Some Rambling and Some Pictures

I haven't written in a week.  Not, I haven't posted in a week, no, I haven't even been writing.  It feels a little strange after the binge I was on there for a while.  I've got to get back in the groove. 

It's not even that I've had writer's block or anything, I just haven't done it.  Not really out of laziness, or lack of motivation, just nothing. 

I have been working a little bit on the new blog.  I did complete the tasks I gave myself last week!  Yay!  I bought the domain name (not telling cause there's nothing there yet!) and got hosting up and running and downloaded WordPress.  So, getting somewhere.  I'm still a little hung up on themes though, not sure if I should suck it up and buy a paid one, or use a free one.  Also, logo design, need to do that. 

Sorry for the to-do list, I do that sometimes.

Just so this isn't a completely worthless (to you anyway!) post, here are a couple of underwater pictures from Roatan.  And have a great day!

Roatan: - Part 1 - The Surprise

It's about 4:45am, September 18, and Jeff is already chattering at me in bed, the alarm to get us up and out the door to the airport not due to go off for another 15 minutes or so.  I am not quite ready for his level of alertness.  Thankfully, we are already about 90% packed and loaded, but we know that the others may not be as low-stress as we are.

We're actually looking forward to the relatively easy flights and being in Roatan by early afternoon.  The last 2 trips have been 20+ and 30+ hours each way, 5 hours was going to be downright relaxing.  However, we also know that there are 4 others going on this trip that we have to worry about, and 3 of them have never been out of the country.

We get to the airport on time, there is some fumbling around, a little confusion, impatience, but overall, no biggies.  Flight takes off, lands in Atlanta, no hitches.  So far, so good.  Oh, there's a flight delay of an hour, eh, okay, so we get there an hour later than planned, all we have to do when we get there is go to the beach.

So, we have about an hour and a half to kill in ATL, we grab breakfast and coffee.  I see my dad start to fumble with his camera, we find out that he's got a full battery, but left the memory card at home.  He figures maybe he'd better go get one while he's still in the States, might be cheaper.  He takes off.

We're all just sitting there, hanging out.  I'm thinking about getting my Kindle out, and I hear "Hey, friend!", look up, and my best friend Dani is strolling casually up to me.
Wait, what?

I'm stunned into silence.  Speechless. 
"Yeah, we've been lying to you for months.  I didn't really go to England." (quick background on that: she'd supposedly been to London with her mom the week of Labor Day, and had been planning that trip for months before, which was why she couldn't come to Roatan for my birthday)
I think my responses are still just blinks, recognition has barely even set in yet.
Um, what?
Where did you come from?
What are you doing here?
Seriously, is this happening?
But this is all in my head, because my jaw is still on the floor and I'm not yet able to form words.

Obviously, the surprise that had been planned, was a success.
I look at Jeff, "Yeah, everybody knew about this but you, I've been talking to her since June."
"Everybody?"
"Yep."
"Wow."

Needless to say, I'm pretty shocked.  Apparently Jeff and Dani had been conspiring for months to get her booked on the trip.  And everybody knew about it, except for me of course!  I had no clue whatsoever.

I was thrilled!  All along, I just assumed that I would be the only girl on the trip, as with most diving related excursions, and now my best friend and Sherice, a friend of Dani's from Pennsylvania, were going too!  Pretty good surprise. 

Anyway, we land in Roatan, and make it to Anthony's Key Resort without incident.  All in all, a great start to the trip!

Up next, the diving, and then, another surprise!

And now for a few pictures:

Flying into Roatan

The view from our bungalows.

Looking across the water to Anthony's Key.

Inspiration

Love, love, love Sharon Montrose's animal prints!

 I think I want them all!  Look at the baby porcupine!

She makes even the "not-so-cute"* animals look great.

*This does not reference otters, because otters are totally cute! 

Have a great weekend!

A Redneck* Good Time

 *Disclaimer-I can describe this as redneck, as I am one.

