing brownies with really green mint icing!

I think I will try to take my camera so we can see other Green foods- what fun

stay tuned for potluck food fun !

Health care and me...

My adult life has had a long association with Health Benefits. When I worked at the USGS - I " did " benefits, now for the University of Colorado, I " do " benefits. I am not yet sure how I feel about the OBAMA benefits for health care plans?? I don't know if I undersatnd enough to explain any of the " programs" or even what we heard in his speech tonight. My politics and world views are some times a little different thatn others, as I have been exposed to a few other systems in other countries as a child and young adult. Since Mom is french we talk about the socialized medicine there too.

I will get back to you on this topic as I can learn more and explain better after I try to get it myself.

no nifty title- just stuff

I have had my plate full to the top these last few months. Mom has had a health crisis and I am not certain we are past it completely. She has been her typical self in that she has kept it away from us, this in my mind is not helpful. I would rather know and understand the issues and solutions and seek help from others, it is helpful to me to learn about the outcomes good and bad. it is helpful to look at other peoples experiences and see how they have coped with the same crisis. She on the other hand wants to shut herself away and not allow anyone to help.
What is difficult as well is that I think that my Dad's condition is worsening as well, the stress of having to " deal" with Mom in her crisis and the tight reign she has on anyone knowing or helping causes more stress than necessary. I think he is in need of help - but won't allow us to come and figure out good outcomes. The two of them are so fiercely independent it makes me put my teeth at edge.

Work has been busy too, it seems there are not enough hours in the day for all that I want to accomplish. I have regularly been assigned outreach duty at the Anschutz Medical campus of the University of Colorado. The office is nice and I get alot done as it can be quite and and that makes it a good work enviroment. But being away from my Boulder office has some drawbacks too. I need paperwork and items at my home office. I don't have quite as many resources As I would like. And sometimes it is just that I am by myself so long the lights in the out hallway turn themselves off ( they are on a sensor- movement) . So maybe you get the picture.

no real funny stuff lately hopefully this will come around again when things settle down. -

Take it easy and drop me a line if you are so inclined.

Kind Words

Kind Words smooth all the paths of life and smiles make burdens light and uncomplaining friends can make a daytime out of night. ~~ Carrie Jacobs Bond

Lots is happening in my Life at the moment, I am strugglling from time to time with depressive episodes

1000 posts later!

I can hardly believe I have 1000 posts with this one! When I started writing this blog i wasn't sure where it would lead - I had boys at home all the time :) LOL and a girly girl Hh, I craft , I alter, I vent and I have taken tons of pictures.

I don't get as much traffic as I used too and i have slowed a bit on my posts, my life has lost it's young boys and they are all growing up. But I still love this form of communications and it is like a little piece of me i can leave in the world. it has allowed my the opportunity to document my life with kids and spouse and friends. it still allows me to show the world what things i love and care about. What things I discover a passion for.... how i live and what i do. it has been there for me to tell about the hardships of raising sons and the hardships of losing a job and gaining a new one. the tough things and the joyous things the little things we celebrate and the big things we take for granted.

My life is full of things I love - things i am so blessed with that i can't imagine how i could want to be anywhere else. I still have my desires for material things that I don't have, I want to be able to get out of the debts i do have and i want to be even happier in the future. just a few things on my list ! LOL but i am always traveling down the path that god is directing me i am still rowing along but he steers an awful lot and i am a grateful soul that he is in my life.

So thank you my friends and family that are loyal readers and love to " see what we are up to" here in my little corner of the world. I feel your presence in my life and i hope this blog continues to provide you with joy in your life and you learn a little something every now and then. You all inspire me to keep posting my thoughts on life and what it gives us.

cards from the hero art stamp

here are some stamped cards I made with the large stamp I won from the twitter contest from the hero arts company. I used water color pencils and luminarte colored pigments and on the red background i embossed them with holographic embossing powder from ranger.

daring do?!?

I did my hair, haven't been a red head in quite some time LOL - but been toying with this for a while and today Hh wanted hers colored again for school. so I am pretty dark and her too.

tiny colorful delights

I have never been a millionaire. But I have enjoyed a crackling fire, a glorious sunset, a walk with a friend..... There are plenty of life's tiny delights for all of us.

