Faves & Day 1

A few of my favorites sites.

www.picnik.com: For photo editing - read post.

www.mpix.com: For photo printing (I just ordered my first prints today but am excited after talking with a friend about her experience.)

www.retailmenot.com: Living in a smaller town means more online shopping. Before I place an order, I always check this website to see if there are any coupon codes to use. A few months ago, I got a coupon code for an extra $10 off of my GAP purchase and today I got an extra 15% off my mpix.com purchase. It is definitely worth a quick search to see if you can save a little moolah!

www.tastykitchen.com: I have had great results using recipes from here and it is always the first place I look.

-------------------------------------------------------------

OPERATION HOT-BOD

Today was Day One of Operation Hot-Bod, which is what I have affectionately nicknamed my goal of getting in shape and healthy, again. Have you ever noticed that when your life is chaotic, it trickles down into all areas? To me, this is more than even just getting in shape. It is about getting back into a routine in all areas of my life.

So, I stepped on that scale for the first time in 9 months. I told Hubs my current weight of ###, and I know my goal of ###. Today I headed to the gym for my first real workout in weeks. I spent 45 minutes on the elliptical and felt so refreshed.

My plan for exercising is to head to the gym each day, straight from work, not even passing by our home - no need to tempt myself to sit on the couch or cuddle with the pups.

My plan for eating is simple. A good breakfast, a light snack, a good lunch, a light snack, and a good dinner. Portion sizes will be average, and most foods will be real, not packaged. Less fats, more good stuff.

I am excited to get back into this routine of exercising; I am even more excited about the prospect of my pooch shrinking and my thighs not touching. I'm counting on you to keep me accountable!

Fun "new" site

I just learned about a new website for editing your photos. And, I've been having lots of fun!

I'm an amateur photographer. I love to take pictures, but iphoto only provides limited editing and photoshop is pretty pricey. So, when I learned about www.picnik.com, I had to try it out.

Here is a pretty basic photo and I used just a few of their different effects to give you a taste:

Original - Canon point and shoot:

Auto fix - added a little more clarity and vibrancy:

Black & White w/ spot color - I am so excited that I can do this to my pictures now:

1960s - love, love, love the rounded edges:

HDR-ish - brings out every little detail

Orton-ish - no idea what that means, but it could look really cool on a different photo

Focal Zoom - feel like I am in a vortex on this one

Pencil Sketch - also could be really cool with certain photos

That is just a taste of the many different effects they offer. Plus, within each effect you can control different levels, like how much blur, brightness, etc.

Really, it is a lot of fun to play on the site, and it is free! Enjoy!

www.picnik.com

Siblings

Most likely, we will know each other longer than we know anyone else on earth:

Isn't it great that you can get together with your siblings and always find things to talk about? Whether it be memories or catching up, I'll always know and love my brothers. We've lived with each other and we have tons of life shared together. It's fun to be together...and it is fun to be away from each other for a time.

I was happy to have lots of sibling-time this weekend. I used to drive them around everywhere...this weekend, the youngest drove us around everywhere. We laughed. We teased. We criticized. We argued. But, we all know that we love each other.

My brothers were super cool when I added a brother to the family. They welcomed him in, hung out with him, and loved him just like family. Now, I am super duper excited to have a sister in our family. Mom and I won't be so out-numbered and it will be fun to have another girl to talk with. I cannot wait for future family gatherings so that we siblings can get together - all five of us!

The last of the animals

And now, for the last of the animals from our trip...

A peacock hanging out in the tree.

A condor spanning his giant wings.

A group of giraffes feeding in the sun.

A panda checking us out.

A momma napping while her cub plays.

A gnarly orangutan posing for us.

A big pig-like animal snoring away.

A flock of bright flamingoes.

A cuddly koala chomping on some bamboo.

A giant python actually moving around.

And, a two-humped camel slobbering all over itself.

Freezing Fog

Weeks ago, we had a freezing fog. I wasn't sure what to expect, but found it was one of the more beautiful days in Kansas.

It made these sharp looking triangular crystals form on the trees -all the trees. It was beautiful when you saw a grove of trees together. The dark bark of the trees contrasted so well against the white crystals.

