Put another candle....

Here's a candle I painted in photoshop and am using in my scrapbooks.

You can see how I used it on my other blog,

Scrap Happy @ http://prizler-scraphappy.blogspot.com/

It's my husband's birthday tomorrow. Don't know what to get him as he either has what he wants/needs, or we can't afford it. Our flooring is still being torn out and after 5 plumbers coming in to assess the problem, no one can give us an answer as to where the water is coming from. I'm about ready to jackhammer it all up myself. Maybe I should bring in gophers and see if they can dig through the dirt underneath the house. (hey, that might just work!)

Purple

I haven't posted on I heart faces in a while, but I thought that the theme "purple" was interesting. I had recently taken photos for a quinceanera and the colors were purple. We went to the beach for some portraits and the sister had so much fun getting her feet wet. I couldn't resist posting one shot with her dress blown up by the wind. Her face shows her thoughts!

Did you know purple is a universal color that looks good on everyone?

Love the color purple.

Check out I heart faces at: http://www.iheartfaces.com/

The Good, the Bad, and the Textured~

Yesterday I began playing with textures & patterns, adding them to photographs. The first one is Mack, one of my favorite subjects. He's pushed back and desaturated and then I added a greenish texture along with other layers until I got a look that I wanted.

The next photo is one my daughter took of herself. The original photo is very muted and grainy to begin with. I added several textures, one with a pattern in the background and then she wanted the teal sides added. Teal is her favorite color. We painted her room Sunday. BRIGHT teal. She said when she walks into her room she says, "Wow!" I walk in and say "WOW!"

Anyhow, paint is the best way to change a look to a room.

Easy and cheap.

Off to cover the house with sheets. Having our flooring removed in the hall and the concrete torn up to try to locate the source of the 'water' under the floor. Mag's room is all the way to the concrete and I washed it several times with bleach & water solution. She slept in her room for the first time last night and didn't wake up wheezy.

(Think we're on the right path)

Anyhow, off to put the movies 'Holes' on....

The Act of God designation on all insurance policies... means roughly that you cannot be insured for the accidents that are most likely to happen to you. If your ox kicks a hole in your neighbor's Maserati, however, indemnity is instantaneous.

~Alan Coren, The Lady from Stalingrad Mansions, 1977

Mack

It's a doggy world out there! Here are the first two of many dawg shots that I took while visiting one of my sisters. We were at a dog park where there were many different breeds. This first pic is my sister's dog, Mack, the Airedale terrier on the right. He had a thing for the standard poodle. I think they liked each others nappy hair!

My sister has had Airedales all her life. Her last two, Ernie & Gracie, past away. Gracie-just last month. It was very difficult for my sis to lose Grace. So... she went on the Internet.

Mack on the run- -

Mack was a RESCUE dog!! Can you believe that? He was wandering around and some workers fed him. He came back the next day and the workers took him to the shelter. Oregon is where he ended up. Skinny & looking like he had been wandering for quite awhile, they took him in, fed him, neutered him (ouch) and posted him on their site. After finding out his history and them hearing about my sisters love of Airedales, she drove up there and picked him up. He has turned out to be the best darn dog ever. He races you up stairs and then turns to say, "I won!" He's a hoot. Big and burly. Funniest of the ones she's had. Mack is Back!

Mack imitating a stuffed animal.

(PS: He sleeps on her bed just as if he expected it all along)

For more critters, visit:

http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/

Summer Fun - Photo Friday

It's been a long time since I've posted to Photo Friday. This week's theme is Summer Fun and I wanted to post a photo that I took a few weeks back of my sister's neighbor's granddaughter. She was such a doll. I say this kid is magazine ready!

For many more (like over 260) summer fun photos, click on this link: http://www.photofriday.com/

Art Creations Friday: "Time Was Up"

My daughter just asked, "Why do you make these creepy things?" LOL

I ask myself that same thing. Anyhow, here is my rendition using the woman given to us by Femmy at Art Creations Friday. The background is a photograph that I took while in Kentucky. I used just a portion of it and made it look old. Enjoy! (before time is up...)

Be sure to check out not so creepy art at: http://artcreationsfriday.blogspot.com/

Locked In

I decided to take a break from what I've been doing this week to make a collage for Theme Thursday's Art Challenge. This week's theme is 'something round'. I thought about taking a photo of me running in circles, but figured this might relay how I'm feeling these days. "Locked in" is the title. My rounds: round locks.

I have been locked in the house ripping out my daughter's hardwood flooring. Our house a some sort of plumbing leak (of which the insurance company says they don't cover) and it has gone under the wood in the house. My daughter's is the worst and she is now living at a neighbor's house since her asthma has gotten so extreme. The mold is rampant underneath, but seems to be just under the wood. No where else. I'm almost done taking hers out and then I'll be bleaching the concrete. I do find it therapeutic as I use my crow bar and hammer pounding away at each slat. I suspect we'll be living on concrete for awhile. Maybe we'll paint it with graffiti or paint rugs on it. Maybe I'll have the kids put paint on their feet and we can put our foot prints all over. Oh the options are endless!

