Monthly Archives: February 2011

Blue Lily GoPro Workshop – 1 of 2

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How does one put into words the magic you’ve just experienced?  I can’t, I just can’t do it.  All I know is this, my hubby is witness that I’m still on a high.

I had the privilege of meeting Wendy and Tyler AKA Blue Lily Photography this past weekend for their goPro Workshop.  I came away with more knowledge and respect for this couple than I could have ever imagined.

 

We had such an amazing happy group from all over the US and Canada.

 It was a colorful group too…

 

The weekend brought laughter and fun.

The lessons were packed with information.  Help was at our side during breaks or when needed.  Wendy and Tyler are passionate professional photographers eager to share their wealth of knowledge to those just as hungry.

Knowledge in motion…

Dana came all the way from Canada…

Practice ~ Practice ~ Practice

Hi Crystal!

Time at the beach…

Happy faces everywhere…

Don’t forget to kiss the chef…

Getting ready for that first sip of coffee…

My mind is about to explode from all the things we learned, my heart is filled with joy that I had the privilege to be there and my days will be filled with practice.

Here’s our fabulous group shot complements of Wendy and Tyler.  I asked Wendy if she would share these in advance and she graciously agreed.  Thank you!

The only negative – I’m still having a hard time sleeping straight through the night.  The symptoms occurred the first and second day of the workshop.  The symptoms continue after the workshop.

Apparently my mind wants to carry on with the party night and day and it’s not such a bad thing after all.  Party On!

To be continued…

Blessings – Debbie

Anticipation

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Wikipedia describes this emotion best – Anticipation, or being enthusiastic, is an emotion involving pleasure (and sometimes anxiety) in considering some expected or longed-for good event.

Right about now, this would be what describes me best.  An emotion involving pleasure for a longed-for good event would also be an understatement.

I’ve been anticipating said event since January and come tomorrow the anticipation will end.  And that my friends, is the beginning of new knowledge where learning and fun coincide…

I find it so amazing that I get to attend this Hilario Amazing San Diego Gopro Photography Workshop.  Well, not that one exactly, as that was held in January.  However, the link gives a little sneak peek of an idea of what the experience is all about.  My depends are packed, just so you know.  The workshop is hosted by none other than the infamous, funny, fun-loving Blue Lily Couple.  This couple takes their passion for photography on the road and will literally travel the world for the next 9 months.  I still can’t believe I have the privilege of gaining knowledge from them.

I heard about this event via Meg. And by the evening after I read this amazing intro to Blue Lily, I too was signed up for the workshop.  Meg has a great sense of humor,  I love her Craft Thursdays with her children, her love for color and her beautiful family.  Someone pinch me…I think I’m dreaming too!

Here’s a pic I took moments ago.  It represents me and what I want to do, blossom.  I can’t wait to blossom such that I can use the camera to its full potential.

More than likely I won’t be around here (the blog) the next couple days.  But I look forward to my return!

Until then,

Blessings – Debbie

A Day At The Salon

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I’ve had few hair stylists in my life that I really connect with, she’s one of them. She even thought it was cool that I wanted to take her picture.  This pic is “blog” approved.

I was encouraged to take photos in the salon.  I wasn’t expecting all that, but I took advantage.

I love how they cater to their clients – totally my cup of tea…or coffee.

 

I enjoyed a cup of the Berry Black tea.

I was offered round two while I waited on my hair color to process.

This is my hairstylist’s station.  Actually, the lower left corner is a portion of the cut-away mirror (in front of me) with an ad reflecting in it.  On the other side of the mirror, would be the stairs that lead to the second story.

I truly enjoy a great salon experience, today was one of those days.

Get this, I actually have a friend who will not get her hair cut on the same day of color.  Her reason?  She loves her salon experience so much that she prefers her visits as often as possible.  That very well could be me one day.

Blessings – Debbie

Busy Monday

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What a busy good Monday.  It pretty much amounted to a lot of phone calls and a trip to the mall for many hours.

My number one priority of the day came first, my hubby.  He needed help with our vision plan and I spent nearly 2 hours calling providers for a certain type frame he’s looking for.  I did succeed finding a couple of places.  I hope one of the two places work out for him.  Fingers crossed.

After my long afternoon of shopping, the garden was the peaceful place I wanted to be.

