Day 29

Jenny and I went to Corpus Christi on Friday for a college visit at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi (Saturday); she's been accepted there for this upcoming fall. Our hotel was right beside the USS Lexington, which is now permanently docked in Corpus Christi bay and has become a museum open to the public. We got there too late to climb aboard, but did eat dinner in her shadow. After the sun set, these ghostly blue lights appeared beneath her and I knew I had to get a picture. The hotel was quite a trek, but we went back for my tripod (of course I had my camera!) so that I could get a completely natural-light, blur-free picture of this magnificent ship. Here's a little history:

The USS LEXINGTON, CV-16, was commissioned on February 17, 1943.

After training maneuvers and a shakedown cruise, Lexington joined the Fifth Fleet at Pearl Harbor. During World War II, the carrier participated in nearly every major operation in the Pacific Theater and spent a total of 21 months in combat. Her planes destroyed 372 enemy aircraft in the air and 475 more on the ground. She sank or destroyed 300,000 tons of enemy cargo and damaged an additional 600,000 tons. The ship's guns shot down 15 planes and assisted in downing five more.

The Japanese reported Lexington sunk no less than four times! Yet, each time she returned to fight again, leading the propagandist Tokyo Rose to nickname her "The Blue Ghost." The name is a tribute to the ship and the crew and air groups that served aboard her.



Thanks for looking!

Day 28

Jenny's eyes never fail to take my breath away. I used Pioneer Woman's Lovely and Ethereal action on this as well as some custom work.



Thanks for looking!

Day 27

Inspired by Laura's picture of her iPhone, I wanted to share my great love... my iMac. I love love love this computer! Not terribly exciting, I know, but you get a little peek at my work area.



Thanks for looking!

Day 26

I couldn't upload yesterday because our internet was down, but I got a new pair of shoes and had to show them off! Aren't they fab?



Thanks for looking!

Day 25

I still had my zoom lens on my camera from yesterday's duck adventures and was playing in the backyard with the kids this afternoon. Dominic didn't know I was taking a picture of him and I caught this thoughtful expression on his face. I decided to play with some blending modes and textures too.



Thanks for looking!

Day 24

Curtis and I took a walk around the duck pond in our neighborhood and we found these sweet new babies. The lighting was divine!



Thanks for looking!

Day 23

We went out for ice cream this afternoon at the Arboretum which is famous for its cow sculptures. Of course, I had to snap a pic!



Thanks for looking!

Day 22

We were playing school this afternoon and Dominic was the teacher. He was coloring on a whiteboard and teaching us about the universe. I was so surprised when he showed us Earth. He's only 5! This is pretty good, don't you think?



Thanks for looking!

Day 21

My aunt, Jeannette, and her husband, Charles are visiting from Pennslyvania. Charles is a baker and treated us to homemade buttermilk pancakes for dinner tonight. I had to get a picture of this gorgeous stack of pancakes!



Thanks for looking!

Day 20

I went out to lunch today with my husband to a local Mexican restaurant called Baby Acapulco's. The decor is bright and festive and this is a photo of the ceiling mural in their oudoor gazebo waiting area.



Thanks for looking!

Day 19

I took Dominic out to dinner and as we were leaving the restaurant, we saw hundreds and hundreds of black birds lining the wires. I'm so glad I took my camera with us! What a sight... especially with such a beautiful sunset.



Thanks for looking!

Day 18

Dominic was my grocery shopping buddy today. It was the best outing we've ever had together! He was so much fun and helpful too. I think his favorite part was weighing the cucumbers, his favorite vegetable.



Thanks for looking!

Day 17

Spongebob in his underpants cooking Krabby Patties. Oh yeah, baby. That's what it's all about...



Anna made this little scene happen earlier this afternoon and I had to get a picture. Thanks for looking!