Jack Anthony

Everywhere we turn color is all around us, interesting to me is how it plays in the everyday. My blog gets lots of traffic in this area because I have been tagging colorology and colorstrology - * one is a mis-spelling** by the way LOL for a couple of years now. And search engines bring on the readers looking to predict color by thier birthday and what traits that color signifies.
i love purples and pinks and most of febuary birthdays fall in these color ranges I have quite a few colored pieces in my wardrobe in these colors. I also have quite a bit of lime green and apple green- which I get complimented on quite a bit when i wear that color. I have noticed that Hh has quite a bit in the green apple, lime family too. funny she is a febuary birthday too.
it does make me wonder the influnces that drive my color palette and hers.

Karate and Life lessons

Success in the martial arts - by Harry Cook



This is a very good article about what it takes to " do " the martial arts. Hh I hope is on the way to a black belt and i hope she will use these principles set out by Mr. Cook, She has learned a few has improved a few and needs to work on more still to really achive her sucess.

her disipline has helped her tremendosly already in school and life, breaking boards and practicing and being aware of your body is so crucial at her point in life.

see what I won??

Design Block Butterfly Wood Mounted Stamp- From Hero Arts- it is pretty and sweet to have won in a tweeting contest!

now to make some cards and use this in a project. I need a creative muse- my mojo has been seriously lacking, I haven't even altered anything in a while.

reading all the tweets from CHA and following some new bloggers has helped a bit but I am lacking girlfriend power. I haven't been motivated to crop by myself in a while, it seems to take too much effort to be nice to other people. LOL , but maybe I will finally get motivated to scrap hh and my trip to beautiful San Deigo ( that has been in my scrapping brain for a while)

Life lessons

45 Life Lessons

I love this list!

I took it from Kim Kwan

It was written by Regina Brett from Cleveland, Ohio, who recently re-published this list in a local newspaper in honor of her 90th birthday. There is more than enough good stuff in this list for each of us to learn something...which ones speak especially to you?

Which ones do you need to work on?
Today, I want to work on #4, 10 :), 17

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:"

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ''In five years, will this matter?".

26. Always choose life.

27. Forgive everyone everything.

28. What other people think of you is none of your business.

29. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.

30. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

31. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

32. Believe in miracles.

33. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

34. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

35. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

36. Your children get only one childhood.

37. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

38. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

39. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'dgrab ours back.

40. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

41. The best is yet to come.

42. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

43. Yield.

44. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

45. ( i don't know what happened to 45 LOL! )

Following along on Twitter hash tags for #chasummer

There have been lots of posts while people are at the Craft and Hobby Association ( cha) summer show. So i have been following along with what is called hash tags on twitter. This allows for some good close to real time pictures ( from phones) and some interesting interviews and some fun scrappers to follow on twitter.

There are a few items that have picked my interest and a few items that I go - hmmn really I should have thought of that! like people are impressed with the quickcutz L - letter press and interesting idea, but having worked in the printing industry and knowing about ink I think this is an interesting idea on an old craft, Letter pressing was what you had done for invitations and announcements. A kind of embossing but a bit in reverse- along with other things like die cutting it is fascinating to me to see these " older " printing techniques become new again.

the slice from making memories was just announced to be able to use drawing tips instead of cutting tips- again making old techniques new again. like the plotters and large scale presses. What will come up again soon? I would like to haqve the slice I think but am unwilling to pay the full retail for it.

How about color? you know my Pantone obsessions- colorstrology and other color topics are so interesting. here comunicating with color

( looks like a pretty guide)

Based on the colors of your eyes, hair, and skin (and your psyche) – discover your personal range of beautiful colors in Leatrice’s "Colortimes." Tear out your personal Colortime palette and take it with you to make shopping fun, easy, and in tune with you!

testing is tough

Brown belt succeses - SSd1 and HH testing for brown belt is tough buisness, Hh has to go to these events and get her " stripes" until she is ready to test for conditional black belt. SSd1 went from high red to low brown. Yeah for the karate program- they are doing great things for these young people.

little guys- big trouble

The news reports here are warning pet owners to Pull up mushrooms in their yards. We have had such wet weather that they are growing in the yards and paths. One man lost his doxie to toxic mushrooms, night before last. so I just wanted to be sure we " pulled ours up" that was the recommended removal, they say not to cut or shovel for rish of the spores spreading and more growing.