The other night, Jeff and I were sitting on the couch, doing nothing, when he turns and asks me, "Hey, it's a nice night, why don't we take the 4-wheeler out to your grandparents?"  I tell him, "Only if I can take my camera, it's almost sunset." (sunset = great light)  So, we load 'er up, and head out.  We take it across the creek and I get off to start walking and take pictures, and he takes off to go fast.

I snap a couple of pictures in the amazing light.  He takes a couple of laps around the pasture, then comes back to trade places with me.  I take a quick cruise, and we both remember how much fun the 4-wheeler is.  It doesn't get out much anymore, so we tend to forget.  We've talked about selling it lately, but I think that will get pushed out again.

There's also a little sentimental value in the 4-wheeler.  4-wheeling is actually how Jeff and I started dating.  I ran into a friend from high school at another friend's baby shower and got invited to go hang out and ride 4-wheelers with her and her fiance and Jeff.  I wasn't doing anything else that evening and it sounded like fun, so off I went.  I ended up having a good time, and Jeff was fun to be around, but didn't think much about it.  Three weeks later, while I'm at work, I get a voice mail on my phone from Jeff, asking me out.  I was shocked!  Not in a bad way, but I hadn't given him my number, or gotten any kind of vibe from him that he was interested in me.  He had sought out my number himself and got up the nerve to ask me out.  So I got my nerve up to call him back and go out with him.  And nine years later, we're still together.

I'm a few days late, but the anniversary of that first date was August 3rd.  Happy Anniversary Jeff, I can't wait to have many more years of hillbilly fun with you!

Inspiration

While I love to look at photography to be inspired, this is the first time I've linked to any artists.  Hmmm... maybe I'll start...
Anyway, Nick Brandt's work is stunning, just indescribably emotional and moving.

Seriously, go look, I'm speechless.

Garden Post

We've been so fortunate again this year with our garden.  I admit that I don't have much to do with its success.  I have very little technical knowledge when it comes to gardening, yet we still manage to get a surplus of produce and enjoy ourselves.  The only real work we put into it is using the compost I build up over the year, pulling weeds (not often enough!) and harvesting.

This year, we expanded our garden by doubling its size and adding zucchini and cucumber to the mix.  We also have green beans, onions, red bell peppers, jalapenos, cherry tomatoes and Early Girl tomatoes, and sugar snap peas.  Earlier, we had leaf lettuce, spinach and broccoli, but that's passed now. 

Here is one of our first big harvests from July 5th:

We've since pulled off dozens of cherry tomatoes, a couple of regular sized tomatoes, another couple handfuls of green beans, several jalapenos, a few onions and a zucchini that probably weighs 5-6 pounds!

I've got another batch of Chocolate Zucchini Bread in the oven now, and several batches of shredded zucchini in the freezer with more still coming.  Green beans are our favorites and we've eaten a few and I've frozen four bags, moving right along with my 30 Before 30 #6!

We both just really enjoy digging in the garden, and getting to eat the stuff that comes out of it makes it even more worthwhile.

Mother's Day Cake and Changes

As you can see, the blog has a new header and a new background color.  What do you think?  I'm going to try and change the header on a more regular basis, now that I'm starting to get Picasa figured out!  I'm also probably going to be investing in Photoshop Elements soon.  IPhoto does a pretty good job with my photo post production, but I'd really like to have PSE.  (Actually, I'd really like to have full Photoshop, but I'm not ready for that splurge!)

Also, number 13 checked off the 30 Before 30 list!  

This is the amazing Strawberry Shortcake Cake from the Pioneer Woman.  This was the dessert I chose to take to my MIL for Mother's Day.  I have to say that it wasn't hard to make and split, but icing it was a little tricky.  Okay, so I cheated a little bit, and Jeff helped.  He helped me split and ice it, but, I'm still counting it, because it broke the ice!  I won't be afraid to attempt a layer cake again!

Some Pictures Finally

I was just looking back at the last couple of posts and there haven't been any pictures!  How boring!  So, to make up for that, here are a few shots I've taken recently.

