Photos that are COLORFUL and taken in LOW LIGHT can still bring a BRAND NEW perspective to LIVING and find A PLACE in our hearts.

WOW!!! That was a mouthful of a Header. 

Once again, I have been shirking my responsibilities as a blogger. Life just keeps getting in the way of the things I WANT to do. I'm sure we can all relate. I do, however, MAKE time to post to this blog. I know there may not be many people following, but that isn't really the point (although I love my audience.) The POINT is that I have been trying to get back into journaling, and this blog is a good start "in my search for" a better way to keep track of my life and find new adventures. As I get older, I find this to be of some importance and I am determined to stick to it. One way I have discovered, is to follow a daily photo challenge I found on another blog; The Idea Room.  You can follow the link, or click on the button on this blogs sidebar. 

So, without further ado....


"Colorful." Oct. 22nd.

This photo was taken at one of my favorite places.  Can you guess?  Never mind, I'll tell you.  This was taken at Raven's Eye Body Art in Hood River, OR.  The current owner of the tattoo shop, Kim Lindemyer, is one of my favorite people and has blessed me with many works of art that I get to see and share EVERYDAY!!


"Low Light." Oct. 23rd.

That's my little lantern that I have hung above my headboard, in my bedroom window. It's an LED Candle and runs on batteries, but it's super cute, and I LOVE IT!!


"Brand New." Oct. 24th.

Yup!! That's me, and I was seriously reaching with this photo. The Scarf WAS brand new, but it was literally a last minute photo; taken solely for the purpose of having SOMETHING to submit! :-/


"Living." Oct. 25th.

I have to admit, this is one of my favorite submissions. I could not figure out (for the life of me) what I was going to submit for this VERY WIDE topic.  So I went through all of my photos and compiled the ones that reached out to me and were important to me. Photos that brought good memories and marked certain times in space that were special.

"A Place." Oct. 26th.

Ok!! I don't know about you, but I NEED MY COFFEE in the morning, and this is just ONE of the places I frequent to feed that need. The place is called Good News Gardening. It's a lovely garden shop/cafe that is next door to the grooming shop where I work. They serve breakfast and lunch and they specialize in pastries, pies, and muffins. The best part? Everything they serve is organic and made from scratch! A bit on the spendy side, but WELL worth it!!


Looks like I've given a little tour of a few of my favorite haunts here in The Hood. I've come to LOVE my quaint little town, even though I HATE snow (and we DO get snow!!) Anyway, I think that'll be it for now. Blessings to ALL!! :D

Too many to be "Punny" about....

Oh Boy!! I have been a bad, bad blogger!! I'm not even sure I've been busy. Just preoccupied. My daughter is back home from California. She has spent a great deal of her free time catching up with her friends, who have missed her in her three month absence. I've been catching up on work, since I missed a couple days last week. I'm a dog groomer. Whenever I take a few days off, I come back to a long list of clients who have missed me, terribly, while I've been away. Of course, that means they need my services ASAP! Each and every one of them are a blessing to me. I honestly can say that I LOVE my job, and being busy is FAR better than the alternative. I have, however, been keeping up with The October Photo a Day Challenge from The Idea Room. 

I have a lot to share, so I'll just jump right in.

"Seasonal." Oct. 17th.

I was going to do something for Halloween, but then I was walking through Joann's and saw this sweet little Santa. So he stole a place in my iPhone camera and came home with me; just so I could share him with you. :)

"A Game I Enjoy." Oct. 18th.

I don't know about you, but my mother and I have always enjoyed this game. It was a draw between this and Scrabble. We're actually quite competitive about both.

"Perspective." Oct. 19th.

I guess watching my new favorite show, Elementary, through the mirror in my room could be called a different perspective. 

"Upside Down." Oct, 20th.

No deep meaning for this photo! Red is one of my favorite colors and the Fire Drill Box was pretty, so I turned the photo upside down and submitted it. Surprisingly, it's one of my most "liked" photos on Instagram. GO figure.

"Delicate." Oct. 21st.

I LOVE everything Japanese. From the culture, to anime, to the kawai (cute) goodies, and the food. Japanese fans are just one of my favorite things. So pretty and, well, delicate.

That does it for me this time.  I'll keep taking photos and posting them on this blog. It would be lovely if all of you could join me. 

Sweet Dreams! Tah!!

