Uncovering Skeletons – Wednesday December 26, 2007

 I was tagged by two people to post 5 pictures of myself. I had not the time to get to it earlier but since I am packing and getting ready to move soon I found some doozies that I will share with you. Some of my favorites are not here – they must already be packed away.

I have very few pictures of myself before the age of 10, when we moved to Jesup. We were not allowed to have pictures prior to this.

tag013  
From a family gathering one Christmas in Montezuma, when all of my dad’s family was there. I was on the edge of the picture, kind of on purpose, if I remember correctly.

tag009b
Soon after our move to Jesup. If you pay me a lot of money, I’ll show you the rest of the picture (after I get permission from my sisters, that is). This picture is worth more than a thousand words, trust me!!

tag008
My first “studio” picture ever. I was around 12 years old. Lovely Kmart photos. They turn a lovely purple with age.

tag010
With my nieces Vicki and Kelly, holding Michael. Lovely glasses, I know. You don’t have to tell me.

tag012
Receiving my high school diploma. Class of ’91!

img148
One of my senior pictures.

tag006 
With two of my students. They both have xanga sites but I’ll save them the embarrasment by not linking to them.

tag011
From my years in Dryden. Had to find at least one vest/poof picture!!

tag007
Another from Dryden. My dormies had given me this bouquet to celebrate surviving a wild week of summer camps. Those tired eyes tell it all!

006 
Big jump ahead. This was taken a few weeks ago.

I have lots of pictures. Albums and albums full but most of the time I am not in them since I’ve been shutterbuggy for a long time. If blackmailing were an honest living, I’d probably be set for life. I’ve got some doozies!!

Well, hope that provided some comic relief for you!

 

Who Put my Life on Fast Forward – Sunday December 16, 2007

and other great mysteries.

Well, it’s not so mysterious, really. After all, I’m building a house and it’s December. That should be self-explanatory. I told someone that it always seems like by the first week of December, the month is half-over. I guess we let our schedules get fuller than they should. But what to say no to? My friends think I’m saying “no” at an alarming rate. But that doesn’t stop life from happening. So what has been going on? Thank goodness a picture is worth a thousand words. In this post, this will count for a whole dissertation.

football  
Did he or did he not catch it? I can’t remember but it kinds bothers me seeing him hang there like that. The Montezuma boys came over last Saturday and played our boys (men in both cases). Our men lost but we’ll spare them the grief by not posting their score.

Picture 073

A baby shower for Lena and Marlin, who are expecting their first baby after 13 years of marriage.

lena table
Charity’s creative decor. The doll on the left belongs to Lena’s aunt Mary.

foggy evening
The weather has been quite warm. Right now it is raining for which we are tickled!!!! This picture was one I took one evening after work. There seemed to be a fog rising from the ground. It almost look eerie. Or ethereal.

Picture 117
Work has been very very busy. I said if it gets much busier I will have to hire a secretary for me! A little Christmas music and candlelight goes a long way to keeping things going there.

canvas  
Or a new canvas for the wall. Recognize that picture? I got a 16×24 canvas wrap. The wrap is 1.5 inches deep. I bought an extra one for half price so now I need to find a market for it. This one is hanging in my office.

supper
Playing with depth of focus on my camera. Our Christmas dinner is now history. Fun times!

 

christmas 1
Ginny and I are in charge of Ladies Night Out so we planned a Christmas Party. Neither of us were feeling to inspired but it all came together and I think everyone really enjoyed it. Myra helped us with decorations which was a tremendous help!! We had asked every lady to bring a small plate of food. Depending on the first letter of their last name, it was either 1. sandwiches 2. salty food (meatballs, quiches, pinwheels, chips, etc.) 3. something with dip 4. dessert/sweets. Well, we should’ve emphasized the SMALL plate in our request because the ladies brought large plates or trays of very fabulous food!!! We did not run out of calories that night!

We split the chairs up into three groups, thus encouraging easier conversation than a huge circle. We did not want tables since this was more of a fingerfood type meal. If we could’ve pulled off adding couches to the dining hall we would’ve. But alas, it looked like too much work.

christmas 2

christmas 4

christmas 3  

christmas 5
We played charades, getting some serious laughs from the brave ladies who acted for us. Here Katy doesn’t realize she is a bride, kneeling before her groom, though she’s not supposed to be praying to him. They thought they were doing something with putting up Christmas decorations.