This is Hayden, the neighbor's dog, and Murphy's best friend.

Action shot!

Jeff, taken with my new 50mm lens.
These next pics were taken yesterday on my grandparents' property.  I especially like the ones that look like a fairy's kingdom in the forest.

In the same vein, I just signed up for a 6 week photography class that starts on Monday.  I'm so excited!  Nervous too, though.  It's a second level class, so I hope I know enough!  I use my DSLR camera set on manual all the time, I know ISO and aperture and shutter speed.  I have 3 lenses and mostly feel like I know what I'm doing!  This class talks about macro and night photography, with field trips to the zoo and the Franklin Park Conservatory.  Hopefully I'm not the most inexperienced one there.  I guess I'll just try to soak up all the knowledge I can, and hopefully take some good pictures along the way!

White Star Quarry, Last Year

So, we didn't get to go diving this weekend.  And I didn't get to play with my new toy.  The reason we didn't go is because Jeff threw his back out and didn't think carrying around 130 lbs of double tanks on his back and having to bend and twist to get his dry suit on would be a good idea.  I agreed!  I don't think I've mentioned Jeff's back issues. He's had 7 procedures on his back, including 2 major, multi-hour surgeries.  He had 3 disks removed and his bottom 3 vertebrae are fused to his pelvis.  The fusion was done when he was 17 years old.  He is now 31 and (knock on wood!) has yet to have any more major issues with his back.  Of course, the back issues were caused by degenerative disk disease, so, the chances of future problems are pretty high.  But, we'll take the good fortune that he's had so far!  The occasional pulled muscles are par for the course, and preferable to anything worse!  The fact that he's able to do the work that he does (he has his own custom tile installation business), and have an extremely active lifestyle, is pretty impressive.

But I promised some pics of the block house and crusher pit at White Star Quarry, so here are a couple from late last year with my SeaLife camera.

I still love that camera, but I couldn't pass up the deal on the Ikelite housing!  Anyone want to buy a used SeaLife DC800 with a strobe?  I'm selling it for $550.  
Anyway, the above pictures were taken above and inside the crusher pit.  The top of the pit is at about 45 feet and the bottom hits about 75 feet.  The fun part is going up through the tunnel!  Now, you have to have your Advanced Open Water certification and get permission from the quarry in order to go through.  It is an overhead environment and you need the appropriate training and equipment.  It's a little weird the first time, but after that, it's pretty cool.  It's about 40 or so feet long, with a height of about 4 feet by probably 6-8 feet wide.  Big enough to drive a small car through, and if the visibility is good, you can see the light at the end as it slants back up to the block house.  So it's not too scary, but again, I emphasize that it's not for everyone, experience in an overhead environment and the necessary equipment is extremely important.

Hopefully, next weekend Jeff's back will be up for diving and I'll have some new pictures with the new camera housing!

Doing, Knitting, Sewing, Winning

Well, I'm still working on my 30 Before 30 List.  I'm going to add it as a page in the sidebar by my bucket list (there on the left) when I get it done.  But here's what I have so far:

1. Get my Mandarin fish tattoo
2. Sew myself a wearable skirt
3. Sell at least 1 of my photographs
4. Paint again (canvas, not walls)
5. Embroider a pillowcase
6. Preserve vegetables that I’ve grown in my garden
7. Go to a stitch and bitch or knitting group
8. Volunteer
9. Run a 5K
10. Read at least 5 books on my bookshelves (preferably that I haven’t read before)
11. Invest some money for retirement (auto 401K with work does not count)
12. Yarn Diet-Knit down my stash
13. Bake and frost a layer cake from scratch
14. Sell or give away 50 things that I currently own
15. Paint the hutch in the dining room

So, I'm halfway there!  Any suggestions?  Unfortunately, they can't be travel related, cause I only have 6 months, and we're planning a trip abroad for my birthday, so we won't have the time or money to go anywhere before then!