The "NUMBERS" on the calendar show that soon the days will become "DARK," and possibly, "MESSY!"

The days are getting shorter.  I really noticed yesterday when I was driving my daughter, her four boxes of worldly possessions, her best friend, and her newly acquired gecko from California, back home, to Oregon.  We left my parents house in Sacramento at 5:45am and arrived at my house in Hood River around 5:45pm.  It was a long drive, but we made pretty good time considering we made a few stops, and had lunch with a friend in Bend, OR. Anyway, I definitely noticed that we left in the dark (and drove in it for at least an hour) and when we arrived home, it was still light but, the sun had already disappeared over the horizon.  Fall is officially here!  To boot...it rained today. The word in the Farmers Almanac says we might be in for a pretty messy winter. Since I'm not much of a snowbunny, I'm not really looking forward to that, but I DO admit that it was nice to wear jeans and my favorite sweatshirt today.  It looks like I'll be able to pull my boots out of the back of the closet soon.  That always makes me happy. :)

The October Photo a Day Challenge has definitely been helping to show me how the season is changing. You can find it here. So what are we waiting for? Time to share!


"Numbers." Oct. 14th.

I know. I know. The photo is a little boring.  You'll have to forgive me.  That was the day I had driven from Oregon to California. After 11 1/2 hours I was beat and determined to just make a submission. Yep! That's my Mom's calendar. :-/


"Dark!" Oct. 15th.

I did a little better with this topic. The fabric of my daughter's dress.

The Bird House in my Parent's backyard.

The solar lights and the evening view. Again, from my Parent's backyard. I guess I felt the need to make up for the previous day. What do you think? :D


"Messy." Oct. 16th.

Let me see a show of hands. Who likes moving? I have recently moved into a new house and have a couple of housemates. I have very few belongings, so it didn't take much for me to get my stuff unpacked and put or stowed away. However, my housemates moved from a larger house and are still in the process of sorting through what will go into the new house, and what will be discarded. This is my garage right now!! :-/

So, that's it for the last three days.  I'll be back to share in a few more. 

Blessings to you and yours. See ya on the flip side!! :3

Is it "A TALENT" to constantly have "FUN" "ON YOUR MIND?"

Hidee Ho!! Me again!! I'm getting ready for a road trip to California tomorrow. I'm moving my girl back home. OH BOY!!! I get to get up at the butt-crack of dawn and drive 11 hours!! I'm SO EXCITED (heavy sarcasm!) I know I'm complaining about it right now, but the truth is, I LOVE road trips. I'm taking a less traveled route too, which will take us through the smaller towns in southern Oregon before we have to get on the Main Interstate.  I'm taking my camera. Maybe I'll see some cool sites. 

Speaking of photos... It's time to share my last three submissions to The October Photo a Day Challenge. If you're curious about the challenge, you can find it here. I've got a lot going on right now, so I'll make it short and sweet.

"A Talent." Oct.11th.

This is the ONLY photo that I've submitted that I did NOT take myself. However, I felt the need to share a sample of the cool greeting cards my Mom makes. She uses pretty stamps and colorful papers. She'd never admit it, but she's incredibly talented and has created some REALLY awesome cards. My daughter and I can't WAIT for holidays to see what her imagination comes up with next. I'm SUPER PROUD of her. It's something that brings her, and the people she shares them with, joy!! That, in itself, is good enough for me. :D


"Fun!" Oct. 12th.

 Yep!! My little red tomato is SOOPER FUN to drive.  I don't think I've ever loved a car like I love this one.  She's not a young'un, and she's got a few bumps and bruises, but she makes me incredibly happy!!


"On My Mind." Oct.13th.

I mentioned I'd be taking a road trip tomorrow to move my daughter back home to Oregon. This is an old photo, but there she is. I LOVE this picture. It was taken right around her 16th birthday (I believe.) The nose piercing was brand new and I absolutely adored that yellow shirt she's wearing.  I think I may be holding onto the past. That look on her face is my favorite!! ❤️

There you have it! The latest in the ever evolving photo challenge and blog!! Thanks for tuning in...

Ciao!

It is FINALLY (pretty much) FINISHED!!! 😍

Ok!!! I've been hinting at the project that I've been working on for the last week (or so.) I am happy to report that it is (for the most part) FINISHED!! I have been SO EXCITED to share it, and now I will.

