Can You Tell I'm Unemployed?

Yes, it's another picture of the cat. That's who I spend my days with now. Lol. I had to snap this picture because Takara (like most cats, I'm sure) always manages to be in places you don't want her to be. I have to keep my bedroom door closed at all times because if she gets in there she immediately climbs my desk, crosses over to my tv and carries some of my little knick knacks into the living room. I also now have to keep my bathroom door closed constantly because she started sleeping on top of my towels. And who wants to get out of a shower and dry off with a towel that has cat hair all over it? The other day I was walking on the treadmill and noticed cat hair in the cup holders. I thought to myself "surely Takara isn't climbing up here". And then like an hour later as I walked down the hall... bam, there she is. Anyone want a free cat?

*As per my previous post, I did not shoot directly towards the window.

Let This Be An Example

Now I wanted this picture to look like this on purpose. I knew that it would silhouette the cat in an outline against the window and I thought it would look pretty cool. But this is also a great example of why you should always try to avoid shooting towards a window or door. Mine is so drastic because I turned off all interior lights and darkened the room and took it at one of the brightest times of day. But even with a well lit room, if you shoot towards a window or door it's going to mess up the picture. The camera just doesn't read the light coming through the window right and it will overpower the light in the room. There you go. A free lesson. You're welcome.

Out Driving

On my way back from an interview this morning, I spotted this abandoned business next to the remains of an old building. With my new free time I am hoping to venture out and work on my photography. I wish I had a better shot of this area, but once I pulled in there I got all paranoid that I might get in trouble for being there.

Cute Little Visitor

I noticed Takara going crazy near the living room window and peeked out to see we had a cute little bunny in the backyard. It was just sitting quietly a few feet from the house staring at the window where Takara was staring back at it. I opened the patio door and snapped this picture but when I closed the door the bunny got startled and ran off.

Goodbye Party

Tonight a bunch of us from work who used to work together met up at a local establishment for a goodbye party. It was a much needed night of relaxation and fun.

Wow, That's Weird

So it's my first day of permanent vacation and I'm sitting in the recliner thinking I should work on bonding with the cat. After all, we're going to be spending a lot of time together now. So I gathered up some of her toys and tossed them down the hall. She loves to chase them and bat them around in the hallway. I threw these three toys, one at a time, from my recliner and bounced them off the hallway wall. Takara did run down to the end of the hall after I threw the first one, but then just stood there and stared as I threw the other two. She was sort of intrigued but not quite interested, so she didn't chase or touch any of them in any way. As you can see, I somehow randomly threw them so that they lined up in a perfect line equal distances apart. I don't think the cat noticed that, but I thought it was pretty freaky.

Surprise! It's Our Last Day at Work

So we had known for a while that our jobs weren't being extended past March 27. We had been slowly packing our offices all week and preparing ourselves for our final Friday. But today we had our official meeting with HR and learned we got to go home today, immediately after the meeting, and did not have to come back. Ever. This is some of my coworkers emptying their desks and preparing to walk out of the office for the final time. I didn't have a whole lot left, so I walked around and took pictures. I don't know that everyone really appreciated it, but one day it will be nice to look through them and remember the places and people I spent so much time with.

Almost Forgot

Was curled up in bed tonight and suddenly remembered I still needed to take a picture. So I picked up my loyal Droid and just took a shot of me curled up in bed.

So Pretty

This is the first tiny bit of color I've spotted in the yard. It's a sure sign that spring is here indeed. Of course it's also a sign that the yard is going to need to be mowed any day now. Sigh.

Another New Cooking Experience

Tonight I made salmon patties for the first time ever. They were beautiful. I fried them so perfectly golden that I almost didn't want to eat them. Lol. I am definitely going to be making these on a semi-regular basis.

March Weather

So we always seem to get one last freakish snow storm towards the end of march and this year did not let us down. I took this picture before I went to bed last night (after midnight) and this morning was surprised to see it had switched overnight from snow to ice. Our little baby tree in the front yard was all iced over and leaning to the side. I should have taken a picture of the ice... but I spent a lazy day indoors.