Hope you like my ROUND digital art.

Be sure to check out amazing art at: http://themethursday.wordpress.com/

PS: Here is an inverted copy of the above. Gives it a different look.

Rosarito, Mexico

My daughter is an avid photographer too and recently went to Rosarito, Mexico. Here are two of her shots that I think work well for Watery Wednesday. I hope you enjoy them!

Be sure to check out more at WW @: http://waterywednesday.blogspot.com/

College Visits! UCDavis-UCDavis!

Wow, odd to be visiting colleges already with my first born. Maggie is looking into colleges that offer a doctorate in veterinary medicine. Did you know that there are only 3 we can choose from since she wants to stay in California or bordering states? We decided to add some to the list that will give her what she needs in order to transfer into a vet school. Our first stop was Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. I loved the cows and sheep. Mags.... not so much. She was embarrassed that I kept mooing at the cows and baaaahing at the sheep. Doesn't she remember that this is our family tradition?

Advise that I have gotten is that your kid needs to love the school. They will know what they love when they see it. This was not the town for Mags. She knew it. I knew it. Onward and northern. We stopped off at Stanford just to see the differences. Beautiful campus, but not for her - even if it was an option.

Maggie loves contemporary styles. She is like my dad. Very logical and always goes for the decor that my dad loved. I never used to like contemporary, but I sure do now. It's such a cleaner, sleeker look and she helped me see that. Isn't my girl beautiful?? Ahh-- I love this kid.

Off to U. C. Davis. Whoooa. She fell head over heals in love with this campus. They are a state of the art campus with every amenity anyone could ever ask for. We took a walking tour with a very bright young woman. She didn't have to sell Maggie on the school. As soon as we got there, Mag was in. She could picture herself living, breathing, learning the UCDavis way.

This is one of the sculptures on campus. Mag took the shot. My camera was in the car, plus Mag is a better photographer than me. She has such a loose style. Something kids automatically have. Here is one of my favorite photos that she recently took:

Tomorrow I will post some photos of my sister's new Airedale, Mack. He is big and burly. As cute as a stuffed animal and is a big love. We went to the dog park near her house and it was a hoot. So many funny dogs.

Surf City 5K Residence Run!

Well, I did it. My very first race ever. A 5k - I did it in 32 minutes. Oh well.... not bad for an out of shape 52 year old. I'm just glad I didn't trip over a kid or dog. Yes, they actually had dogs running. Really. Really stupid I think. Now, don't get me wrong. I love my dog, but I'm uncoordinated and my floppy feet would seek out the first leash to get tangled in if I wasn't paying attention. So here is a photo of me. I laughed when I looked in the mirror when I came home. Don't I look like I've been arrested? lol

And here I am on a better day. Just so you can see I don't always look like a convict.

Happy Fourth of July!

Them Bones--

ELEVEN years ago this month, my husband met up with his aunt & uncle in Temecula, California at a place called "Pebly Ranch". He took a two-man tent and intended on sleeping outside. I kindly declined the invitation to go along. My kids at the time were 2, 4, and 6. I thought it was pretty courageous of him but knew that Aunt Tutu and Uncle Clark had an RV so things would be just fine. Dan called me the first day and said that they had met a family that had three kids too and everyone got along really well. He begged me to drive down to meet them. Their kids were right about the same age. Six month to a year older. So imagine, six kids, ages 2-7. Sounded like more fun than I could keep away from, so off I went. Here is a very old photo of the entire kid-let crew. Brandon, Taylor, Sam, Maggie, Katie & Allison.

Now, when I met them, I have to say that it was quite amazing how we felt like we had been friends for a long time. Our family's clicked in such an amazing way. So--the interesting thing was that the dad, Todd, had nicknames for his kids. B-Bone, T-Bone and A-Bone. We always refer to them as the Bone Family. And for YEARS my kids didn't know that Bone wasn't their last name!! They lived in Palm Springs, but came out to visit us for the fourth of July a few weeks later. We had a great time with them. Through the next ten years, it was our tradition to get together for the fourth of July. Every year they would make their way here and every year, it was that much more fun than the last. Here is a photo of last year. Now, there are a few extras, A-Bone brought a boyfriend and we had two little ones in the photo that came for the H.B. parade. Amazing to see the changes in ten years.

Can you tell who's who?

We're so excited to see them again tomorrow as we all celebrate the Fourth.

Have a safe and sane holiday!

Bone Up for Regatta #Eleven!