This is what I started with:

I needed a dresser for my bedroom. I'm a bit of a cheapskate, so I had been searching for something inexpensive and a bit rustic.  I found this at a local second hand store called Good Karma (this is their Facebook page.) I was driving past their shop on a drizzly Sunday morning and stopped to look at it, but they were closed. A day later, i drove by, and it was gone!! I was a bit disappointed. Later, when I got home, my roommate drove up with it in the back of his rig!! I was STOKED!! He said he dropped by the place, asked the guy there how much he wanted for it, and the guy told him $65.00. My friend pulled out $40.00 and told the guy that was all he had! SOLD!!! You can see from the photo that it was a bit beat up. Obviously old and WELL worn!!

Then the fun began!!


I took it apart and sanded it. Then took a damp cloth to it to clean up the dust and cobwebs (especially underneath.) 

I let it sit for a day and continued.


I decided to use chalk paint because I wanted to distress it a bit. I perused Pinterest for a few ideas and found a plethora of cool DIY's. I, then, chose to use two colors so that when the final sanding step came around I could get a bit of color to peek through the overall color I chose. This was the first step:

I chose a sage green for the accent color. I just painted the areas where I knew I wanted the color to peek through. Again, I waited another 24 hours to continue.


The next step was to paint on the overall color.  I couldn't find the PERFECT gray in pre-made chalk paint, so I bought an inexpensive flat paint and added baking soda to give it that chalky luster. It was WAY cheaper (did I mention I'm a cheapskate?) and it served my purposes just fine.

This step took a bit longer, as it requires two coats of paint. So I painted, waited 24 hours, and painted again. Another 24 hours later I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.


The next step was to sand the chest down (more so in the areas that would show more distress.) After that I used Finishing Paste and let it set again for another 24 hours.

This morning, I buffed the chest to a finish that was, very much, to my liking, and reinstalled the hardware.  I didn't bother buffing and polishing the hardware because I liked the small amount of patina that was already on it. This is my finished product!!

NOW! You'll notice in my header that I said the project was "pretty much" finished. I have not finished the little door that goes on the right side of the dresser. It will be finished soon, but I was too excited to share my GORGEOUS piece that I just couldn't wait! I will definitely post another photo as soon as I have it done and attached.

Well!! There it is!! That was my coveted little project. I'm TOTALLY happy with my results and I, now, have a place to put all my folded clothes. No more laundry basket full of folded clothes in my ever evolving haven that I call my bedroom!! 

Thanks for watching and have a pleasant tomorrow!! ❤️

In "AN ORDINARY MOMENT," I find that "HAPPINESS IS" all "AROUND ME."

Now THAT header is rather inspiring, if I do say so myself.

It has been an extremely busy week. I have ventured a new project that has been taking up quite a bit of my time and, I'm ecstatic to say, that I will be done with it tomorrow. I am SO EXCITED to share it with everyone. I have been keeping it to myself because I didn't want to start it and then have it not work out, but I can TASTE the victory in this endeavor!! WOOHOO!!! I can't WAIT to post my photos and blog about it...tomorrow!!! I PROMISE!!

With that little spurt of energy out of the way, I will continue on to the task at hand. Sharing photos. Those of you who are just joining, let me explain my current purpose for this blog. I follow a photo blog from The IDEA ROOM. It's proven to be quite fun and encourages me to be creative in an activity that brings me great joy. Photography. The October Photo a Day Challenge is a list of prompts, provided by The IDEA ROOM, for every day of the month. The IDEA, is to take a photo using the prompt (for that particular day) as inspiration. It's kind of a goal of mine to see if I can actually make it happen every day this month. Last month I missed a BUNCH of days. I've found blogging about it keeps me focused and pushes me to make sure I have something to blog about. So, I guess, I'll just get on with it, eh?


"An Ordinary Moment." Oct. 8th.

Work! First order of business. Checking the schedule. Pretty ordinary, indeed!!


"Happiness is." Oct. 9th.

I think we've already established my love for photography. I ADORE my camera!! <3


...and Lastly,


"Around Me." Oct. 10th.

I struggled a bit with this one. My brain caught onto the concept ok, but there is SO MUCH to do with this prompt!! Then I looked up into our GORGEOUS Oregon sky and WHOOP, there was that huge thunder head coming in. At a location I spend most of my waking hours , Work. 