It still amazes me that there seems to be something new in bloom each day.

Although this lily isn’t new, I like the way the late afternoon sun splashed against the background.

And now my friends, I’m ready to disappear into the background.  I’m in need of a second wind, a cup of coffee or something to shake my sleepy self.  Perhaps “The Batchelor” will do the trick. 

Blessings – Debbie

The Weekend

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Hello world!  I hope your weekend is treating you well.  I’ve been a little occupied with my hubby the last few days.

We enjoyed doing many things together including:

  • several outings
  • a nap during a rain shower
  • the excitement of watching an intense rainbow
  • tire shopping for my car
  • a nice dinner experience in our friends home – downtown San Diego
  • magical moments watching the Daytona 500
  • our love of playing backgammon
  • a fun moment at the pet store – the pups were so cute

Now that we’re on the heals of the weekend, I wish it would last a little longer.  

The garden was so pretty right after the rain.

The sun and blue sky broke through. 

 I like times like this when everything is fresh and new.

 Truly a cheerful sign after a downpour.

We enjoyed a delightful evening with friends in downtown San Diego.  What a wonderful way to polish off the day.  Lorraine prepared such a lovely meal and her homemade carrot cake was off the charts delish.

A picture as we head into downtown.

I had full intentions of taking pictures, but I didn’t.  I chalk it up to one of those times where it was best to enjoy the moment.

Some moments are meant to capture while others are meant to remain in our hearts.  This will be an evening I will always cherish and will also remember who and why we celebrated this night.

Blessings – Debbie

Friday Favorites

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My favorite thing about every other Friday is that my hubby gets the day off = a wonderful 3 day weekend.

Today he had an appointment to have a cavity filled. I waited out front where the girls offered tea and coffee.

Not long after hubby disappeared, he sent this text. I love the many ways he makes me smile.

Yes, we still have the old flip Motorola cell phones.  TBD when we catch up to speed.

Another Friday favorite was a lunch date to one of our favorite joints.  Not to mention this place has the best onion rings on the planet. 

We’re Idol fans.  This young 19-year-old (Casey Abrams) has our attention.  We saved this DVR show and continue to watch this performance.  Georgia…Wow!

 Our afternoon and evening was spent looking for new frames for my hubby.  I wish I would have taken a picture of him with my pick of the day.  We still have more shopping to do before he makes his decision.

To top off the day he treated us to some nice chocolates.

Our day was productive and the evening is all about rest and relaxation.

Blessings – Debbie

Ups And Downs And A Good Backfire

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Good morning bright blue sky.  What fun to watch the sun burn off the fog while enjoying my first cup of coffee.

The day had its ups and downs.  Our fairly new (year and a half old) GE washing machine is throwing a bit of a tantrum.  The motor was replaced less than a year ago and it appears to be having the exact problem all over again.  GE did not make me feel all warm and fuzzy.  I’ll leave it at that.

On the bright side, the clothes hamper is empty, clean sheets are on the bed and the ironing is all caught up.

To take my mind off things, here’s a beautiful lily.  I spied this from the kitchen sink.

My day was sort of all mapped out as it was my day to run errands.  As soon as the first errand was complete, the next stop sort of backfired and I couldn’t get in ’til 1:00 pm.

To deal with that, I called hubby to see if he would be up for a lunch date.  Lucky me, he was all about it.  I think some things are meant to backfire so that we can make a better plan.

I was wild about these beautiful blossoms today.

My 1:00 appointment was  lovely.

While out, I picked up a new yummy flavor of coffee.  Turns out, I didn’t notice the decaf label ’til I got home.  Oh well, the world didn’t end.

To take my mind off the fact that I picked up the wrong coffee, I took more pictures out front.  I love a good distraction.

Our favorite neighbor stopped over with Fritz.  I love Fritz, who wouldn’t love Fritz?  He’s the best neighbor dog ever…Momma let me take pictures and Fritz posed so nice for the camera.  He got lots of attention after the picture, he’s such a good boy.

One last shot out front before getting to a few household chores.

With ups and downs, sometimes a backup plan is all it takes to turn things around.  And sometimes as I like to say “it is what it is” slap somebody and move on.

Blessings – Debbie

Is Change The Right Thing

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I struggle with change from time to time, but I’ve learned that change is good. It’s all about the way we embrace it.