This one looks like rock candy.

We thought it looked pretty cool at work. So I went out and took some pictures.

It was another day to remember what a creative Creator God is. 

Cuddlin'

I had a headache on Monday. Just my luck, Ransom was in a cuddlin' mood.

We cuddled up with my kindle and put planet earth on the TV.

Tonight, however, Ransom was not so keen on cuddlin' up with Hubs.

Sorry for the inappropriate position. We are still working on being modest...

Freeze that smile - literally

So, what does your family do when it is 17 degrees outside and the ground is snow covered?

Well, we drive to a park. We get out of our warm vehicle and we trample through the snow. As we walk by a pond, we pass a sign that reads, "Ice is not safe. Staff off." As we near our destination, we hear a voice, "I shouldn't of done that." We see that one of the boys wandered away from the group. He pulls his foot up and we see his sock, dripping wet. He bends down and pulls his shoe from the pond. It's dripping with mud.

We are speechless. We huddle together for warmth.

Wow. That seems like an odd thing to do when it is so cold outside.

Oh just you wait. Then we take our gloves, hats, and yes, our coats off and pile them in the snow. Why? Because we are taking family pictures today. We are taking family pictures outside. In January. Frozen foot and all.

Hubs and I were up first:

After our pictures, we really started to get cold. Fingers started to ache, faces started to freeze. Smiling became an issue. But, we still ended up with a good family picture:

What you don't see is that my future SIL is standing in a snowdrift up to her knees - welcome to the family! Hubs, frozen-foot-boy, and I then ran to the still-warm car to thaw while the to-be-wed couple posed:

In our frozen state, we totally forgot to get pictures of just mom and dad and pictures of just the kids. Really, all we could think about was getting back to the warm vehicle.

I know it sounds a little crazy to do family pictures outside in January; it felt a little crazy, too! But not only did we end up with some great photos, we also have great memories.

Christmas Card Outtakes

Who knew taking Christmas card pictures this year would be so difficult?

Too blurry.


Oops.

Awkward.

Frustrated.

A new day.

Not ready.

Trying to get Ransom's attention. Mission failed.

Ransom obviously getting sick of me holding onto him. And, whoa, the hair is crazy.

Another oops.

Did we ever get one where we all were looking at the camera?

You'll have to wait and see. But the whole ordeal wore these two out.

Maybe next year we'll find someone to take the pictures for us.

A New Day

This morning the sky I glanced outside at 7:50 to see the sun finally rising. The sky was a myriad of colors. Blue, pink, purple, red, yellow, and orange all mixed together. The hue of the entire sky was different, causing all the houses, trees, and yards to look different - not like I had ever seen before.

When I took a picture, it did not capture anywhere near the colors that I saw and made the sky darker than it felt.

So, then I "enhanced" it:

Either way, it was a beautiful reminder to thank God for new day.

The Old Wall

I must be super predictible. Out of all the votes, only 2 different answers were given: Israel and Oahu, Hawaii. Wow.

This wall is located in...



Tel Dan, Israel. It was built sometime during the 9th century BC, most likely by King Ahab, and is part of the second gatehouse area. You can read more about Tel Dan here.

The person with the first correct answer was Sarah. She has won a gift certificate to shutterfly.com, one of my favorite sites. And, personally, I think it is a perfect gift for her since she has an adorable little boy and a mom who takes amazing pictures.

Thanks to those of you who played, and to those of you who didn't, you missed out on a ton of fun. Well, maybe you just missed out on the prize.

Just For Fun

I've decided to have a contest. There are 2 reasons for the contest:

1. I really like this picture, however I have nothing to say about the photo. A contest removes the need for a boring post about a pretty photo.

2. Hopefully, some of you who read the feather files, but do not comment, will want to comment because you will actually win something! Let me repeat: There is a prize for guessing correctly and all you have to do is leave a comment with your guess.

Below is a photo of a stone wall. I think it is a rather calming picture and the wall has a lot of character. But, none of that matters to the contest. Here is the question you need to answer:

Where is this wall?


Be as general or as specific as you want. Only one guess per person, please. I will determine the winner and my decision is final. Contest ends at 12:00pm CST on Thursday.