I also owe the blog my pics and process for that bag I made for my friend Dani's birthday so, here goes:

I used the one hour bag tutorial from RicRac as a jump off point.
I only changed a couple of things.  I didn't use anything for a closure, because I didn't have any snaps or ribbon.  I also sewed the strap on when I sewed the lining and the outer bag fabric together.  And that's it!  It took me longer than an hour, probably closer to 3, but, I'm still slow at cutting and sewing, and I'm really happy with how it turned out!  And so was Dani!  And that's all that matters.

I cast on a new sock project the other night.  Per my list above, I am on a yarn diet!  I need to knit down my stash, and I have accumulated a TON of sock yarn and cotton yarn for washcloths.  So, for the next six months, I need to concentrate on getting that knitted up.  Then, for my birthday, I can buy myself some Malabrigo!  Have I mentioned lately how much I love Malabrigo?  Cause I do, a lot!  Come to think about it, that's what I bought myself for my birthday last year! Oh well, it's totally worth it!

Oh yeah, I won a free yard of fabric from Sew Mama Sew's Free Fabric Friday!  I'm so excited!  I never win anything!  I've got to hurry up and pick something out, but it's so hard, there are so many cute fabrics on the site!

Happy Spring!

First day of Spring and it was a beautiful day! 

Unfortunately Jeff and I didn't spend much of it outside.  Jeff has been sick with a cold for over a week, and I think I'm fighting it, cause all I want to do is sleep lately.  Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty good at sleeping, but I've definitely been way more tired than usual.  Despite his illness, and my desire to stay in bed all day, we went up to ScubaFest here in Columbus today and now I can't wait to get the dive season started!  Whitestar Quarry opens in less than 2 weeks, less than a month for Portage Quarry, Gilboa may already be open (can't really tell from the website), and of course Circleville Twin Quarries is always open (well, no staff, but you can get in to dive)!

Scubafest is always fun, we got to see some friends we haven't seen in a while and made some new connections.  I want to volunteer for MAST the Maritime Archaeological Survey Team to survey archaeological sites and wrecks in the Great Lakes.  Somehow, even after diving in Ohio for the last 3 years, we've never dove in the Great Lakes!  I figure this will give Jeff and I a great opportunity to do it.  I also would like to look at volunteer opportunities with SECORE.  They work with the Columbus Zoo and other public aquariums throughout the world to promote coral reef conservation and reproduction.  I've been wanting to get involved with some reef conservation efforts, so I'm excited to learn some more about this organization.

Well, off to bed, one more weekend day left, better enjoy it!

New Toy

Since we've been back from Indonesia, I've had a renewed interest in photography.  I learned a lot on our trip and have really been taking a lot of pictures recently.  We have a Canon Digital Rebel XT, that we've had for the last several years, but I'm finally starting to learn how to use it, more than just in automatic mode.  Jeff got me a telephoto lens 70-200 mm for Christmas in 2008, which I use quite a bit, but lately, as I see some of the beautiful pictures on some blogs, and read more about the lenses they use, I decided on a new toy, a 50mm F1.8 canon lens.  So I've been playing with it lately, and I still don't quite have it figured out, but, I'm getting there, hopefully I'll have better project pictures.

The above pics were taken with the telephoto, of the barn at my grandma's house.  The last big snowstorm we got in February was just too much for the roof and it collapse.  These were taken a few weeks ago.  When I went out today, it has been torn down the rest of the way and the clean up has begun.  It looks so different out there, a whole building is gone.  It's a little sad, I remember playing in that barn when I was little, and there were always barn cats, up to about 30 at one time!  And our horse, Blue, was there for a while too.  I know my grandma was a little sad, change can be hard, but it will look so much better out there when it is all cleaned up.

These up-close pics are taken with my new toy, I love the short depth of field.  It's exactly the effect that I wanted.  So, I'm excited to learn me about it!

And these animal pictures are just for fun!  The cats are my grandma's kitties, the tabby is  Belle and the tortie is Missy.  Belle was all mellow and high on catnip at the moment!  And I really like this shot of Murphy for some reason!