As some of you already know, I just up and moved “the blog” where I posted a total of 818 posts since January 2006. Well, I didn’t just up and move without giving it some thought. But once I made the decision, all questions were put to rest and I moved forward with the plan. And it feels good and fresh and I quite like the change.

Welcome to the new blog home where all things start fresh and new. I’m ready, are you?

Cheers to this rainy day

 

The view out the kitchen window…

 

…set the mood for this…

…that…

…and the other.

There’s so much to learn, I plan to enjoy the process.

Blessings – Debbie

At The Wrong Place At The Right Time

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is when you arrive to where you think your going and find out you’re really not where you thought you were.  Huh?  And since I left the house early, I had time on my hands to spare at the wrong place.  Are you with me?

There was a plan and good intentions were made to arrive on the early side.  Don’t get me wrong, this was not such a bad place to stumble when the GPS failed miserably.  Actually, it was my fault as it wasn’t programmed properly.

I made the most of it.

Looking below at the arrows pointing every which way made me chuckle.

Since I was ahead of schedule, (even though I was lost) I played here for just a while.

Finally I made it to the appropriate destination and spent the day with my friend (Beth) up on Mount Soledad near San Diego, Cali.  We had abundant sunshine, packed lunches, beach chairs and the day to spend.

Turns out, life doesn’t always take us where we think we’re going.  Lets enjoy the ride, even when we make a wrong turn.

Blessings – Debbie

Portrait Experiment Monday

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Happy Valentine’s Day!  The day started extra early around here.  Hubby was out the door long before the crack of dawn.  So I had the bright idea to watch the sunrise.

I drove up to Mount Soledad, but had my concerns as I was on my way up.  There were twists and turns through fog and I took note of the cloudy conditions.

I’m so happy I stuck to the plan.

While I waited, I decided to snap some shots of the chain link fence/dew combo.

I thought it was an interesting subject.

But when I saw this dew drenched flowering tree, I was in awe.  I love how the tiny flower is laced with dew.  I also like how the dew beads on the tiny strand of spider web.

Then I got caught up with the sunrise.

I really like the cloud and sunrise combo.

Here comes the sun…

It was such a beautiful place to be.

Then I jumped in the car and drove over to Mission Beach. It felt like the thing to do…

The lifeguards arrive…

Ah, I remember this moment when the sun touched down. I love the way the palm trees cast their nice long shadows over the sand.

It was fun to chill and people watch…

The pounding waves are something I could listen to all day long.

Playing his heart out.  With all the commotion of the sea, I couldn’t hear a thing.

I wasn’t prepared to have a breakfast date all alone, but I did.  The aroma of breakfast cooking while taking a stroll on the boardwalk did me in.  So I walked through this door of calories.  I didn’t regret the move…

Next thing I know, I’m looking at this menu…

Soon, piping hot coffee was placed in front of me…

And the best French toast in the world somehow found me!  Oh my word, well there are no words.  This thing was coated with fruit, sliced almonds, some sort of cream sauce and then I slathered it with syrup.  Oh yea, and that nice dollop of cream on top.

I enjoyed the view from my seat.  I think I could have remained here all day.  Perhaps I should have kept the coffee coming.

Soon breakfast was over and I was on my way.  This little guy wanted to be friends so I took his picture.

After breakfast, I tried on a few hats.  This one just doesn’t cut it.  But you want to know something?  I had a lot of fun getting acquainted with this beautiful day, that’s what really matters.

Blessings – Debbie

Happy Valentine's Day

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The day started extra early around here.  Hubby was out the door long before the crack of dawn.  So I had the bright idea to watch the sunrise.

I drove up to Mount Soledad, but had my concerns as I was on my way up.  There were twists and turns through fog and I took note of the cloudy conditions.

I’m so happy I stuck to the plan.

While I waited, I decided to snap some shots of the chain link fence/dew combo.

I thought it was an interesting subject.

But when I saw this dew drenched flowering tree, I was in awe.  I love how the tiny flower is laced with dew.  I also like how the dew beads on the tiny strand of spider web.

Then I got caught up with the sunrise.

I really like the cloud and sunrise combo.

Here comes the sun…

It was such a beautiful place to be.