I won! - stamps

I twitter! and I won from hero art today a stamp! - don't know which one just yet but yippie for me! I love the internet.

Me on twitter www.twitter.com/queue_t

bowling fun

we had a bowling bash with S's work co-workers and families, then we went to a nice restaurant and had italian food.

Hh " loves the bowling shoes- and she color co-ordinated her ball too!

webby working

I have had an awful lot on my plate at work. We went to a new benefits site right after our open enrollment, it made for alot of work for me. we made it live this week, and I have gone back to a travel schedule that involves a day away from the office every week.

the nice part about me outreach - away from the office is that I am working at the top of the old fitsimons army hospital it is the building at the center of the photo below.

we have an office next to the Eisenhower Suite and on a clear day you can see pikes peak to the south of us!!

In 1955, an eighth floor suite of rooms served as President Dwight Eisenhower’s office and living quarters for seven weeks while he recuperated from a heart attack suffered while visiting Denver. The suite stood vacant in later years and eventually became an office. The University of Colorado Heath Sciences Center secured much of the Fitzsimons site in 1995 for its relocation from the old Denver campus at East 9th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard. The old hospital forms the historic centerpiece of the new medical campus. The Eisenhower Suite, as it came to be known, has been restored as a museum, thanks to a $67,100 SHF grant, a $10,000 donation from Wells Fargo, and matching funds from the University of Colorado. The restored suite, which opened in 2003, features Eisenhower-era details such as nurse-call buttons and glass ashtrays along with a Secret Service sitting room, nurses’ station, and a private dining room.

the day after?

Saturday fun, homestyle.

we had a nice dinner at home, a fun fireworks afternoon. - and fun decorating a few of our personal spaces- front and back of the home.

Happy 4th of July

The rockets in Air- we made a treck north today for a few rockets of our own. I am looking forward to a little evening fun right at home.

we met up with Brother Dave in WY late today and had a nice dinner and great coversation.

we had tremdous rain, it has rained everyday in June I think. our grass is out of control and the we can't find a sunny dry time to mow either! -

I just want to say a prayer of thanks to all those who put thier lives in harms way so that I can live free in a great country. - happy and safe 4th you all.

Love Gives

Love is extravagant in the price it is willing to pay , the time it is willing to give and the hardships it is willing to endure, and the strength it is willing to spend. Love never thinks in terms of “ how little” but always in terms of “ how much.” Love gives, love knows and love lasts.
~ joni eareckson tada

Father's Day

Well it is coming upon us quickly. i sent my Dad a card already- it is a b-b-q card :) because he loves him some meat on the BBQ.

we will be hosting S's dad and step mom for the weekend, and SSD1 will be arriving on saturday for a cullinary delight, He already wowed S's mom and PJ when they were her at the end of May with a fabulous Pork roast and spaetzle ( a german noodle) roasted asperagus and nice apples roasted alongside the pork roast. I think this is the same dinner request for the men folk!

J is " working" and this is a good thing , he is tired and done, sleeping and getting up to do it again every day- according to HH this leaves little time for other ways to get into trouble, a good thing. He has someone picking him up and he is working hard everyday. saving his pennies for a car.

I need to get S something but what? well I will ask him tomorrow or tonight what would make him happy? He is a great Dad to all our children and I am so blessed to have him in my life.

Equiping yourself

Each of us may be sure that if God sends us on stony paths He will provide us with strong shoes, and He will not send us out on any journey for which He does not equip us well.

~Alexander Maclaren

long time no blog

I am having some type of upper arm trouble- right arm, I finally gave in and went to the doc today! he took x-ray and rx'd a bit of pain meds I am hopeful to get some relief in a few days. I treated myself to a few days off the computer and the mouse and all, did some ice and heat and laid low.

we have been having severe weather. yesterday we got hail , I am posting a few photos and upload a you-tube soon. it was pretty loud and hard. Today we had tornadoes touch down in Elbert. We have friends who are at the scout camp ( working) they were safe but did get a bit of very bad weather i am sure very scarey too.