Hanging With My Homies

Tonight I went out with my friends DJ & Jordi for a relaxing evening of friendship and conversation. We started out by stuffing ourselves at Colton's Steakhouse and then topped our meal off by driving downtown and chilling out at the Mudhouse for a while. Unfortunately the crazy Missouri weather started throwing sleet and snow at us pretty quickly so we didn't get to walk around downtown and see the sites. Instead we made a quick trip to the mall to visit Hot Topic where I buried myself even further into my nerdiness by purchasing a World of Warcraft Alliance pin back button. Then we headed back to their house and continued to crack each other up until I realized the snow was starting to become a hazard. I snapped a quick photo with my Droid cellphone of my two buds and headed home. So Jordi this is for you... you finally made it into my photo a day blog. And your adorable puppy Sadie too.

Boba Tea

Tonight I went to a local Vietnamese restaurant and had my first ever Boba Tea. I had seen Anthony Bourdain drink one on an episode of No Reservations, so when I discovered them in my town I knew I wanted to try one. I ordered the strawberry smoothie and Scott got the coffee flavor. It was really delicious and a very interesting experience. I will say that by the end of the drink I got a little tired of having to chew a mouthful of tapioca pearls before I could take another sip, so I wish there were a few less of those in the bottom of the cup. But now that I'm home and thinking back on it, I kinda want another one. To learn more about Boba tea (aka Bubble tea) check out The History of Bubble Tea. And then go try one. You can find them in Springfield at Bambu in the Fremont Center.

Baby Photos

Kids are hard to photograph. The babies can't take direction, you can't tell them to smile or look at the camera. Then you have the 2, 3 and 4 year olds who will get either very shy or very cranky when you try to get them to cooperate. And from there you get the 5 - 8 year olds who are simply too busy doing what they're doing and can't be bothered. I know this isn't true of all kids, but it's certainly true of the 3 kids I spent today with. Lol.

Luckily, persistance will eventually pay off. You just stay in the babies face and snap picture after picture until you get the one shot that makes it all worth while. This shot was actually taken at Silver Dollar City today. It was the park's opening day and I drove down and met up with Cindy, Justin, Kasen, Saige and baby Rylen who is pictured above. We had a blast.

Footprints

A few minutes ago I decided it was time to go to bed and get some sleep. And then I remembered I hadn't taken a picture for today. I had already kicked my shoes off so I headed out to the car in my socks to grab my camera. About 3 steps out in the yard and I realize the ground is actually pretty wet. My socks are now soaked. I grab the camera and head back to the house trying to figure out what I can take a picture of for the day. When I turned around this is what I saw.

Train Tracks

Even though I could see clearly for a long distance on either side of me, I still got nervous stopping my car in the middle of the tracks to get this shot. I guess that comes from my childhood. The house I grew up in could only be reached by crossing some fairly busy railroad tracks. It made me realize trains can sneak up on you pretty quickly. I definitely respect railroad crossings.

Soft Light

This is just me playing around with my camera and the porch light. I'm still learning which settings are the best for different types of light. Out of 15 or 20 pics I liked this one the best but I still think it could be a bit better. I may need to try it again sometime.

Free Is My Favorite Price

Free is my favorite price. Especially when you get an LCD monitor, wireless keyboard and wireless mouse for free.

Roadtrip

Saturday morning I hopped in the truck with mom and dad and we took off down to the Boston mountains in Arkansas. Partly because we wanted to go to the A-Z Gift Store in Alma, Arkansas and partly because they are the people who taught me to love roadtrips. We opted to drive old Hwy 71 through the mountains instead of the new I-540. It was great getting to enjoy the drive at a slower pace and seeing all the old towns located along 71. But at the same time it was really sad to see how most of them are just trashy, junky, almost ghost towns because the interstate took away all their traffic. You could tell Hwy 71 had been really bustling in the old days because the whole road was littered with all sorts of little tourist traps and specialty shops. All of which are now abandoned and decaying.