Well! That does it for me. My eyelids are growing heavy and my pillow is calling my name. I hope that my proofreading skills are still intact. Come back tomorrow for the BIG REVEAL of my mysterious project!!! SO EXCITING!!!

Until tomorrow! Peace Out!!

Am I being "SHALLOW" if I'm "LOOKING DOWN" on "MOVEMENT?"

LOL!! I'm really digging coming up with these blog post headers.  I'm sure every time someone looks at them, they're scratching their heads. "WHAT on Gods Green Earth is she spouting off about NOW?"  I LOVE it!! It's rather fun. Hopefully, it keeps y'all coming back. That's just a bonus for me.

Anyway, those of you that have been following along know that I'm actively participating in the October Photo a Day Challenge. Amy from The idea room gives prompts for every day of the month. The idea is we, as participants of the challenge, follow the prompts and submit a photo (to our choice of social media) that we feel best represents the prompt for that given day.  I find that this daily exercise has heightened my creativity and kept me on my toes about the simple things that inspire me to take my love for photography to a new level. To think OUTSIDE the box, so to speak.

So, without further adieu, here are my submissions for the last three days.

"Shallow." Oct. 5th.

Yes! Those are my poorly manicured "piddy's" in my horrendously maintained swimming pool. Just understand, I live in an area that has A LOT of pine trees and the wind is not kind! It fits the "shallow" theme rather nicely though. Don't you think? :-/

"Looking Down." Oct. 6th.

I had been thinking about WHAT I was going to do for this photo ALL day. I had all sorts of ideas, but alas, my schedule for that day was extremely full. I was actually at an event in the early evening and KNEW I HAD to get this photo DONE. I was outside and frantically looking for something I could just submit. I looked down (fitting) and there was this scratch in the concrete!  I think it goes rather well with my cool Raspberry colored Adidas!! I'm actually pretty stoked with this photo!! :D

"Movement." Oct. 7th.

I LOVE this photo. The blonde dog is Whiskey. He belongs to my Roommates. The black dog is Ziggypop! She is MY fur baby!! They are so in love with each other. It's ridiculous!! Whiskey is 10 and Ziggy is 8. They have SO much fun with each other. I'm so glad I was able to catch them in action!!

There it is. I hope these photos are bringing joy to more people than just me. I REALLY enjoy looking and finding them.  

That's all for now but, I PROMISE, that's not the end.  Stay tuned!!

Blessings to you and yours!! I'll be back!! :)

On "GROUND LEVEL," my "FAMILY" can "REFLECT" and "SHIMMER!"

HaHaHa!!! I'm REALLY beginning to enjoy putting all these prompts in my Headline. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, I will tell you. I have been following The idea room blog for a couple months. Amy, over there, has a photo challenge she puts on every month with a different prompt for each day. The "idea" (see what I did there?,) is to match a photo to the prompt and post them to your choice of social media. It's just for kicks and giggles, but it's fun to come up with new ideas for photos. 

Last month I missed quite a few days and am determined to follow through and get a photo submitted EVERY DAY for the month of October. So here goes! These are my entries for The October Photo a Day Challenge:

"Ground Level." Oct. 1st.

This one actually turned out quite good, considering it was a spur of the moment idea.  I wasn't even TRYING to get my car in the background, but I'm SO glad I did!! :)

"Family." Oct. 2nd.

Yep! That's the "FAM." From left to right: Me, My "handsome" Dad, My "lovely" Daughter and My "gorgeous" Momma. Love them all to pieces!! <3

"Reflect." Oct. 3rd.

Not a GREAT picture, but the concept was there.

"Shimmer." Oct. 4th.

I actually took this photo last year right before Christmas.  Obviously, it had rained. When I got out of my car after arriving to my shop, this lovely little oil slick was right at my feet. It begged me to take a picture, so I did!! :D

So that's it so far. I'm super excited to see what I can spy (with my little eye) in the coming days. I will, most certainly, keep you posted!! 

That reminds me!  I've started a few DIY projects for my bedroom. I'll post the "before" and "afters" when I finish them!! I'm REALLY hyped to get them done. My goal is to have my bedroom finished by the end of the month!! EEEEeeeeEeeee!! :)

That's it for me, for now...

Until next time!!! PEACE!!