Then I jumped in the car and drove over to Mission Beach. It felt like the thing to do…

The lifeguards arrive…

Ah, I remember this moment when the sun touched down. I love the way the palm trees cast their nice long shadows over the sand.

It was fun to chill and people watch…

The pounding waves are something I could listen to all day long.

Playing his heart out.  With all the commotion of the sea, I couldn’t hear a thing.

I wasn’t prepared to have a breakfast date all alone, but I did.  The aroma of breakfast cooking while taking a stroll on the boardwalk did me in.  So I walked through this door of calories.  I didn’t regret the move…

Next thing I know, I’m looking at this menu…

Soon, piping hot coffee was placed in front of me…

And the best French toast in the world somehow found me!  Oh my word, well there are no words.  This thing was coated with fruit, sliced almonds, some sort of cream sauce and then I slathered it with syrup.  Oh yea, and that nice dollop of cream on top.
 
 
I enjoyed the view from my seat.  I think I could have remained here all day.  Perhaps I should have kept the coffee coming.

After cleaning half the plate, I was more than satisfied and on my way.  This little guy wanted to be friends so I took his picture.

After breakfast, I tried on a few hats.  This one just doesn’t cut it.  But you want to know something?  I had a lot of fun getting acquainted with this beautiful day, that’s what really matters.

Blessings – Debbie

An Early Valentine’s Dinner

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I’ve had such a hankering for Japanese hibachi for quite some time.  And this is the place hubby treated me this afternoon.

We were the only ones at this table.  It did help that we arrived before 3 in the afternoon.

I was so excited about what we were about to eat, that this is the point all photography came to a screeching halt.

We stopped here after dinner.

A picture of us in the backyard after our fun date.

It’s been such a wonderful day all the way around.

Cheers to weekends and dates with my love.

Blessings – Debbie

An Early Valentine's Dinner

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I’ve had such a hankering for Japanese hibachi for quite some time.  And this is the place hubby treated me this afternoon.

We were the only ones at this table.  It did help that we arrived before 3 in the afternoon.

I was so excited about what we were about to eat, that this is the point all photography came to a screeching halt.

We stopped here after dinner.

A picture of us in the backyard after our fun date.

It’s been such a wonderful day all the way around.

Cheers to weekends and dates with my love.

Blessings – Debbie

Happy Friday

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Friday is a happy day.  It’s a day to wrap up all work related things and prepare for the weekend.

I had a fun yet busy morning.

My frames finally arrived and I’m so happy with my new prescription.

After picking up my prescription, I ran over to a nice little bakery to pick up a cake for my hubby and his group.  Today they had a goodbye luncheon for a gentleman moving on.  I’m happy hubby includes me in these functions as I have always enjoyed getting to know his group.  We’ll miss you Vern.

Now I’m home to get the cleaning and laundry caught up before the weekend.

Happy Friday and weekend everyone!

Blessings – Debbie

A Visit To Mount Soledad

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It was so fun to catch up with my friend Beth.  And I can’t think of a better place to meet (yesterday) than here.  We had abundant sunshine, packed lunches, beach chairs and the day to spend.

Again without the details

The view looking north

We couldn’t have asked for a prettier day – We got a nice dose of Vitamin D.

It was amazing to see the snow covered mountains way in the distance, while enjoy temps in the 70’s.

It was fun to people watch…This couple was too cute.


This gentleman overheard Beth and me exclaiming the fact that we could see Mexico from here.  We ended up having such great conversation with him.

The shirt he was sporting was “Ride The Rockies”.  Turns out this 65 year old gentleman loves to ride the distance.  I was amazed that many of the tours he’s involved with are 400 + impressive miles!

Then this couple stopped by to see if someone would take their picture.  Turns out this lovely couple are newlyweds.  They had their beautiful ceremony this past Sunday.  Such a sweet couple.  We ended up visiting with them for what seems more than a half hour.

We even bumped into Google maps!  How cool was that?

When I asked if I could take his picture, he gave me a thumbs up.

Evidently he uses a Dell…

What fun…

29′ Cross or 43′ Cross if you include the base – at the top of the mountain.

People watching at its best…

A view as I was coming down off the mountain at the end of the afternoon.

We truly enjoyed our time spent here and more wonderful memories were made.
Blessings – Debbie