Anyway, this picture was taken at the Mountainburg City Park. Whenever I find dinosaurs I just have to take a picture.

Just Trust Me, She Hit It

Tonight I drove down to Purdy to watch Jessica again. She did even better during this game than she did at Hurley the other night. I wish my timing were just a hair better on this shot. Jessica is number 3 and you'll have to trust me when I say she did hit it back over the net. It was a great play.

Spring Is Getting Closer

The weather is starting to tease us now with a few pretty days in a row. It's definitely giving me spring fever. I can't wait to go fishing.

Turkey!

Tonight we bowled against one of the fun teams at the bowling alley. They have an official hat that has to be worn by any person on their team or their opposing team who gets a turkey. Just in case you're not up on bowling lingo, a turkey is 3 strikes in a row. As you can see, Scott had a decent night.

West Side! Represent

I was amused to find this tag on the side of a building in downtown Republic. I mean technically the building is located on what would be considered the west side of town, but do we really need to claim our turf in Republic? Lol. Of course it's pretty obvious this isn't from a real gang... you can barely read it.

Insert Boring Picture Here

Today I attended a funeral for Betty Tucker. So of course I had nothing to take a photo of most of the day. When I got home I decided to wake up the cat and harass her. It's so mean, but I enjoy it.

Kinda Cheating, But Not Really

So this picture is obviously from the same night as yesterday's post... but it was taken after midnight. Which means it can totally be used here.

Hanging At Shawn's House

Shawn had invited some people up to his house in Monett on Saturday night for some fun. There was non-stop entertainment, as you can see. My relatives that were there include JR, Carl, Cindy, Scott, Shane and Josh. Also Jessica and Candi came out. Most of the other people were Shawn and Josh's friends.

Confession Time

FAIL


I don't know how it happened, but tonight I did not get a picture. Apparently. I really thought I had taken one, but there just isn't one on my sd card with today's date. I remember everything I did today. I went downtown for lunch and ate at Maria's. Then after work Scott and I ordered our favorite Domino's Pizza and Wendy, Marshall, Dillon & Jacob stopped by to visit with us on their way home from the mall. And I swear I took a picture of Jacob. I always take a picture of Jacob. It just doesn't make any sense that I don't have one. I'm pretty sure I clearly remember picking up my camera. But alas, no picture exists. And I didn't realize it until days later (yes, I ninja the post date so everything seems to be posted the day it was taken even though it's not) so now it's too late. I just gotta leave this one blank.

And while I'm confessing, I feel like I should also admit that my photo from January 18th was not actually taken until the 19th. That night I simply went about my day, went to bed and never once thought about taking a picture. The next morning I realized it instantly so I snapped a photo and pretended it never happened. But it was bugging me that I covered it up and now with this obvious failure, I had to come clean. Guess I'm not able to commit to doing something everyday after all. But I bet I don't miss very many more this year.

Junior High Volleyball

My neice Jessica started playing volleyball this year and their second game of the season was just right down the road in Hurley (near Crane) so I got a chance to go watch her. Hurley is a very small school with a very small gym and therefore it wasn't as bright inside as it can be in bigger gyms. Which means I didn't get any good action shots, everything had a slight blur. But I did get her crouched down in position waiting for one of her teammates to serve the ball. You can tell by looking at her that volleyball is serious business.

A Horrible Day

Today I went to the dentist and it was a horrible experience all the way around. I don't want to give you all the gruesome details, but let's just say I had to go back 3 seperate times today, the dentist never wore any gloves and he made me suck his finger. Okay, I'm gagging again. Can't talk about it anymore. To help erase this trauma from my brain I went shoe shopping.

Playing With Sunbeams

It was a cold dreary day for the most part, but as I pulled into the driveway after work today the sun was peeking through the clouds above me in little pockets. I snapped a picture, but it didn't look very good as a natural picture. So I decided to play around with some of my photo editing tools and see if I could make a fun picture out of it.

My Bookmarks

On Thursday I went to Barnes & Noble to purchase a gift. While I was there I picked myself up a couple of new bookmarks. Now you get to see them. Lucky you.