We also played a game called Commonalities and Uniquities. We divided up into groups of 5. For commonalities, we had to come up with as many things that we all had in common. Our group was laughing too hard to get much of a list together. We found out we don’t all have dandruff and we aren’t all constipated. Some of us obviously were, though, for that to come up. For the uniquities part, we had to come up with some things that were unique to only 1 person in the group. Then we read them to the whole group and they had to guess who it was.

Andrea, thanks for the link to the game. We were going to use it but ended up not playing it after all. Ginny did use it at the Choice Books banquet last week.

I did mention we’re building a house, right? Here are a few pics from today. I went over to seal the grout in the kitchen. Cabinets to be installed Mon. or Tues.

house 1
We did paint the front porch door black. Thanks for your many suggestions!!!

house 2

house 3 
Our dining room light minus one globe. Notice the mystery spots on the wall. I was not using a flash and the spots were not on the walls. They only showed up on the pictures I took at this angle.

house 8
Looking from the dining room into the living room. Our house is built pretty much square, though it’s hard to tell from these pictures.

house 5
The tray ceiling in my room. Can you tell yet that we like green?

house 6
The tile around the tub/shower (more of my uncle Lewis’ handiwork!).

house 7
Lois’ bedroom has a tan suede paint which is beautiful but hard to get on camera. Looks a little like a canvas background. Hmmmm. Maybe a good backdrop for pictures. Maybe I need to find another chair though!!

Okay, that is a long enough post to last until 2009 or 2010 at least!! Hope you have a great week-before-Christmas. Don’t let your schedule do you in (like mine nearly did). Just say “no” (if you need to).

 

Master Procrastinator – Tuesday December 4, 2007

Yup. I’m even good at putting off bedtime. But I did get my car cleaned out to within an inch of its life on Saturday and I did get my church calendar started tonight. I have the months nearly completed but have to do the pages with the pictures on them. I’m still waiting on pics so I guess I’m not the only procrastinator.

Lists – they’re amazing things that help me get done what needs to be done.

So, let’s have a brief rundown of the past and upcoming events for yours truly.

  • The floor and shower tile is all installed thanks to my kind uncle and aunt, Lewis and Mary. Supper at Pelican Point was one way showing our appreciation to them and other family members, namely our parents who have put in many hours of painting, and our brother who lifted many heavy boxes for us and who has committed himself to helping us lay our hardwood floor. The other sister (who has also greatly helped with painting) and her family weren’t able to make it.
  • Ate 5 oysters within a week’s time. On purpose. They’re better fried than broiled. Trust me on that one.
  • Finally picked out the cabinet stain and counter tops. Came back to same laminate several times so decided to go with that, even though the finish is shinier than we wanted it.
  • Shopped in Brunswick one evening.
  • Watched the Christmas parade and then ate supper at a Mexican restaurant. Listened to football talk. Again.
  • And again.
  • No I’m not bitter.
  • But it did bring up an interesting (?) discussion.

On the to-do list:

  • Finish planning the ladies night out Christmas party. Btw, do any of you know of any games/activities that would cover the age group of 15-100. No, we don’t have any 100-year-olds but if we did they’d be invited.
  •  Make 1.5 big pans of banana pudding for the company meal (low country boil and oyster roast) that we, along with another company, are doing for subcontractors and customers on Thursday.
  • Watch our guys play the Montezuma guys in football on Saturday.
  • Hopefully get a little sun.
  • Try not to think of how bottle-necked my schedule will be at the end of the year.
  • Go to Jax for a barbershop Christmas concert.
  • Paint some more.
  • Make more decisions.
  • Take time to shoot a few more pics.

Here are some from last week:

foggy morning  

 

mostly SOOC (straight out of camera) except for vignette and border

vine 1

 

a little edgier editing: 

vine 2

 

midnight sepia editing:

vine 3

 

Btw, that is a vine that grows up walls, trees, etc. It has tiny little “feet” that cling to the surface of whatever it’s climbing. Usually the leaves are green and for some reason this is the first year I noticed that it changes colors as well. It’s outside my office.

Gotta quit procrastinating and get some sleep.