Day 16

Today our family outing was an afternoon at the rec center. Anna has a huge talent for playing basketball... I can remember her being three or four and being able to dribble the ball really well. Daddy has been working with her on her overhand jump shot and she made several baskets today! I love this action shot and you can even see Dominic in the background. I made the guys out front look at this picture on the camera and one of them said that she has perfect NBA form. Tee hee!

I am so proud of her.



Thanks for looking!

Day 15

Jenny and her boyfriend, Chris... giggling and being silly... and bringing me so much joy. I love you guys!



Thanks for looking!

Day 14

It was a rainy day so we were stuck inside playing this afternoon. Mystery, our kitty cat, decided to join us at the table in the playroom. His gaze wandered outside and I picked up my camera.



Thanks for looking!

Day 13

I've been feeling a little blue the last couple of days and I had to get out today to run some errands. I took my camera with me and as I stopped for gas, I pulled it out and started shooting. This shot captured my mood and after adding some Film Textures from Lost and Found, as well as playing with some blending modes, this is the result...

I call it "Bleak."



Thanks for looking!

Day 12

I really debated about whether to keep this shot in color or go black and white because Jenny's eyes are so intensely blue. But I loved the contrast this photo captured and wanted to focus on the clarity of her eyes.

Sometimes I think Jenny feels pretty... but most of the time, she doesn't realize how truly stunning she is.



Thanks for looking!

Day 11

Today Dominic got to bring home Beaux Bear, the kindergarten class bear, who travels with a notebook in which to record his adventures. It's a big deal to be chosen for Beaux Bear and Dominic was super happy that today was his day. I began taking some pictures of them together, and in the middle of 20 or so pictures, I found this one. My white balance was way off (Dominic does not have red hair) but I love the expression and love the saturation of the shot, so I didn't edit out the red tone.

You can click on this picture to see the larger version. His eyes! Oh be still my heart.



Thanks for looking!

Day 10

Charlie and I went back to intermediate dog training at Petsmart today and on a whim, I took my camera. It's a good thing too, because I won't have much time to take pictures this evening. Though it turned out a little blurry, it's still a really cute picture of him... he is much more interested in listening to me when I have treats! (But really, aren't most guys?)



Thanks for looking!

Day 9

Another picture of Dominic today. We went on a rare family outing to the mall and on our way out, the children got to choose a treat from Dairy Queen. Here is Dominic reading (yes, really reading) the entire menu... his eyes shining in wonder at all the candy options. He ended up choosing an M&M and Reese Cup blizzard... which promptly melted out of his cup all over his jeans, carseat, and the van. I don't think he ate but two bites, but he was so very excited to have it!



Thanks for looking!

Day 8

Bath time! Dominic was so giggly and happy tonight. I caught a rare "real" smile from him (lately, all I get are silly, cheesy grins!). He is such a sweet boy!



Thanks for looking!

Day 7

Snack time! I cut up some cocktail tomatoes with a little salt and cracked pepper and was struck with how yummy and pretty they looked. I've always loved looking at gourmet food pictures (tho' this is far from gourmet!) and have also admired good photography skills when shooting food. I did a little post processing on this, rendering a 2 o'clock spotlight with some customization. That was fun!



Thanks for looking!

Day 6

Chris, Jenny's boyfriend, joined us for dinner tonight. Much laughing ensued. After dinner, Jenny wanted him to see this blog and we ended up looking at some other pictures on the Elusive Tranquility blog also. Anna spied the Mr. Potato Head smiling butt picture and immediately recreated the masterpiece. She also put his feet where his mouth should go (and a nod to Chris for coming up with "he put his foot in his mouth" lol). For no reason that I can discern, I promptly wedged Mr. Potato Head in Anna's hoodie in this pose... Chris suggested the arm wave.

Note Anna's mirth.



Thanks for looking!

Day 5

Dominic loves playing on the computer. He reminds me so much of Jenny when she was his age. He is amazingly competent... reading and comprehending nearly everything he reads. He was playing a new game he found called Tribe and was trying to persuade me to buy it after the one-hour trial was over.

He didn't win that debate. :)



Thanks for looking!